KB43614 - Cannot connect to Wi-Fi networks when Pulse Desktop Client is installed on a system that uses Hyper-V virtual switch/adapters

This article describes an issue where the Wi-Fi adapter remains enabled but cannot connect to any networks when Pulse Desktop Client is installed on a system running Windows 10 Fall Creators update that uses Microsoft Virtualization technology with Hyper-V switch and adapters.


 

This issue occurs under the following known conditions:

• System is running Windows 10 Fall Creators update.
• System uses Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization solution configured to install a virtual network switch for access to the guest systems. 
• A virtual vEthernet switch is created on the system with one or more Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapters.
• Pulse Desktop Client 5.3/5.4 is installed.

This issue can occur if the Juniper Network Service gets bound to vEthernet switch that gets installed and enabled during Hyper-V configuration.  The Juniper Network Service is an NDIS LWF (Light Weight Filter) driver that is installed with Pulse and gets bound to physical adapters on the system in order to provide VPN tunneling functionality.  The Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter is not a physical adapter so it should not have the Juniper Network Service enabled on it, however, due to the way that virtual adapters are implemented in Windows OS without rigid rules that differentiate them from physical adapters, the Juniper Network Service can get enabled on virtual adapters, causing physical adapters to become disabled or unable to detect any wireless networks.  

 

To resolve this issue, the Juniper Network Service should be disabled on vEthernet switch or Network Bridge depending on how the virtual switches are created in Hyper-V manager.

Follow the steps below to disable the Juniper Network Service on any Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapters:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Select Network and Sharing Center
3. Click Change Adapter Settings
4. Locate the Network Bridge with the description "Microsoft Network Adapter". 

4. Right click Network Bridge
5. Select Properties
6. Uncheck the box next to Juniper Network Service

 

5. Verify that the Wifi adapter can detect and connect to a wireless network.

If this does not help, disabling the vEthernet interface may resolve the issue.