How to Fix Fix Error 0x80070040 — Network Session Limit Exceeded on Windows
Getting error 0x80070040 during network operations? Network session limit exceeded? Too many connections to server? Maximum network sessions reached? Server refusing new connections? Fix this network session limit error.
Symptoms
You might be experiencing this problem if you notice:
- •Network operations fail with 0x80070040 after many connections
- •Server reports too many sessions from client
- •File sharing works initially but fails after heavy use
- •Multiple users on same server trigger session limit
- •Network printer stops responding after many print jobs
- •Batch file operations to network share fail midway
Common Causes
- ⚠Server has reached maximum concurrent session limit
- ⚠Stale network sessions not being properly closed
- ⚠Client opening too many simultaneous connections
- ⚠SMB multichannel creating excess sessions
- ⚠Application not releasing network handles properly
- ⚠Windows Home edition connection limit (20 concurrent)
Solutions
Solution 1: Clear Stale Sessions and Connections
- 1Check current network connections:
- 2CMD: net use
- 3List all active connections
- 4Disconnect unused connections:
- 5net use \\server\share /delete
- 6Or disconnect all: net use * /delete /yes
- 7Check server-side sessions (if you have access):
- 8On the server — CMD as Admin:
- 9net session
- 10Shows all connected clients
- 11Disconnect specific client:
- 12net session \\clientname /delete
- 13After clearing: retry the operation
Solution 2: Increase Server Session Limits
- 1If you administer the server:
- 2Windows Server default is very high
- 3But Windows 10/11 Home limits to ~20 connections
- 4Windows 10/11 Pro allows more but still limited vs Server
- 5Check current limit:
- 6PowerShell: Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select MaxSessionPerConnection
- 7Increase if needed:
- 8Set-SmbServerConfiguration -MaxSessionPerConnection 100
- 9Also check MaxChannelPerSession:
- 10Set-SmbServerConfiguration -MaxChannelPerSession 32
- 11For NAS devices: check NAS admin panel for connection limits
- 12Some consumer NAS devices limit to 5-10 concurrent users
Solution 3: Fix Application and SMB Settings
- 1Applications may leak network handles:
- 2Identify the application creating excess connections:
- 3Resource Monitor → Network tab → TCP Connections
- 4Sort by Remote Address to find the server
- 5Count connections per application
- 6Close and reopen the problematic application
- 7SMB multichannel can create extra sessions:
- 8If causing issues, disable temporarily:
- 9Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableMultichannel $false
- 10Test the operation
- 11Re-enable when done:
- 12Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableMultichannel $true
- 13For batch operations: add delays between file operations
- 14This prevents overwhelming the server with rapid requests
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