How do I force Windows 10 to see a network as private?

Question

My laptop has Wi-Fi and Ethernet (when docked). For some reason Wi-Fi comes up as Private network, and docked comes up as Public. In neither case did I set either as Private or Public.

Where do I set this on Windows 10? It seems like I am missing something here...

Answer 1

I think that the easiest method to change your network to Private is through the Registry Editor:

1. Do a search for regedit, then right-click and Run as administrator
2. If necessary, acknowledge the UAC prompt

3. Navigate to the following location:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles

   

4. Expand the Profiles key and navigate through each GUID key below that, noting the corresponding ProfileName on the right:

   

5. When you find the ProfileName of the network you want to change to Private, double-click on the Category DWORD on the right-hand side:

   

6. Change the ‘Value data’ from 0 (Public) to 1 (Private):

   

7. Close the Registry Editor

8. Reboot

(Source: How to Set Network Location to be Public or Private in Windows 10)

Answer 2

The following small PowerShell script can do the same (it also requires administrator privileges).

It will list all non-private profiles and ask for confirmation to change them to private.

## Change NetWorkConnection Category to Private
#Requires -RunasAdministrator

Get-NetConnectionProfile |
  Where{ $_.NetWorkCategory -ne 'Private'} |
  ForEach {
    $_
    $_|Set-NetConnectionProfile -NetWorkCategory Private -Confirm
  }

Sample output on my German locale system:

Name             : Netzwerk
InterfaceAlias   : Ethernet
InterfaceIndex   : 3
NetworkCategory  : Public
IPv4Connectivity : Internet
IPv6Connectivity : Internet

Bestätigung
Möchten Sie diese Aktion wirklich ausführen?
[J] Ja  [A] Ja, alle  [N] Nein  [K] Nein, keine  [H] Anhalten  [?] Hilfe (Standard ist "J"): K

Edit This is the English confirmation text:

Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"): n

Answer 3

You could use a Powershell command to perform this:

1. WIN+R
2. Type powershell.exe and hit Ctrl+Shift+Enter (Opens as Administrator)
3. Paste in the following command (replacing Network_Name with the chosen network)

Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name "Network_Name" -NetworkCategory Private

Answer 4

If you're not already on a private network, this is the quickest and easiest way:

1. Open a File Explorer window.
2. Click Network in the left-hand navigation pane.
3. Click OK to the error message.
4. Click the yellow infobar and then Turn on network discovery and file sharing.
5. Click No, make the network I am connected to a private network.

Alternatively, you can use PowerShell:

1. Run PowerShell as administrator.
2. Type this command to make all connections private:

   Get-NetConnectionProfile | Set-NetConnectionProfile -NetworkCategory Private

If you have multiple connections and you'd like some not to be private, you can set them selectively:

1. Get current networks:

PS C:\> Get-NetConnectionProfile

Name             : Network
InterfaceAlias   : Ethernet 1
InterfaceIndex   : 11
NetworkCategory  : Public
IPv4Connectivity : LocalNetwork
IPv6Connectivity : LocalNetwork

Name             : Unidentified network
InterfaceAlias   : Ethernet 2
InterfaceIndex   : 4
NetworkCategory  : Public
IPv4Connectivity : LocalNetwork
IPv6Connectivity : LocalNetwork

2. Change the desired network:

Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet 1" -NetworkCategory Private

Note that you can never manually change a connection profile to the network category DomainAuthenticated. If you have an interface that should be set to this but isn't, you have a bigger domain connectivity issue at play.

Answer 5

In Windows 8/8.1 Microsoft moved those settings to the new settings app. I personally don't like it. These instructions are for wired Ethernet connections. I can't find a setting for individual Wi-Fi networks.

In Windows 10, the same settings app has the setting you need to point and click to make it a public or private network.

1. Click on the start button and type settings and open up the Settings App.
2. Select Network & Internet
3. Select Ethernet
4. Select the adapter you want to change the setting for.
5. Make this PC discoverable should be set to On for private networking.

Answer 6

Figured I'd chime in as well. My connection inadvertently was changed to Public, and when I would click the Private radio button in Windows' Network Settings, it would appear that the change was successful. However, exiting out and going back into the adapter settings I find that the change didn't save and was set back to Public.

I've tried using Powershell and even a network reset, but I just couldn't get it to work.

I was able to resolve this issue by going into my Firewall settings (I use a third party firewall) and I was able to change it there.

Please enjoy my freehand circle

I'm sure it's probably a bug in the firewall's software that locks down the changes out of it's UI, but regardless it works and hopefully does for the next person to wander here.

Answer 7

I have had the same problem (missing options) and all mentioned solutions did not work:

• Registry did already show Private/1 for the connection
• PowerShell command would change settings, but they would be lost on WiFi reconnect/restart
• Removal of connection, hiding and then searching again did not work
• No 3rd party firewall used, but disabling Windows Defender did not change anything

The solution in my case was to have a working Internet connection. While the device was connected to a singular (offline) WiFi Access Point (with either DHCP or static assignment), the problem persisted.

When connecting the AP to the wider network and to a gateway to the Internet, the options in the settings dialogue instantly appeared and could be set as expected.