Key Takeaways
- Community Discovery permits your PC to search out different units on the community and let different units discover your PC.
- To activate Community Discovery, head into Settings > Community & Web, select your connection, choose your connection properties, and select “Personal Community.”
- To show off Community Discovery, choose the “Public Community” possibility.
Home windows 11’s Community Discovery function makes your PC seen to different units in your community. I’ll clarify to you what this function does in additional element and how one can flip it on (or off) in your PC.
What Is Community Discovery?
Community Discovery, because the identify implies, is a Home windows function that permits your PC to find different units related to your community and let different units detect your PC. This allows you to use numerous sharing options, like printer or file sharing, in your community.
When Community Discovery is disabled, your PC can’t see different units on the community and different units can’t see your PC. It’s mainly being related to the community however in invisible mode.
Normally, you’ll wish to allow Community Discovery if you’re on a private network, resembling your house or workplace community. This ensures solely acquainted units can detect your machine. On public networks resembling espresso outlets, eating places, and airport networks, you may wish to hold your machine invisible by maintaining Community Discovery disabled.
Find out how to Allow (or Disable) Community Discovery
Turning Network Discovery on and off is as simple as clicking a graphical possibility or working a command on Home windows 11. I’ll present you a number of methods to try this—however you solely have to make use of one methodology to allow or disable the function.
Utilizing Settings
The simplest graphical approach to allow Community Discovery is through the use of the Settings app. You merely choose the function and switch it on or off.
To try this, launch Settings by urgent Home windows+i. From the left sidebar, choose “Community & Web.” On the proper pane, select your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.
Choose “[Your Network Name] Properties” to entry your community’s properties panel. On the next web page, within the Community Profile Sort part, select “Personal Community.”
Home windows 11 has turned your community non-public, the place Community Discovery is at all times enabled.
Sooner or later, to show off Community Discovery, from the Community Profile Sort part, select “Public Community (Beneficial).” This makes your present community public, disabling the Community Discovery function.
From Management Panel
One other approach to activate Community Discovery is from Management Panel. First, entry Home windows Search (press Home windows+S), kind Management Panel, and launch the utility.
In Management Panel, head into Community and Web > Community and Sharing Heart. From the left sidebar, choose “Change Superior Sharing Settings.”
On the next web page, choose the place you wish to allow or disable Community Discovery. For instance, to activate the function for public networks, click on the “Public Networks” possibility and activate the toggle.
Sooner or later, you possibly can disable the function by turning off the toggle.
Utilizing Command Immediate
Should you like working instructions, you should utilize a command to allow and disable Community Discovery. Begin by opening Home windows Search, typing Command Immediate, and choosing “Run as Administrator.” Select “Sure” within the Person Account Management immediate.
Should you do not run Command Immediate as an admin, you will run into an error whereas executing the command.
In Command Immediate, kind the next command and press Enter. This command activates Community Discovery.
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Community Discovery" new allow=Sure
To show off Community Discovery, kind the next command and press Enter:
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Community Discovery" new allow=No
And that’s it.
From PowerShell
Should you use PowerShell as a command-line software or for scripting, you should utilize a cmdlet on this software to allow and disable Community Discovery.
Open Home windows Search, kind PowerShell, and choose “Run as Administrator.” Within the Person Account Management immediate, choose “Sure.” On the PowerShell window, kind the next command and press Enter. This permits the Community Discovery function.
Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Community Discovery" -Enabled True
To disable the function, kind the next command and press Enter:
Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Community Discovery" -Enabled False
And that’s it.
If Community Discovery Isn’t Working, Allow These Companies
Home windows 11’s Community Discovery function depends on a number of completely different Home windows companies to perform. If these companies aren’t working, the function received’t work, even when it’s enabled. You’ll be able to set these companies to run robotically or forestall the companies from working to disable the function.
To try this, open Run by urgent Home windows+R. Sort the next within the open field and choose “OK” or press Enter:
companies.msc
Within the Companies window, discover the service named “Operate Discovery Supplier Host.” Proper-click the service and select “Properties.” Entry the “Common” tab, click on the “Startup Sort” drop-down menu, and select “Computerized.” If you wish to disable the function, select “Disabled.”
Equally, right-click the service named “Operate Discovery Useful resource Publication” and click on “Properties.” Choose the “Startup Sort” drop-down menu and choose “Computerized.” To disable the function, select “Disabled.”
Disable File and Printer Sharing Whereas Holding Community Discovery On
You’ll be able to forestall different units on the community from accessing your PC’s recordsdata and printers whereas maintaining Community Discovery enabled. This allows you to cover your recordsdata and printers whereas nonetheless having the ability to entry others’ recordsdata and printers.
Disable File and Printer sharing with out disabling community discovery, open Settings by urgent Home windows+i. Navigate to Community & Web > Superior Community Settings > Superior Sharing Settings. Choose the community kind you might be on, resembling a public or non-public community. Then, flip off the “File and Printer Sharing” toggle.
Sooner or later, you possibly can permit different units to entry your recordsdata and printers by enabling the “File and Printer Sharing” toggle.
And that is how one can activate (or off) Community Discovery to share your machine’s assets with different units and entry different units’ assets. You may wish to hold this function turned on if you happen to’re in an atmosphere the place you share bodily units and recordsdata, because it poses an actual safety threat.
