Network and Internet Turn On or Off Network Discovery in Windows 11

Ztruker · Jul 19, 2023

Shawn, Option Three and Fourn don't work for me. Admin account running in a Powershell Admin window.

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PS C:\Users\ASCTh> netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Yes

A specified value is not valid.

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PS C:\Users\ASCTh> Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Network Discovery" -Enabled False -Profile Any
Set-NetFirewallRule : Access is denied.
At line:1 char:1

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Network Discovery" -Enabled False ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : PermissionDenied: (MSFT_NetFirewal...ystemName = ""):root/standardcimv2/MSFT_NetFirewall
Rule) [Set-NetFirewallRule], CimException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Windows System Error 5,Set-NetFirewallRule

Brink · Jul 19, 2023

Ztruker said:
Shawn, Option Three and Fourn don't work for me. Admin account running in a Powershell Admin window.

Hello Rich,

Just to confirm, did you open an elevated PowerShell like below?

Open Elevated Windows Terminal as Administrator in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you different ways to open an elevated Windows Terminal to Run as Administrator in Windows 11. Windows Terminal is a modern host application for the command-line shells you already love, like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash (via Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL))...

www.elevenforum.com

Ztruker · Jul 31, 2023

Hi Shawn, sorry for the late reply. I believe I did but I check tomorrow when I get tot work.

Brink · Jul 31, 2023

Ztruker said:
Hi Shawn, sorry for the late reply. I believe I did but I check tomorrow when I get tot work.

Ztruker · Aug 4, 2023

Forgot to check. Will do it next week if my memory improves

Brink · Aug 4, 2023

Ztruker said:
Forgot to check. Will do it next week if my memory improves

No worries mate.

agadiffe · Sep 13, 2025

Hi.

The Powershell commands are wrong.

By default, there are 3 rules for each protocol.
e.g. "Network Discovery (LLMNR-UDP-In)" has 3 rules. One for each profile (Public, Private, Domain).

When you run:

Code:

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Network Discovery" -Enabled True -Profile Private

It will set every rules of the "Network Discovery" group to the choosen profile.

In this example, it will set everything to the "Private" profile (see screenshoots).
i.e. "Network Discovery (LLMNR-UDP-In)" has still 3 rules, but all defined to the "Private" profile.

Therefore, after the command execution, you cannot enable "Network Discovery" for the "Public" profile via the Windows settings app.

If you use "Public", you cannot enable the "Private" profile via the GUI.
If you use "Domain", you cannot enable the "Public" or "Private" profile via the GUI.
If you use "Any", the GUI settings still work despite adding some duplicate firewall rules.

The Powershell command should be:

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery' |
    Where-Object -Property 'Profile' -Match -Value 'Private' |
    Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled 'True'

-Match is used instead of -EQ because a rule could contains several profiles.
e.g. Profile : Domain, Public

This is the case when your restore the default firewall rules.
But it's not the case anymore when you toggle on/off the 2 "Network Discovery" settings via the GUI.

For the netsh command, it would be nice to emphasize that the "Network Discovery" will be enable on the "Public" network and could raise security issues if you are connected to untrusted networks like public Wi-Fi (e.g. airports or restaurant).
Or even better, put a warning to not use this comand and to prefer the GUI or powershell methods for more control over the setting.

Brink · Sep 13, 2025

Thank you @agadiffe. That is a much better option. Tutorial updated for this. :shawn:

agadiffe · Sep 13, 2025

One last thing.
The command for the "(Apply to all network profiles)" does nothing as there is no firewall rules with the "All" profile.
You can just use Set-NetFirewallRule without the -Profile parameter:

Code:

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery' -Enabled 'True'

Brink said:
Option Two: urn On or Off Network Discovery in PowerShell

Also a small typo: Missing the "T".

Brink · Sep 13, 2025

agadiffe said:
One last thing.
The command for the "(Apply to all network profiles)" does nothing as there is no firewall rules with the "All" profile.
You can just use Set-NetFirewallRule without the -Profile parameter:

Code:

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery' -Enabled 'True'

Also a small typo: Missing the "T".

garlin · Sep 13, 2025

@Brink

The words for "Network Discovery" are written differently in other languages, if you're using a localized edition of Windows.
For example, it's called "Recherche du réseau" in the French edition.

en-US:

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | where { $_.Group -match '-32752|-28752' } | select -Unique DisplayGroup,Group

DisplayGroup      Group              
------------      -----              
Network Discovery @FirewallAPI.dll,-32752
Remote Desktop    @FirewallAPI.dll,-28752

fr-FR:

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | where { $_.Group -match '-32752|-28752' } | select -Unique DisplayGroup,Group

DisplayGroup        Group              
------------        -----              
Recherche du réseau @FirewallAPI.dll,-32752
Bureau à distance   @FirewallAPI.dll,-28752

If you want a command that works for all Windows languages, it's important to use the firewall rule Group's unique ID.

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object { $_.Group -Match '-32752' -and $_.Profile -Match 'Public' } | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled 'False'

Brink · Sep 13, 2025

garlin said:
@Brink

The words for "Network Discovery" are written differently in other languages, if you're using a localized edition of Windows.
For example, it's called "Recherche du réseau" in the French edition.

en-US:

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | where { $_.Group -match '-32752|-28752' } | select -Unique DisplayGroup,Group DisplayGroup Group ------------ ----- Network Discovery @FirewallAPI.dll,-32752 Remote Desktop @FirewallAPI.dll,-28752

fr-FR:

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | where { $_.Group -match '-32752|-28752' } | select -Unique DisplayGroup,Group DisplayGroup Group ------------ ----- Recherche du réseau @FirewallAPI.dll,-32752 Bureau à distance @FirewallAPI.dll,-28752

If you want a command that works for all Windows languages, it's important to use the firewall rule Group's unique ID.

Code:

Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object { $_.Group -Match '-32752' -and $_.Profile -Match 'Public' } | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled 'False'

Of course. Using the same "group" name in all languages would be too easy. :doh:

agadiffe · Sep 13, 2025

garlin said:
If you want a command that works for all Windows languages, it's important to use the firewall rule Group's unique ID.
Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object { $_.Group -Match '-32752' -and $_.Profile -Match 'Public' } | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled 'False'

Nice catch, I overlooked that.

Slightly shorter version (especially for the all networks command):

Code:

Set-NetFirewallRule -Group '*-32752*' -Enabled 'True'
Get-NetFirewallRule -Group '*-32752*' | Where-Object 'Profile' -Match 'Public' | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled 'True'

I like to be verbose and add -Property and -Value but that's a personal preference.

garlin · Sep 13, 2025

Brink said:
Of course. Using the same "group" name in all languages would be too easy.

You do realize "takeown /y" isn't /y in other languages?? :ROFLMAO:

Brink · Sep 13, 2025

garlin said:
You do realize "takeown /y" isn't /y in other languages??

Oh yes. LOL

Discovery State	Description
On	This state allows your computer to see other network computers and devices and allows people on other network computers to see your computer. This makes it easier to share files and printers.
Off	This state prevents your computer from seeing other network computers and devices and prevents people on other network computers from seeing your computer.
Custom	This is a mixed state in which some settings related to network discovery are enabled, but not all of them. For example, network discovery could be turned on, but you or your system administrator might have changed firewall settings that affect network discovery.

Network and Internet Turn On or Off Network Discovery in Windows 11

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