Forum Discussion
File Explorer bug re UNC paths
In the past few months a bug has appeared in File Explorer: when I enter a server UNC path in the address box, e.g. \\myserver\e$ and hit Return often nothing happens (no error), when what should happen is a login dialogue should appear so I can enter the username & password I need to connect. Note this issue is intermittent but is frequent. It does not happen in Windows 10 File Explorer, e.g. for the same UNC path.
I'm on Windows 11 Enterprise v22H2, Windows Update is not showing v23H2 yet.
Thanks.
29 Replies
I just learned about the Feedback Hub app. I couldn't find this issue listed, so I entered this issue as new feedback. Please go upvote it. As a sysadmin, this issue is super annoying.
https://aka.ms/AAxk77fOh, the adventures of File Explorer! It’s like dealing with an overly dramatic cat. One minute it’s sweet, and the next minute it acts like it doesn’t hear you at all — you’re standing there saying, “Hey, buddy, I need to access the server,” and it’s just staring at you like it’s judging your life choices.
More than a YEAR later that issue has been still NOT FIXED....
Stumbled across this thread when I had the same issue in our Citrix environment after updating to 23H2.
Turns out it was a loopback adaptor that was causing the issue. Removed it and problem went away.
However, we required the loopback adaptor to carry over Autodesk login sessions between desktops.
Added the loopback adaptor back, removed all the bindings from it and all was well (Autodesk just relied on the MAC Address).
You may not have a loopback adaptor on your machines but may be some other adaptor causing the issue...- Good catch, but I only have one adapter, and it is the physical adapter in my machine.
- I find that after pasting a UNC path in the address bar, I have to add a '\' as a suffix, then File Explorer will navigate to the folder.
[Windows 11 Enterprise, 22H2]RobertS0422Entering a trailing slash has no effect for me at all. The UNC functionality simply stops working after 'x' amount of time or some unknown event (maybe network disconnect?).
The issue impact both existing tabs and new tabs. Entering the UNC typically prompts the cached entry. Pressing enter should initiate navigation, instead the path entry clears out and nothing happens. Entering the UNC path via copy/paste has the same result. Only way to fix this presently is to log off/on or reboot.
- Any news regarding this? I am experiencing the same issue, but even when entering a local address. I typed "C:\Temp" into the address bar in Windows Explorer and hit Enter, yet nothing happens. Just as with TO, it keeps recurring. Win 11 Pro 23H2 here.
- You can try checking for updates manually by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates. If an update is available, you can install it to see if it resolves the issue.
- This worked for me. The issue was gone after installing a new update. Thank you very much!!!!
- Which update??
- Completely up to date with all Windows updates. I am not sure what causes it, as I know plenty of people who do not have the issue, but I also know a ton of people who do have the issue. The issue is only with trying to type a UNC path into the File Explorer address bar directly. It works fine using Win+R or from a command prompt or PowerShell.
- As a workaround, you can try accessing the UNC path using Command Prompt or PowerShell and manually entering your credentials using the "net use" command or the "New-PSDrive" cmdlet, respectively.
- We are seeing similar behavior on all our Win 11 systems. Specifically, there is a 5-10 second delay at least for the first time you enter in a UNC in explorer after logging in. After that initial delay, using UNC in explorer is fine with a normal response time. I ran a packet capture to see what was going on and I can see a steady pulse of netbios packets during this 5-10 second delay. The netbios traffic doesn't appear for any subsequent UNC paths. This also does not happen on any Win 10 system at all.
This sounds very similar to the issue I am experiencing on our company computers. The Explorer just looks frozen, but it is not.
When I maximize the Explorer Window I can see a second overlapping one inside the first one.
Also this is not happening in Windows 10.
See my thread here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-11/windows-11-file-explorer-bug/m-p/4088463
Is this the same issue you are facing?
- I have experienced that issue as well. This is different.
When I type a UNC path into the address bar and hit enter, it does absolutely nothing. You can leave it sitting there for hours, or resize or move the window, and nothing happens. It is now to the point that it never works typing directly into the address bar for UNC paths. I have to use the Windows+R workaround every time now. (It does work for local paths, eg. C:\Windows works but \\Server1\c$ just sits there.)
They added a bunch of cool features, but it is still at beta level at best.- Oh man, so I assume you didn´t find an actual resolution for those problems.
Really annoying.
You would think that after 2.5 years you get a working product, but apparently not....
