Microsoft's VPN patch fails to fix Windows 11 issue
The October 13 update was mistakenly marked as resolving Always On VPN glitches, which still persist and require a temporary fix until a new patch arrives.
22 Oct 2026 0 reads Compiled with AI
#Microsoft #Windows 11 #Always On VPN
In September 2026, Windows 11 users began seeing Always On VPN connections hang or fail after installing the latest security updates. The problem was first flagged by Microsoft in a service alert to IT administrators, noting that automatic protocol selection between IKEv2 and SSTP could leave connections stuck in a Connecting state or trigger a "The specified port is already in use" error.
Mislabelled fix
When Microsoft released the October 13 cumulative update, the company mistakenly marked the bug as resolved. A subsequent service bulletin corrected the status to Mitigated, explaining that the October patch had not addressed the VPN issue at all.
The root cause lies in the fallback mechanism that should switch protocols when the first attempt fails. Instead, the system now stalls, preventing the VPN from establishing a tunnel. The glitch affects all Windows 11 builds from 24H2 through 26H2 and impacts devices that rely on domain‑joined or Microsoft Entra ID‑joined configurations.
IT administrators can avoid the problem by configuring each Always On VPN profile to use a single protocol—either SSTP or IKEv2—rather than automatic selection. The service alert advises choosing the protocol that best fits an organization’s security and deployment requirements.
Microsoft has said a permanent fix will arrive in an upcoming update within the next few weeks. The company apologized for the confusion and warned that until the new patch ships, the only reliable protection is the manual protocol pinning workaround.