How to fix Network discovery is disabled error in Windows 10

 Those who want to share files and printers between devices on the same network need to enable network discovery mode. Network discovery is a Windows feature that allows different devices to communicate on the same network. However, sometimes the “ Network discovery is disabled ” error can appear, which prevents you from sharing files between devices on the same network. This error can also appear after a Windows update.

This error can have various reasons. The network discovery error can occur when critical services have stopped running, when SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support has stopped working, or when network discovery is disabled in Windows Defender Firewall.

Luckily, there are some methods that you might be able to use to fix the problem. Let's see how.

Method 1: Enable network discovery

The functioning of network discovery of your system depends on some Windows services which are in running state and should be running automatically. So, if any or all of these services are not running, you may encounter the network discovery problem. So make sure all these services are running and if not, they need to be started. Let's see how.

Step 1: Go to the right side of the taskbar , right-click the network icon and click Open Internet and Network Settings .

Step 2: In the Settings window, go to the right side, scroll down and select Network and Sharing Center in the Advanced network settings section .

Step 3: Network and Sharing Center window will open in Control Panel .

Now click Change advanced sharing settings on the left side of the window .

Step 4: In the Advanced Sharing Settings window, click on the Private section to expand it.

Now select the Enable network discovery option under Personal (current profile) and check the box next to Enable automatic setup of network-connected devices .

Press the Save Changes button to save the changes and exit.

Method 2: Start Dependency Services

Step 1: Right-click the Start menu and choose Run to open the Run Command window .

Step 2: In the Run Command window , type services.msc and press Enter to get the . to open Services window .

Step 3: In the Service Manager window, go to the right side and look for Feature Discovery Resource Publication in the Names column .

Double-click to open the Properties window .

Step 4: In the Properties window, go to the Service Status on the General tab and check if it is running.

If not, click the Start button to continue the service.

Step 5: Now go to the Startup Type field and set it to Automatic .

Press Apply and then OK to save the changes and return to the Services window .

Step 6: Find SSDP Discovery in the Names column and double-click it to bring up the Properties window.

Step 7: In the Properties window, check if the service status says Running .

If not, press the Start button to start the service.

Step 8: Navigate to the Startup Type field and select Automatic from the drop-down list next to it.

Press Apply and then OK to save the changes and return to the Services window .

Step 9: Now look for the UPnP Device Host service in the Names column and double click to open its . to open properties window .

Step 10: In the Properties window , under the General tab , verify that the Service Status box shows Running .

If not, click Start to start the service.

Step 11: Now go to the Startup type section and set the box to Automatic .

Click Apply and then OK to save the changes and exit the Services window .

Now restart your PC and you should now be able to connect to the network and share your files.

*Note - If you get an error message " Windows was unable to start the service on local computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process. ", if you click Start for any of the above services, follow the steps below to resolve this issue.

Step 1: Go to the Start menu , right click on it and select Run .

Step 2: This will open the Run Command window .

In the search box , type services.msc and press OK .

Step 3: In the Services window that opens, double-click one of the above services ( Function Discovery Resource Publication , SSDP Discovery , or UPnP Device Host Service ) to open the Properties window .

Step 4: Go to the Sign In tab , go to This Account and click Browse .

Step 5: In the Select User dialog box , click Advanced .

Step 6: Next, click Find Now .

A list of account names is generated in the Search Results field .

Select the desired account name and press OK .

Step 7: Back in the Select User window, the account name is displayed under the Enter object name to select box .

Press OK to return to the Properties > Login dialog box .

Step 8: Now enter the Password and Confirm Password in the appropriate fields.

Press Apply and then OK to save changes and exit.

When you're done, you can now try connecting to network discovery and you should now be able to share files.

Method 3: Enable SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support

The SMB feature is vital for file sharing but seems to have been disabled in the latest versions of Windows 10. This often leads to the error when trying to share files and printers over the network. By simply turning on the feature, you can fix the error in most cases. Let's see how:

Step 1: Press Win + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open Run Command window .

Step 2: Type appwiz.cpl in the Run command search box and press OK to get the . to open P Programs and Features window in Control Panel .

Step 3: Now go to the left side and Turn Windows feature on or off .

Step 4: In the Windows Features dialog box , check the box next to SMB 1.0/CIFS file share support .

Press OK to save changes and exit.

