What Is Network Discovery, and How Do You Enable It on Windows 11?

Windows 11’s Network Discovery feature makes your PC visible to other devices on your network. I’ll explain to you what this feature does in more detail and how you can turn it on (or off) on your PC.

What Is Network Discovery?

Network Discovery, as the name implies, is a Windows feature that allows your PC to discover other devices connected to your network and let other devices detect your PC. This lets you use various sharing features, like printer or file sharing, on your network.

When Network Discovery is disabled, your PC can’t see other devices on the network and other devices can’t see your PC. It’s basically being connected to the network but in invisible mode.

Usually, you’ll want to enable Network Discovery when you’re on a private network, such as your home or office network. This ensures only familiar devices can detect your machine. On public networks such as coffee shops, restaurants, and airport networks, you might want to keep your machine invisible by keeping Network Discovery disabled.

How to Enable (or Disable) Network Discovery

Turning Network Discovery on and off is as easy as clicking a graphical option or running a command on Windows 11. I’ll show you multiple ways to do that—but you only have to use one method to enable or disable the feature.

Using Settings

The easiest graphical way to enable Network Discovery is by using the Settings app. You simply select the feature and turn it on or off.

To do that, launch Settings by pressing Windows+i. From the left sidebar, select “Network & Internet.” On the right pane, choose your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.

Select “[Your Network Name] Properties” to access your network’s properties panel. On the following page, in the Network Profile Type section, choose “Private Network.”

Windows 11 has turned your network private, where Network Discovery is always enabled.

In the future, to turn off Network Discovery, from the Network Profile Type section, choose “Public Network (Recommended).” This makes your current network public, disabling the Network Discovery feature.

From Control Panel

Another way to activate Network Discovery is from Control Panel. First, access Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Control Panel, and launch the utility.

In Control Panel, head into Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center. From the left sidebar, select “Change Advanced Sharing Settings.”

On the following page, select where you want to enable or disable Network Discovery. For example, to turn on the feature for public networks, click the “Public Networks” option and turn on the toggle.

In the future, you can disable the feature by turning off the toggle.

Using Command Prompt

If you like running commands, you can use a command to enable and disable Network Discovery. Start by opening Windows Search, typing Command Prompt, and selecting “Run as Administrator.” Choose “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.

In Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter. This command turns on Network Discovery.

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Yes

To turn off Network Discovery, type the following command and press Enter:

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=No

And that’s it.

From PowerShell

If you use PowerShell as a command-line tool or for scripting, you can use a cmdlet in this tool to enable and disable Network Discovery.

Open Windows Search, type PowerShell, and select “Run as Administrator.” In the User Account Control prompt, select “Yes.” On the PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter. This enables the Network Discovery feature.

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

To disable the feature, type the following command and press Enter:

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

And that’s it.

If Network Discovery Isn’t Working, Enable These Services

Windows 11’s Network Discovery feature relies on several different Windows services to function. If these services aren’t running, the feature won’t work, even if it’s enabled. You can set these services to run automatically or prevent the services from running to disable the feature.

To do that, open Run by pressing Windows+R. Type the following in the open box and select “OK” or press Enter:

services.msc

In the Services window, find the service named “Function Discovery Provider Host.” Right-click the service and choose “Properties.” Access the “General” tab, click the “Startup Type” drop-down menu, and choose “Automatic.” If you want to disable the feature, choose “Disabled.”

Similarly, right-click the service named “Function Discovery Resource Publication” and click “Properties.” Select the “Startup Type” drop-down menu and select “Automatic.” To disable the feature, choose “Disabled.”

Disable File and Printer Sharing While Keeping Network Discovery On

You can prevent other devices on the network from accessing your PC’s files and printers while keeping Network Discovery enabled. This lets you hide your files and printers while still being able to access others’ files and printers.

Disable File and Printer sharing without disabling network discovery, open Settings by pressing Windows+i. Navigate to Network & Internet > Advanced Network Settings > Advanced Sharing Settings. Select the network type you are on, such as a public or private network. Then, turn off the “File and Printer Sharing” toggle.

In the future, you can allow other devices to access your files and printers by enabling the “File and Printer Sharing” toggle.

And that’s how you can turn on (or off) Network Discovery to share your machine’s resources with other devices and access other devices’ resources. You might want to keep this feature turned on if you’re in an environment where you share physical devices and files, since it poses a real security risk.