Change network to private

JennW · 20 Jul 2021

Hi,

I desperately need some help.

My pc is connected through an ethernet cable, and my network is set to public network. I can’t for the life of me seem to set it to a private network. I’ve looked for hours to find how to change it but it just won’t work. In Advanced sharing settings it says (current profile) behind the Guest or Publice option, no matter what boxes I tick in the Private options (turn network discovery or file and printer sharing on or off) it won’t change to Private.

I can’t seem to visite any websites other than Google.

I’ve tried resetting my modem, amd even did a complete reinstall of Windows 10 (which fixed it for a short time) but the problem keeps coming back.

Sorry if my description sounds a bit weird, English isn’t my first language.

Try3 · 20 Jul 2021

Jenn,

Setting the network to private is something that is done when you connect to that network for the first time.

You have to tell Windows whether or not to set the network as discoverable [= Private] or not. If you did not then you'll have to forget the network in Settings, Network then have another "first" time.

Discoverable, Private means that you allow the computer to be identified by and folders to be shared with other computers on your network.

You have not mentioned a router. Your modem is the single connection point through which you can see your other network computers then? The router is also involved in setting up a network as Private when you have told Windows to treat the network that way.

Denis

Brink · 20 Jul 2021

Hello Jenn,

In addition to what Denis posted above, the tutorial below can help show you how to change your network location to Private.

Set Network Location to Private, Public, or Domain in Windows 10

JennW · 20 Jul 2021

Thanks for both of your replies!

Could you tell me how to make my pc forget a connection?
When I connect to the modem (just a modem, no router), by plugging in the ethernetcable it automatically connects, and doesn’t ask for any configuration of any kind.

I’ve tried the first 3 options of the tutorial, but non seem to work. When clicking on said network it doesn’t show an option in the settings to click private, public or domain (see pic)

When going through the Local Security Policy it doesn’t show the network in de Network List Policy, just All Networks. And when I click on that it just shows me User Permissions, no options for private, public or domain (see pic)

In the Registry Editor, Network List, Profiles I’ve set the Category DWORD value to 1 for private, but it doesn’t fix it (see pic)

Sorry for the lousy pics...

Try3 · 21 Jul 2021

Jenn,

I do not think you have any 'network' to connect to.

I do not see any indication that your modem sets up a network - it just connects you through to the internet. The same must also be true for your other computers.

Perhaps you can refer to your modem manual to see if it also acts as a router. If you've lost it then I imagine you can download a copy from your ISP or by general searching.

Denis

Try3 · 21 Jul 2021

Jenn,

It also occurs to me that there might be a serious misunderstanding involved in all this. The correct setting for any direct modem connection to the internet is Public.
- If I connect straight through to my 'modem' then that is quite correctly a Public network i.e. one that is open to the public. Windows Firewall knows that, as a Public network, it must protect the computer against potential intrusions of many kinds.
- If I connect to my router, to my home network, then that is a Private network, one in which the computers exchange files. Windows Firewall knows that, as a Private network, a lot of communications are allowed that would not be allowed in Public.

Your problem with only being able to reach the Google website is an entirely different thing. I suggest that you first contact your ISP to check that they are not blocking any aspects of your internet access.

Denis

JennW · 21 Jul 2021

Hi Denis,

After looking it up it seems that my modem functions as both a modem ánd wireless router. I never knew that.

I just thought the public network was the issue, because when I completely reinstalled windows 10 the network was automatically set as private, and instead of ‘unidentified network’ it just said ‘network’, and all sites worked properly. But somehow it got changed after a while.

Now certain sites do work, like google, gmail, dropbox, youtube. But others like outlook or the one where I visit my modem/routers page (don’t know what it’s called) do not work.

Would setting up a network instead of just an internet connection fix anything , you think?

Thanks for your help!

Try3 · 21 Jul 2021

Jenn,

It seems to me that you have two separate problems with symptoms that overlap:-
1 Modem-router network not being detected
2 Some, but not all, web addresses not working

I think you need to address number 2 first [because you'll need to solve that in order to access your modem-router's setup page].

I cannot help with number 2 because I've never looked into that subject. Unless somebody else leaps in here I suggest creating a new thread for that question. Before creating your new thread collect this info so you can include it:-
- record examples of websites that do & don't work
- explain what you see happening when websites don't work
- run the WinVer command in a cmd or powershell window so you can give your Win10 Edition, Version & Build [I'm on, just for example, Windows 10 Home x64 Version 21H1 Build 19043.1110]
- try other browsers in case it is merely a problem with one browser [you might include Firefox ,merely because a lot of people know it, and Edge, merely because it is built-in].

Best of luck,
Denis

margrave55 · 29 Jul 2021

TLDR ... but there's this:

SET NETWORK TO "PUBLIC"

powershell.exe -windowstyle hidden -Command "Start-Process PowerShell -ArgumentList '\$net = get-netconnectionprofile;Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name \$net.Name -NetworkCategory Public' -Verb RunAs"

SET NETWORK TO "PRIVATE"

powershell.exe -windowstyle hidden -Command "Start-Process PowerShell -ArgumentList '\$net = get-netconnectionprofile;Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name \$net.Name -NetworkCategory Private' -Verb RunAs"