*Note - click the plus sign ( + ) next to it to expand the section. If you select SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support , the other components are automatically selected.

Reboot your PC and the Network discovery is disabled f error should stop appearing when sharing files.

Method 4: Enable network discovery from Command Prompt

Those using Windows Defender Firewall will need to add network discovery for it to work. Sometimes the firewall settings can be changed during a Windows update and hence the error occurs. Let's see how to enable it from the command line:

Step 1: Press Win + X hotkeys on your keyboard and click Run from the menu .

Step 2: This will open the Run Command window .

Type cmd in the search box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter hotkey to launch Command Prompt in elevated mode.

Step 3: In the Command Prompt console, run the following command and press Enter :

netsh advfirewall Firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Ja

You should see the " Operation completed successfully " success message .

This will enable the network discovery feature in the firewall settings.

Now try to update the network between the devices and it should work now.

Step 4: However, if you still get the error, run the following command in the Command Prompt ( admin ) console and press Enter :

REG "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\dnscache" hinzufügen /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

*Note - If you want to disable network discovery in Firewall settings, run the following command in Command Prompt. from ( admin ) console and press Enter :

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

Method 5: Allow network discovery in firewall settings

Network discovery on your computer will not work if Windows Firewall disables it. Therefore, you need to change firewall settings to make sure it's allowed. Let's see how:

Step 1: Press Win + X keys on your keyboard at the same time and click Run .

This will open the Run Command window .

Step 2: In the Run command search box , type firewall.cpl and press Enter to open the Windows Defender Firewall page in the Control Panel window

Step 3: Now on the left click on Allow app or feature option via Windows Defender Firewall option .

Step 4: You will get to the Allowed Apps page .

Here, look for Network Discovery in the list under Allowed apps and features and check the box next to it.

Press OK to save the changes and then close the window.

Step 5: Now repeat Method 1 to turn on network discovery in Network and Sharing Center window in Control Panel.

Now restart your PC and check if the “ Network discovery is disabled ” error is gone.

Method 6: Reset network stack

If all configurations are done correctly, you can try resetting the network and see if it works. This method erases and reinstalls the network adapters while simultaneously erasing all cache settings. Let's see how:

Step 1: Press Win + R on your keyboard to launch Run Command box .

Step 2: In the Run command box , type cmd in the search box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys together to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.

Step 3: Now run the following commands in the console one by one and press Enter after each command :

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
reset netsh int ip
Reset netsh winsock

When finished, restart your PC and you should now be able to transfer files over the network.

Method 7: Update network adapters

Sometimes the error can also appear due to corrupted or outdated drivers. In such a case, you can update the network driver and see if the network discovery issue is resolved.

Step 1: Go to the bottom left of the screen, right click Start and click Run .

Step 2: In the Run command window that opens, type devmgmt.msc in the search box and press OK to open the Device Manager window .

Step 3: In the Device Manager window, expand the Network adapters section , right-click the adapter and select Update driver .

Step 4: In the Update driver window, click Search automatically for drivers option .

Step 5: It will now check for the latest updates and update them automatically if available.

When the update is complete, exit the Device Manager window and restart your PC.

Now check if the network detection error is resolved.

Method 8: Run Network Troubleshooter

Step 1: Press the Win + I keys simultaneously on your keyboard to launch the Settings app .

Step 2: In the Settings window , click Update & Security .

Step 3: In the next window, select Troubleshoot on the left side of the pane .

Step 4: Now go to the right side, scroll down and click More troubleshooters .

Step 5: Next, go to Find and fix other problems section and click on Network adapters .

Click the Run Troubleshooter button .

Step 6: Troubleshooter will now start detecting problems and display some recommended settings if found. All you have to do is follow the on-screen instructions to fix the problem.

Step 7: Next, click on the Shared Folders option and click Run the troubleshooter .

It will now look for problems and, if found, offer you suggestions on how to fix the problem.

Restart your PC and you should no longer see the network detection error.

Method 9: Perform a network reset

If none of the above methods work, you can try resetting the network settings to see if the error is resolved.

Step 1: Go to the taskbar , right-click the network icon on the right side and click Open Internet and Network Settings.

Step 2: You will be taken to the Settings app > Status page .

On the right side of the screen, scroll down and click Reset network .

Step 3: In the Reset Network window , click Reset Now .

If a confirmation dialog appears, confirm to continue.

Now go back and see if you can share files now.