Bug Report: WSL2 Network Behavior Diverges from Windows During Mixed Interface Conditions #13682
Description
Windows Version
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.6901]
WSL Version
WSL version: 2.6.1.0 Kernel version: 6.6.87.2-1 WSLg version: 1.0.66 MSRDC version: 1.2.6353 Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511 DXCore version: 10.0.26100.1-240331-1435.ge-release Windows version: 10.0.26200.6901
Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?
- WSL 2
- WSL 1
Kernel Version
6.6.87.2-1
Distro Version
Ubuntu 24.04
Other Software
No response
Repro Steps
Steps to Reproduce
- Connect both Ethernet and Wi-Fi to your Windows machine.
- Ensure Ethernet is active but does not have external internet (e.g., ISP outage).
- Use PowerShell to
ping www.google.com— it succeeds via Wi-Fi (e.g mobile phone personal hotspot). - Open WSL2 terminal and run
ping www.google.com— it fails with 100% packet loss. - Run
docker pull ollama/ollamainside WSL2 — it succeeds, albeit slowly. - Disconnect the Ethernet cable. You now have just your mobile phone personal hotspot connected to your computer.
- Retry
ping www.google.comin WSL2 — it now succeeds.
(base) sono99@somedesktopcomputer:~()$ ping www.google.com
PING www.google.com (142.250.178.196) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
11 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 10223ms
(base) sono99@somedesktopcomputer:~()$ ping www.google.com
PING www.google.com (142.250.178.196) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from pnzrha-aj-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.178.196): icmp_seq=1 ttl=117 time=102 ms
64 bytes from pnzrha-aj-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.178.196): icmp_seq=2 ttl=117 time=56.8 ms
64 bytes from pnzrha-aj-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.178.196): icmp_seq=3 ttl=117 time=12.3 ms
64 bytes from pnzrha-aj-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.178.196): icmp_seq=4 ttl=117 time=15.1 ms
^C
--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3005ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 12.309/46.522/101.790/36.455 ms
(base) sono99@somedesktopcomputer:~()$ lsb_release -r
No LSB modules are available.
Release: 24.04
(base) sono99@somedesktopcomputer:~()$The difference between failing to ping and succeeding is on unplugging the ethernet cable.
###WSL2 config
- WSL2 Configuration:
[wsl2] memory=80GB processors=0 networkingMode=mirrored
Expected Behavior
WSL2 demonstrates inconsistent and unreliable network behavior when both Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces are connected, but
only one—typically the slower Wi-Fi—provides actual internet access. While Windows correctly prioritizes the functional Wi-Fi connection for external traffic, WSL2 terminals often fail to establish outbound connectivity under these conditions. Notably, Docker operations such as docker pull may still succeed, likely due to integration with the Windows host network stack. However, to restore full network functionality within WSL2, physically disconnecting the non-functional Ethernet cable becomes a necessary workaround.
Expected Behavior
WSL2 should mirror Windows' routing behavior and use the active interface with internet access (Wi-Fi) even when Ethernet is present but non-functional.
Actual Behavior
Actual Behavior
WSL2 fails to reach external hosts via ping or other terminal-based network tools when Ethernet is present—even if Ethernet lacks internet access and Wi-Fi is fully functional.
Diagnostic Logs
You can see in the Cline issue:
cline/cline#7109
The docker pull command worked perfectly for updating a Docker image.
However, there were clear issues with the ping command when executed from within WSL2.
In contrast, the ping command worked reliably 100% of the time from Windows PowerShell.
Running wsl --shutdown or wsl --restart did not resolve the issue.
The only effective solution was physically disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the network interface that lacked external internet connectivity.