How to Audit and Reset Network Adapter Advanced Properties in Windows 11 Using PowerShell

Network interface cards (NICs) on Windows 11 PCs rely on dozens of low-level driver parameters to regulate packet flow, offload processor calculations, and negotiate physical line speeds. Settings such as Large Send Offload (LSO), TCP Checksum Offload, Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), and Jumbo Frames directly affect network throughput, latency, and packet reliability. When troubleshooting inexplicable connection dropouts, high micro-latency during gaming, or throughput throttling, PowerShell provides native cmdlets to audit, modify, and reset these advanced driver properties without navigating nested Device Manager tabs.

Why Audit Network Adapter Advanced Properties in Windows 11?

While the standard Settings app manages basic IP assignment and DNS server configurations, the physical controller hardware behaviour is governed by the Network Adapter driver stack. Manufacturer defaults or third-party "network optimiser" utilities frequently alter offload flags, causing packet fragmentation or driver timeouts when interfacing with older network switches or virtual VPN interfaces. By leveraging the PowerShell NetAdapter module—specifically Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty and Reset-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty—administrators can audit active hardware states and return degraded adapters to stable factory baselines.

Listing Installed Network Adapters

Before querying advanced driver properties, launch PowerShell or Windows Terminal as an administrator, then identify the exact interface name of your physical Ethernet or Wi-Fi controller:

Get-NetAdapter | Format-Table Name, InterfaceDescription, Status, LinkSpeed

Note the exact string under the Name column (commonly Ethernet or Wi-Fi).

Querying All Advanced Properties via Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty

To view the comprehensive inventory of hardware properties configured on your network adapter, execute:

Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet" | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayValue, RegistryKeyword

PowerShell outputs a detailed table showing each hardware feature alongside its active value. Critical properties to review include:

• Large Send Offload (LSOv2): Determines whether the network card chunks large data segments rather than consuming host CPU cycles. While beneficial in enterprise gigabit environments, buggy implementation in consumer drivers can cause severe packet drops.
• TCP/UDP Checksum Offload: Offloads verification arithmetic from the processor to the NIC silicon.
• Energy Efficient Ethernet / Green Ethernet: Puts the physical PHY link into low-power states during idle periods. Can introduce micro-stutters when connections resume rapidly.
• Flow Control: Regulates packet transmission pacing when switches encounter buffer congestion.
• Speed & Duplex: Indicates whether link autonegotiation is enforced or locked to a specific throughput threshold.

Filtering for Specific Hardware Offloads and Power Features

To avoid scrolling through dozens of parameters, filter the query using wildcard matching on the display name:

Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet" | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*Offload*" -or $_.DisplayName -like "*Energy*" }

This targeted command reveals only offload and power management parameters, making it simple to verify whether power-saving features are enabled on latency-critical workstations.

Modifying an Advanced Property Using Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty

If your audit reveals that an unwanted feature (such as Energy Efficient Ethernet) is active and causing connection drops, disable it directly from the shell:

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet" -DisplayName "Energy Efficient Ethernet" -DisplayValue "Disabled"

The network connection momentarily blinks as the driver applies the new hardware registry parameter.

Restoring All Advanced Properties to Factory Defaults

If custom modifications, driver updates, or third-party software tweaks have left your network adapter in an unstable state with degraded transfer speeds, you can restore all advanced parameters to the original manufacturer defaults using a single command:

Reset-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet"

PowerShell scrubs custom registry overrides and reinstates clean default parameters across every offload, buffer size, and link setting. Confirm the reset by running Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty once more to verify that all properties reflect fresh factory defaults.