Windows 10 2004 Now Blocked On Devices With LTE Cellular Modems

Windows 10 2004 Now Blocked On Devices With LTE Cellular Modems

Microsoft has acknowledged another known issue affecting Windows 10 devices with WWAN LTE cellular modems and is now blocking Windows 10, version 2004 from being installed on them until a solution will be available.

Some devices with WWAN LTE modems might be unable to connect to the internet and may show no internet connection in the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) within Windows 10’s notification area according to Microsoft.

Microsoft says that this issue only affects Windows 10, version 2004 desktop platforms, with Windows Server, version 2004 devices not being impacted.

Workaround for available already updated devices

The company has applied a safeguard hold on all Windows 10 devices with affected WWAN LTE modems drivers, preventing Windows 10 2004 from being offered through Windows Update until the issue is resolved.

“We are working on a resolution and estimate a solution will be available in late September,” Microsoft said.

Until a fix for this issue is available and the safeguard is removed, Microsoft urges customers not to attempt to manually update to the latest Windows 10 version using the Media Creation Tool or the Update now button.

For the moment, customers with devices already running Windows 10 2004 can mitigate the issue by toggling Airplane mode on and off.

“To do this, you can select the Start button, type airplane mode and select it. In the settings dialog, toggle Airplane mode on then off again. You should now be able to connect as expected,” Microsoft explained.

Previous Windows 10 Internet connection issues

Microsoft said in May in an update to the KB4556799 Windows 10 support bulletin that Windows 10 devices with LTE cellular modems may have been able to connect to the Internet, even though Windows 10’s NCSI showed an “Internet access” status.

That known issue was later resolved with the release of the KB4559004 cumulative update on both client (Windows 10, version 1909; Windows 10, version 1903) and server (Windows Server, version 1909; Windows Server, version 1903) platforms.

Last month, Microsoft investigated another known issue where Windows 10 2004 customers were seeing “No Internet access” tray indicators although their devices were connected to the Internet.

This “No Internet access” known issue was addressed by Microsoft earlier this month, with the release of Windows 10 Build 20185 for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

In the KB4554364 out-of-band Windows 10 update issued in March, the company fixed yet another internet connectivity issue impacting devices with proxies, including virtual private networks (VPNs).

The bug affected all supported Windows 10 and Windows Servers versions, and it was causing apps like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office, Office 365, and Outlook to not be able to connect to the Internet over VPN.

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Windows 10 2004 compatibility holds

Microsoft said on July 1st that it removed a safeguard hold applied on some Microsoft Surface devices (including Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 3).

However, reports say that there still are Microsoft Surface devices having issues upgrading even though the compatibility hold was reportedly removed.

Right now, four update blocks are left to prevent incompatible devices from installing the May 2020 Update (the Surface compatibility hold is not listed blow since Microsoft hasn’t yet confirmed if it’s still on or not):

• Errors or issues during or after updating devices with Conexant ISST audio drivers
• Errors or issues during or after updating devices with certain Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers
• Unsupported settings (compatibility issues with numerous systems and hardware configurations)
• Certain WWAN LTE modems might not be able to connect after waking from sleep

Even if your device is impacted by one of the update blocks listed above, you can still manually force upgrade it to Windows 10 2004 using the Media Creation Tool, the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant, or a Windows 10 2004 ISO for a clean install.

However, Microsoft urges customers not to manually update to avoid experiencing that could potentially make their Windows 10 devices unusable.

To get around update installation issues, Windows 10 customers can use this guided walk-through or this update problems troubleshooter.

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