How to Fix Network & Internet Settings Crash on Windows 10

There is this long-running bug in Windows where clicking on Settings -> Network & Internet makes the settings app crash in Windows 10. In this article, we’ll see some working methods to fix it.

This issue often happens due to Windows Update or some software alterations that may have disabled your network services. To fix it, we will try

1. Launch the Run dialog by pressing Win + R, and type services.msc, then press Enter:
   
2. In the Services windows, find Network List Service, right-click on it and select Start:
   
3. Now find Network Location Awareness, right-click on it and select Start.
4. Finally, go to Windows Event Log, right-click on it, and click Start.

You can open your Network & Internet after enabling each one of the services in steps 2, 3, and 4 to pinpoint which one fixes this issue for you. Also, try to reboot your PC after you make these changes.

(If you see the message Windows Host Error the system cannot find the file specified on startup, check the article I’ve written about it to know how to fix it.)

If enabling these services doesn’t work, it might be that your Settings app is corrupted. In this case, you might need to reset or re-register your Settings app. This is what we will see next.

How to Fix Network & Internet Settings Crash by Resetting or Re-Registering the Settings App

Since the problem might be with the Settings app, we will now try to bring the Settings app back to its initial settings by resetting it.

(If nothing happens when you try to open the Settings app, I’ve written an article on how to fix the Settings app not opening in Windows 11)

How to Reset the Settings App

1. On Windows Search, type Settings, then click on App settings:
   
2. In the window that opens, browse to Terminate and click on the Terminate button.
3. Now click on the Reset button:
   

If this didn’t work, try to reinstall the Settings App by re-registering it in PowerShell, as shown below.

How to Re-Register the Settings App

1. On Windows Search, type PowerShell, then click on Run as administrator:
   
2. Now on PowerShell, input the following command and press Enter:
   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name windows.immersivecontrolpanel | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}
   
3. After that, run the command below on PowerShell:
   Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
4. Reboot your PC.

Conclusion

To fix the Network & Internet Settings crash, try to enable the Network List Service, Network Location Awareness, and Windows Event Log on Windows 10 Services.

If the problem lies in the Settings App itself, try to reset the Settings app or to re-register it in PowerShell, as explained in the article.

If you are an ASUS laptop owner and have other network issues, check my article on how to fix Mediatek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 card not working.