A simple Windows application that displays all network adapters and allows you to restart any adapter with a single click. Because someone in the Windows team thought that a perfectly great network adapter reset troubleshooter had to die.
- View All Adapters: Lists all network adapters on your system
- One-Click Restart: Disable and re-enable adapters instantly
- Auto-Restart Monitor: Watches a selected adapter and restarts it after repeated no-traffic/no-response checks
- Advanced Adapter View: Keeps the default list focused on normal Ethernet/Wi-Fi adapters, with an option to show VPN, virtual, Bluetooth, and other advanced adapters
- Tray Minimize: Minimizes to the Windows notification area so monitoring can continue quietly
- Administrator Access: Runs with elevated privileges automatically
- Clean Interface: Simple, straightforward UI
Download the latest version from the Releases page.
- Download
NetworkAdapterRestarter.exefrom the latest release - Run the executable - it will request administrator privileges automatically
- No installation required!
- Launch the application (requires administrator rights)
- The app will display all network adapters
- Select an adapter from the list
- Click "Restart Selected Adapter"
- Confirm the restart
- The adapter will be disabled then re-enabled (takes ~1-2 seconds)
- Select the adapter you want the app to watch
- Check "Auto-restart selected adapter when traffic stops"
- Leave the app running
The monitor checks the selected adapter immediately, then every 30 seconds. It tracks the selected adapter by Windows interface ID, then checks adapter status, IPv4 address, IPv4 gateway, and usable connectivity from that adapter. Failed WiFi connect/disconnect traffic does not count as healthy by itself. If the selected adapter is disconnected or has no usable connectivity for 2 checks in a row, the app restarts that adapter automatically.
When minimized, the app moves to the Windows notification area and keeps monitoring. Double-click the tray icon to reopen it, or right-click it and choose Exit to quit.
- Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11
- Permissions: Administrator privileges
- .NET Runtime: Requires the .NET 8 Windows Desktop Runtime for the small publish build
The application uses .NET's Windows network interface APIs to list and monitor adapters by interface ID. It uses Windows netsh commands only when restarting an adapter:
netsh interface set interface "name" disable- Disables an adapternetsh interface set interface "name" enable- Enables an adapter
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/NetworkAdapterRestarter.git cd NetworkAdapterRestarter -
Build the project:
dotnet build -c Release
-
Create the small single-file executable:
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false -p:PublishSingleFile=true -
Executable location:
bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\NetworkAdapterRestarter.exe
Network connectivity issues are common and often resolved by simply restarting the network adapter. This tool makes that process instant instead of:
- Opening Control Panel or Settings
- Navigating to Network Adapters
- Right-clicking the adapter
- Clicking Disable, waiting, then clicking Enable
"Access Denied" Error: Make sure you're running the application as Administrator. Right-click the .exe and select "Run as administrator" if it doesn't prompt automatically.
Adapter doesn't appear: Click the "Refresh List" button to reload adapters.
Connection doesn't restore: Some adapters may require additional time. Wait 5-10 seconds and check your connection.
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:
- Report bugs via Issues
- Submit pull requests
- Suggest new features
This project is open source and available under the MIT License.
Created to simplify network troubleshooting on Windows systems.
Note: Always be cautious when running applications that require administrator privileges. Review the source code if you have concerns.