Network and Internet Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11


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Network_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Network in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.

Windows 11 shows the Network icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default. This makes it easy to browse your local network.

If you prefer not to have Network show in the navigation pane of File Explorer, you can remove it.


If you turn on Show all folders in the navigation pane, Network will always show in the navigation pane.

This will not remove the Network icon from the older Open and Save as type common item dialog boxes like below. If wanted, you can manually change the places bar items in common dialog boxes to remove Network from them.

Common_item_dialog.png



Contents

  • Option One: Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in File Explorer
  • Option Two: Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Folder Options
  • Option Three: Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer using REG file


EXAMPLE: Network in the navigation pane of File Explorer

Network_File_Explorer_navigation_pane.png





Option One

Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in File Explorer


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Right click or press and hold on an empty area inside the navigation pane, and click/tap on Show Network to toggle add (checked - default) or remove (unchecked) for what you want. (see screenshot below)

Network_navigation_pane.png





Option Two

Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Folder Options


1 Open Folder Options.

2 Click/tap on the View tab. (see screenshot below)

3 Under the Navigation pane section, check (add - default) or uncheck (remove) Show Network for what you want.

4 Click/tap on OK.

Network_Folder_Options.png





Option Three

Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer using REG file


1 Do step 2 (add), step 3 (remove), or step 4 (default) below for what you would like to do.

2 Always Add Network to Navigation Pane in File Explorer

This will override Option One and Option Two.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.​

Add_Network_from_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}]
"System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree"=dword:00000001

3 Always Remove Network from Navigation Pane in File Explorer

This will override Option One and Option Two.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.​

Remove_Network_from_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}]
"System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree"=dword:00000000

3 Default User Choice Network on Navigation Pane in File Explorer

This is the default setting.

This will allow you to use what is set in Option One or Option Two.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.​

Default_userchoice_Network_on_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}]
"System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree"=-

5 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

6 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

8 If File Explorer is currently open, then close and reopen File Explorer to apply.

9 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

Attachments

  • Add_Network_from_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg
    704 bytes · Views: 641
  • Remove_Network_from_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg
    712 bytes · Views: 1,258
  • Default_userchoice_Network_on_navigation_pane_in_File_Explorer.reg
    678 bytes · Views: 322
Last edited:
ya, this doesn't work :(
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro (canary)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 17 9710
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz 2.30 G
    Memory
    16.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio / Intel® Smart Sound Technology for MIPI SoundWire® Audio \ Realtek SoundWire HW Audio Codec Device Driver
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    PC711 NVMe SK hynix 512GB
    Mouse
    Dell Mobile Pro Wireless Mouse MS5120W
    Internet Speed
    100 mbps down / 10 mbps up
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    CPU has a max rating of 5 GHZ
  • Operating System
    Windows Server 2025 (canary)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell PowerEdge T140
    CPU
    Xeon
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Matrox POS
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    160GB SSD + 22TB+
    Internet Speed
    100 mbps down / 10 mbps up
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
ya, this doesn't work :(
Hello Allen, :alien:

All options still work for me. Which one is not working for you?

If option 3, did you close and reopen File Explorer to apply?

If you turn on Show all folders in the navigation pane, Network will always show in the navigation pane.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hello Allen, :alien:

All options still work for me. Which one is not working for you?

If option 3, did you close and reopen File Explorer to apply?

If you turn on Show all folders in the navigation pane, Network will always show in the navigation pane.
hmm.. just checked and it's gone now. sry. thank you.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro (canary)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 17 9710
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz 2.30 G
    Memory
    16.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio / Intel® Smart Sound Technology for MIPI SoundWire® Audio \ Realtek SoundWire HW Audio Codec Device Driver
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    PC711 NVMe SK hynix 512GB
    Mouse
    Dell Mobile Pro Wireless Mouse MS5120W
    Internet Speed
    100 mbps down / 10 mbps up
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    CPU has a max rating of 5 GHZ
  • Operating System
    Windows Server 2025 (canary)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell PowerEdge T140
    CPU
    Xeon
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Matrox POS
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    160GB SSD + 22TB+
    Internet Speed
    100 mbps down / 10 mbps up
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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