Hi all! I know it all sounds like nonsense… But
After the latest update (November 17), when I try to launch the launcher, it says it can’t connect, and at the same time the internet on the computer completely cuts out, even though the connection appears active in the status bar. Websites don’t open in Chrome, and everything that uses the internet stops working. When I unplug the laptop from the AC adapter, everything works again! As soon as I plug the adapter back in, the same thing starts all over again until I close the Epic Games Launcher process. Reinstalling the application, all the recommended steps from the guide, resetting network settings, reinstalling drivers — none of this has helped. Please help me solve this problem. Thank you in advance.
clearly not a problem with the epic launcher.
you should check what happens with the network card device. maybe check the performance profiles.
which operative system you use?
Thanks for your reply. Windows 11 Home 24H2, OS build 26100.7171, Intel Wireless-AC 9260 160MHz. Of course, I first checked everything you pointed out. Nothing in the system or the drivers has been changed either. The only thing that was updated was the launcher. When connecting AC during startup or while the launcher is running, the following errors/warnings appear in the Windows event log:
Netwtw08 - 6666 - Firmware dbgc dump trigger
Netwtw08 - 5005 - Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9260 160MHz: failed due to an internal error.
Netwtw08 - 5005 - Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9260 160MHz: The adapter is not functioning properly.
NDIS - 10400 - The network interface “Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9260 160MHz” has started a reset. During the hardware reset, the network connection will be briefly interrupted. Reason: The network driver requested that it be reset. Since the last initialization, this network interface has been reset the following number of times: 1.
This sequence of events is triggered only when AC is connected while the launcher is running or when attempting to start it with AC connected. Everything worked fine on previous versions. I don’t deny that the problem is not only or not primarily with the launcher, but it is specifically the launcher that triggers it after the update. Any ideas?
can you explain why you say that?
it seems to be a problem with windows and the network card.
maybe you’ve done a windows update, or you miss one. or maybe the hardware started failing around the same time.
have you tried updating the drivers of the card?
Of course — because none of the other launchers or programs causes this. Neither Steam nor Uplay.
maybe! But according to the Windows logs, nothing was updated during that time. Hardware issues are a possibility, but why are there no problems with the other launchers or programs?
updating, reinstalling and downgrading. no effect.
does it only happens when you open the launcher?
good question. maybe the launcher uses an api that the card doesn’t implement properly. but it’s quite unlikely. it’s very unlikely that the launcher does something with the hardware.
i honestly don’t know what could be the issue 
Yes. Or if it was already running at system startup via autorun.
Thank you for trying to figure this out. If I find a solution, I will post it here.
all good. the only thing i can think of is any form of drm that it’s low level enough to mess up with the hardware. but i don’t think EGS uses drm. i might be wrong.
or maybe some vpn, though that should be software level enough to not break the hardware in most cases.
it might be good to check which windows services are started when launching egs.
good luck 
Solution found: reinstalling the NVIDIA drivers (with the “clean installation” checkbox enabled).
I still don’t understand why the NVIDIA driver was breaking the internet, but it was indeed the culprit.
I’ve just checked something else. Selecting the “Prefer maximum performance” mode instead of “Optimal power” in the NVIDIA Control Panel causes a conflict with the launcher, which somehow affects my connection. The clean installation simply reset this parameter back to the default “Optimal power”.