GlassWire 3.8 - Windows 10 “Cannot connect to local server” Issue & Hotfix Update

GlassWire Help
1

Update (Hotfix Released):
A hotfix addressing the Windows 10 service startup issue has now been released. Please download the latest 3.8 build here: GlassWire 3.8.1033

Hi everyone,

I want to address the “Cannot connect to local server” issue some Windows 10 users are seeing after installing GlassWire 3.8.

We did not encounter this during internal testing, but once reports started coming in, the development team investigated right away. We’ve now identified the root cause.

If you’re affected, reinstalling 3.8 and selecting “Use Legacy Driver” during installation resolves the issue in most cases.

Steps:

  1. Run the 3.8 installer again.
  2. Choose Use Legacy Driver when prompted.
  3. Complete installation and launch GlassWire.

A hotfix has already been prepared and is scheduled for release next week.

We will continue to limit the broader rollout of 3.8 for now so we can resolve issues like this before pushing it to all users.

Thank you to everyone who reported it quickly and shared details. That helped us isolate the problem much faster.

I’ll post again as soon as the hotfix is live.

Thanks,
Huda

5

This corrected the “Cannot connect to local server” problem that I sent an email to help @ 11:48AMEST. Thank you.

1 Like
6

I still have “Cannot connect to local server” even after the update to GlassWire 3.8.1033.

I also still have the issue where cmd.exe no longer appears, unlike in other versions of GlassWire.

OS: Windows 11 25H2

7

@Ginette In version 3.8 we changed how apps appear in the Protect tab. Apps that have never had any network activity are now hidden from the list. This may be why you’re no longer seeing cmd.exe there. If cmd.exe ever attempts to connect to the network, it should appear in the list at that time.

We made this change to reduce confusion around apps appearing as “Blocked” even though they had never actually attempted a connection. In Ask to Connect mode, apps that hadn’t connected yet used to show up as blocked by default, which led some users to think GlassWire had blocked them automatically.

Also, are you still seeing the “Can’t connect to local server” issue? I just want to confirm, since it sounds like you’re able to see the Protect tab and the apps list.

8

Can confirm cmd.exe does not appear in this version nor v3.8.1030. Detected in v3.7.880 however.

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v3.7.880:

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image551×870 44.7 KB

9

The “Cannot connect to local server” error still appears but not immediately. After a clean install of GlassWire it usually works at first, then the error shows up after some time, usually between about 5 and 30 minutes, without any specific action triggering it.

I also tested running network commands in cmd.exe such as ping requests to generate network activity, but cmd.exe still does not appear in GlassWire anymore. In previous versions it showed up correctly, but since version 3.8 it no longer appears in the apps list even when it is clearly generating network traffic.

10

@rng, @Ginette - I’m requesting more info around cmd.exe not showing up in the apps list from our development team.

11

Hi,

Could you please help us collect a log file so our developers can investigate the issue? Please follow the steps below.

1. Open the GlassWire folder

  1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.

  2. In the box that appears, type: C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full

  3. Press Enter.

2. Turn on logging

  1. In the folder that opens, find the file named glasswire.

  2. Right-click the file.

  3. Click Open with → Notepad.

  4. If Windows asks, choose Run as administrator.

  5. In the file, find this line: LogEnabled = false

  6. Change it to: LogEnabled = true

  7. Click File → Save, then close Notepad.

3. Restart the GlassWire service

  1. Press Windows key + R again.

  2. Type: services.msc

  3. Press Enter.

  4. Find GlassWire Control Service in the list.

  5. Right-click it and choose Restart (or Start if it is stopped).

4. Reproduce the issue

Use GlassWire normally until the problem happens again.

5. Send us the log files

  1. Open this folder: C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full\log

  2. Select all the files in the log folder.

  3. Send those files to us at help@glasswire.com or send it to me as a private message in this forum.

These logs will help our developers understand what is happening.

Thank you!