This tutorial is about How to Fix ‘Network Discovery is Turned Off’ Error in Windows 10/11. Recently I updated this tutorial and will try my best so that you understand this guide. I hope you guys like this blog, How to Fix ‘Network Discovery is Turned Off’ Error in Windows 10/11. If your answer is yes after reading the article, please share this article with your friends and family to support us.
Check How to Fix ‘Network Discovery is Turned Off’ Error in Windows 10/11
In this guide, we will show you how to fix “Network Discovery is off” error in Windows 10 or Windows 11 and turn it back on. Many Windows users have claimed that when they try to enable the network discovery feature in Windows, no matter what they do, it always shows an error saying “Network discovery is disabled”. The network computer and devices do not appear. Turn on network discovery in the Network and Sharing Center.” So, after reading this article, you can easily turn network discovery on or off on your Windows 10 PC, laptop, or two-in-one device like Microsoft Surface.
What is Network Discovery in Windows 10?
As the name suggests, network discovery allows your computer to discover, view or find other computers and devices on the network and also allows other computers on the network to see your computer. So what happens when network discovery is turned on is that it becomes easier to share network resources between the systems you want. However, it also makes it easier for an attacker to find these resources.
How to fix “Network discovery is turned off” error in Windows 10
To resolve the above error follow the fixes below, if one doesn’t work for you then try the next one
Reconfigure your advanced sharing settings
This solution applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11
- Open Control Panel on your Windows PC by pressing the Windows key, then search for “Control Panel” and then click on it.
- Then find “Network and Sharing Center” and click on it.
- In the left pane, select “Change advanced sharing settings” to start fixing “Network discovery is turned off” error in Windows 10 and 11.
- In the left pane, select “Change advanced sharing settings” to start fixing “Network discovery is turned off” error in Windows 10 and 11.
- Make sure “Turn on network discovery” is enabled in the “Private” section. Also, enable the checkbox for “Turn on automatic configuration of network connected devices”.
- Then, in the “File and printer sharing” section, enable “Turn on file and printer sharing.”
- Also, enable “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on file and printer sharing” in the “Guest or Public” section. Network discovery is not recommended on public networks. However, if you’re using public Wi-Fi, keep it on while you work and turn it off when you’re done. When you’re done, click “Save Changes.”
- Next, enable the following section in the All networks section:
- Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in Public folders;
- enable “Enable file sharing for devices that use 40 or 56 bit encryption” (if there are any legacy network devices on your network (previous version of Windows, Samba shares, NAS devices)
- Turn off password protected sharing (if you trust all devices on your network)
- Now, restart your computer and check whether the “Network Discovery is off” message is still displayed or not. In most cases, this should fix your problem, but if it still doesn’t fix it, try the next solution.
Enable these Windows services
If you still see network discovery turned off, make sure these services are running:
- Feature Discovery Resource Publishing
- DNS client
- SSDP Discovery
- UPnP device host
- Network connections
- Network location awareness
To enable feature discovery resource publishing, follow the steps carefully:
- Press the Windows keyboard shortcut “Win + R” to open the Run window. Type services.msc and press Enter.
- Now from the services, find “Feature Discovery Resource Publishing” and double click on it and change the “Startup Type” to “Automatic”. After that, click “Apply” and “OK”.
- Next, find the “DNS Client” service and make sure it’s set to “Auto” as well. Also, make sure the service is running.
- Next, find the “SSDP Discovery” service and make sure that it is also set to “Automatic”. Also, make sure the service is running.
- Next, find the “UPnP Device Host” service and make sure it’s set to “Auto” as well. Also, make sure the service is running.
- Next, find the “Network Connections” service and make sure it’s set to “Automatic” as well. Also, make sure the service is running.
- Next, look for the “Network Location Awareness” service and make sure it’s set to “Auto” as well. Also, make sure the service is running.
- Hopefully after enabling these Windows services you should be able to fix the error but if it still doesn’t fix then try the next solution.
Allow network discovery in firewall settings
- To enable network discovery in Windows Firewall, please follow the steps carefully.
- Press the Windows key and search for “Windows Firewall” on your Windows 10 or 11 computer. Now, open the “Windows Defender Firewall” settings in Control Panel.
- In the left pane, click “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.”
- Then click “Change Settings” at the top right corner and find “Network Discovery”. Make sure the feature is turned on and the “Private” and “Public” checkboxes are enabled.
- Now, click “OK”, and it should fix “Network discovery is off” issue on your Windows 10/11 PC. If it still doesn’t fix it, try the next solution.
Do a network reset
Try resetting network settings if the above solution didn’t help
- Go to settings by pressing “windows + i”
- Then go to Network and Internet
- Then go to Network reset
- And click “Reset Now” and then click Yes
The following commands can also be used to reset network settings and firewall rules:
- netsh int ip reset reset.txt
- netsh winsock reset
- netsh advfirewall reset
After this restart your computer.
Run network troubleshooter
Microsoft has integrated a troubleshooter in Windows 10 to help users with everyday problems. So if none of the fixes mentioned above worked for you, then you can try running the Windows troubleshooting program. To run the network troubleshooter
- Go to settings by pressing “Windows + i”
- Then click Update & Security.
- On the left side, click Troubleshoot and t
hen click Additional troubleshooters on the right side.
Scroll down and click Network Adapter and then click Run the troubleshooter.
- A new window will appear running the troubleshooter. Follow the wizard and make the changes recommended by the troubleshooter.
- When finished, run the Shared Folders Troubleshooter as done in steps 4 and 5.
Update network adapter
An old or corrupt network adapter can also cause network related issues. So better update your network drivers. To manually update your drivers, follow these steps:
- Press “windows + x” and from the menus click on device manager
- Expand the Network Adapters section. Right click on your network adapter and select Update driver from the menu. (update all drivers in this section)
Disable antivirus and firewall
Sometimes your antivirus is also responsible for outages, causing network discovery to not work. Make sure it’s up to date first. If the problem continues, disable it for a while to check if it is the main cause. Try disabling any third party firewall application you are using. Reboot your computer and check if the issue is resolved. Hopefully this should fix your problem, if there is any other solution that worked for you please comment so other people can see it.
Final remarks: How to Fix ‘Network Discovery is Turned Off’ Error in Windows 10/11
I hope you understand this article, How to Fix ‘Network Discovery is Turned Off’ Error in Windows 10/11. If your answer is no, you can ask anything via the contact forum section related to this article. And if your answer is yes, please share this article with your friends and family to give us your support.
