I'm setting up a replacement Dell Pro 16 laptop for an HR user who needs to use wireless displays during meetings. Miracast works normally on some older Dell models, but on most or all of the Pro 16 machines, the connection sits at "connecting" for a while and then fails.
I've updated the graphics and Wi-Fi drivers, confirmed through dxdiag and `netsh wlan show drivers` that the hardware and drivers support wireless display, and installed Wireless Display through Optional Features. None of that fixed the connection. Rolling back to the older drivers isn't practical, and the Microsoft Store is blocked even for the helpdesk, so obtaining the official Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter software is difficult.
Could this be caused by a firewall rule, Group Policy, or another centrally managed setting? Has anyone run into this with newer Dell laptops, or found a reliable fix?
2 Answers
This can be caused by Windows Firewall blocking the Miracast service. Check whether firewall rules are managed centrally, then verify that inbound and outbound rules allow `%SystemRoot%System32castSrv.exe` and `%SystemRoot%System32WUDFHost.exe` on the appropriate network profiles and interface types. The rules need to be enabled for both directions, not just added locally.
I’ve also seen wireless display fail because a Group Policy blocks the required traffic or service. If the device is centrally managed, compare the effective firewall and wireless-display policies between a working older laptop and a failing Pro 16. The local configuration may look correct while a policy is silently overriding it.
That’s likely what’s happening here. The firewall and device policies appear to be centrally managed, so I’ve escalated it for review. In the meantime, the user was moved to an older Dell model that works reliably with the display adapter.
We fixed a similar issue through our device-management policy by allowing Wireless Display rules for both castSrv.exe and WUDFHost.exe. It’s worth checking the policy result on one affected machine rather than assuming the local firewall settings are authoritative.