Windows 11 24H2 breaks DirectAccess (IP-HTTPS) as Microsoft wants you on Always On VPN

Earlier this year Microsoft announced that it was deprecating DirectAccess support on future Windows releases and recommended that users move over to Always on VPN. The company did not exactly specify which version of Windows it was talking about but it seems like the latest feature update, version 24H2 of Windows 11, is already seeing the effects of it.

Users online are reporting that they are unable to use DirectAccess after upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 and typically this is affecting enterprise and office PCs since home users are unlikely to be using such a feature.

The problem it seems is not new as a Reddit user says they had reported it on Feedback Hub several months ago during Insider testing but the issue has persisted. A Registry tweak that disables User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) also seemingly did not help work around the problem. They write:

Direct Access stopped working for us and we had to roll back (which worked). Meanwhile we have paused the feature update.

FYI: Regfix with value fClientDisableUDP=1 did not fix it this time. Feedback with logfile sent through the Feedback Hub. (Title "Windows 11 24H2 pre-release breaks Direct Access"

Keep in mind that technically DirectAccess should still work as it is only deprecated and not removed yet, unlike WordPad.

The company has already published articles about what the new feature update brings for enterprises and how the update can be deferred as "optional," but the issue regarding DirectAccess has not been discussed. A bug related to Defender onboarding has been addressed though, and thankfully the company's official support handle on X picked up the DirectAccess issue earlier today.

However, it is an automated message which is the norm for most support handles nowadays and thus it may be a while before Microsoft responds.