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Wrong .NET Framework 4.8 download link on Windows 2016

Matthew Rogers 0 Reputation points
2025-05-06T20:11:27.0433333+00:00

I'm working on legacy software running on Windows 2016 that uses .NET Framework 4.8 and when the application is first launched it pops up the expected "Do you want to install this .NET Framework version now?" dialog box:

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If I click "Yes", I'll be taken to the .NET Framework 4.8.1 download page:

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After downloading the runtime I'm informed this version cannot be installed on Windows 2016:

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Is this a known issue with Microsoft links? Of course, one of the solutions is to have my customers scroll down the page and pick the .NET Framework 4.8 Runtime, but realistically none of them will do that; there's definitely an end-user usability issue here. Can anyone suggest other possible alternatives? For example, am I able to override the URL that gets open when I press "Yes" in the install .NET dialog box?

Thanks!

.NET Runtime
.NET Runtime
.NET: Microsoft Technologies based on the .NET software framework.Runtime: An environment required to run apps that aren't compiled to machine language.
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  1. Michael Taylor 58,861 Reputation points
    2025-05-06T20:46:56.6433333+00:00

    The UX just takes you to the default download page for 4.8. The default page shows you the latest version of the framework available for download. It has always worked this way.

    The "correct" solution is to update your installer to have a pre-requisite of the NET Framework 4.8 runtime. It should then auto-download the 4.8 runtime, not 4.8.1. How you do that those is dependent on what installer software you're using. If you aren't using any installer software then there isn't a workaround that I'm aware of.

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  1. Bruce (SqlWork.com) 75,156 Reputation points
    2025-05-06T20:46:27.6833333+00:00

    windows 16 support, updates and security fixes ended 1/11/2022, so it not surprising that the download link does not support it. if your customers are running on unsupported software, they should be used to some issues.

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