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Duplicate Windows roaming Clients appear in the dashboard

Minetta Gould
  • Updated

    In this article

Use this article to resolve situations where the same Windows device appears multiple times in the Roaming Clients dashboard.

Duplicate entries can occur when a device registers with DNSFilter more than once. This typically happens after re-installations, upgrades, or when multiple versions of the agent are installed on the same device.

Symptoms

Duplicate agent registrations can display different symptoms, particularly after an agent upgrade:

  • The same hostname appears multiple times in the Roaming Clients dashboard
  • The device shows multiple client IDs for the same system
  • The tray icon is missing when typically visible
  • Filtering behavior becomes inconsistent
  • Policy or configuration changes do not apply as expected
  • Device settings appear to revert

On affected Windows devices, the registry shows multiple agent folders, commonly:

  • DNSAgent
  • DNSFilter Agent

These indicators typically suggest that more than one agent installation or registration occurred.

Causes of duplicate entries

Several scenarios can cause the agent to register a device multiple times.

Registry changes The agent stores its device identity in the Windows registry. If the client ID entry is modified or removed—such as during reinstallation, upgrades, or cleanup processes—the agent may register the device again with a new ID. This creates a second entry in the dashboard.
Multiple agent versions installed

In some environments, both of the following versions may be installed:

  • DNSFilter Agent (standard version)
  • DNS Agent (whitelabel version)

If both agents run on the same device, each instance registers separately and creates duplicate entries.
Reinstalling different agent versions Installing different versions of the agent over time may result in multiple device registrations if the previous installation was not fully removed before the new version installed.
MDM or RMM deployment configuration Some device management tools may deploy the agent as a new installation instead of performing an update. This can result in multiple installations and multiple registrations.

Resolution steps

Checking these common environment areas can surface the source of the duplicate agent. 

Review recent deployment actions

If using an MDM or RMM tool, review recent deployment jobs to confirm the agent was updated rather than installed as a new package.

Correct the deployment configuration if multiple installations occurred.

Check for multiple agent versions on the device

Verify that only one agent version is installed on the system.

If both the standard DNSFilter Agent and whitelabeled DNS Agent are present, uninstall the unnecessary version.

  1. Navigate to the device's registry Software folder
  2. Scan for multiple DNSFilter-related folders. If duplicated, this most commonly will represent as the standard and whitelabeled agent folder DNSFilter Agent and DNS Agent
  3. Note the out of date agent version to ensure the correct Roaming Client is uninstalled 

Uninstall duplicate agents on Windows

Follow the appropriate uninstall guides dependent on the agent version:

After removing duplicate agents, reinstall the preferred version if needed.

Remove duplicate dashboard entries

If the version is older than v2.2.1, the dashboard entry could remain after uninstall. Follow these steps to clean up the dashboard.

  1. Open the Roaming Clients dashboard 
  2. Identify duplicate entries for the same hostname
  3. Select outdated or inactive entries, keeping the most recent or active device record
  4. Delete the agent using the bulk editor or Clean Up tool
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