Here’s an easy fix for the “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings” error while connecting to a network.
Windows does many things in the background to detect, validate, and establish the network connection when trying to connect to a network. If something happens in this flow, the network connection will fail or cause an unstable connection. Often, Windows will show a yellow caution mark on the network icon in the taskbar.
One of the most common network errors in Windows is the “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings.” Along with the error, you will also see a yellow caution mark on the network icon in the taskbar. The ‘Windows could not detect network proxy’ error happens due to invalid proxy config or the network not supporting proxy. Depending on how the network is configured, you may or may not transfer data over the network.
The good thing is, no matter the reason, it is pretty easy to fix the “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings” error.
I will show multiple methods you can follow one after the other, fixing the “cannot detect proxy settings” error in Windows OS.
Fix Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings error
There are multiple ways to troubleshoot and fix the proxy settings error in Windows. Follow the below methods one after the other until the problem is solved.
- Run network troubleshooter
- Disable proxy server
- Reset WinSock
- Reset the network
- Restart network services
- Use static IP address
- Restore Windows
- Reinstall Windows
1. Run network troubleshooter
Windows 10 includes a network troubleshooter that can find and fix the problems automatically. Whenever you encounter a network problem, the first thing you should do is run the network troubleshooter. Here is how to find and run it.
Launch the Windows Settings app. You can search for it in the Start menu or use the “Start key + I” shortcut. Go to the “Update & Security > Troubleshoot” page in the Settings app. Now, click on the “Additional troubleshooters” link in the main panel.
Click the “Network adapters” option under the “Find and fix other problems” section and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button.
The above action will launch the network troubleshooter. Follow the wizard and do the recommended steps to fix the Windows could not automatically detect network’s proxy settings error.
2. Disable proxy server
Use a proxy server for the LAN option is enabled by default on some systems. This setting can sometimes cause the Windows proxy server error if the system cannot find the proxy. As such, disabling the proxy server will often fix. Here is how to do it.
Press the “Start key + I” to open the Run dialog box. Type “inetcpl.cpl” in the blank field and click “Ok.” This action will open the Internet Options window. Here, go to the “Connections” tab and click the “LAN Settings” button.
Now, uncheck the “Use a proxy server for your LAN” option. Click the “Ok” button in both windows to save the changes.
Finally, restart the computer. You should no longer see the Windows cannot detect proxy settings error.
3. Reset Winsock
Winsock is responsible for how Windows should access a network service. If there is some problem with the Winsock module, it can throw all kinds of errors. In those cases, resetting Winsock will solve the problem. Follow the below steps to reset Winsock using Command Prompt.
Search for “Command Prompt” in the Start menu, right-click on the result, and select the “Run as administrator” option. In the elevated cmd window, type the below command one after the other to reset Winsock.
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Once done, close the cmd window and reboot the system.
4. Reset the network
Along with resetting the Winsock module, it can also be helpful to reset the network. Here is how.
Launch the Windows Settings app with the “Start + I” keyboard shortcut. Next, go to the “Network & Internet > Status” page. On the main page, click the “Network reset” link at the bottom.
Click the “Reset now” button. Windows will reinstall all the network adapters and reset network adapter settings to their defaults as soon as you click the button.
Once done, reconfigure the network if necessary, and you should no longer see the “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings” error.
5. Restart and fix network services
If a network service is not running as it should or is stuck for whatever reason, it can be a problem. In that case, you have to restart the essential network services. Here is how.
Open the elevated Command Prompt. You can do that by searching for it in the Start menu, right-clicking, and selecting the “Run as administrator” option. In the cmd window, execute the below command one after the other.
sc config Wlansvc start= demand
sc config dot3svc start= demand
sc config Dhcp start= auto
Once done, close the Command Prompt window, reboot the system, and see if the prompt is fixed.
6. Use static IP address
By default, Windows is configured to grab the IP and DNS addresses automatically. For the most part, this works fine because the router and ISPs dynamically assign the IP address. However, under certain circumstances, Windows is unable is grab the IP address automatically. In that case, you have to set the IP address manually.
The good thing is, as long as you have the IP address details, which you can get from the router or your ISP, it is pretty easy to set up the static IP address. Follow the below-linked guide to use a static IP address in Windows.
How to set up a static IP address
7. Restore Windows
You can restore the Windows system to a know good state using the System Restore feature. As long as there is a restore point before the error occurred, you can restore the system to that point in time to fix the “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings” error.
How to restore the system to a previous time in Windows
8. Reinstall Windows
If nothing else works, it is time to reinstall Windows 10 to fix the 0x80070005 error. Before reinstalling, make sure to back up all personal files in the C drive, backup all the program settings, and create a list of all installed programs. That way, you can reconfigure the system quickly and get started in no time.
That is it.
I hope that helps.
If you need help, comment below, and I do my best.
