Those who want to share files and printers between devices on the same network, need to turn on the Network Discovery mode. Network Discovery is a Windows feature that allows different devices to communicate on the same network. However, sometimes, you may experience “Network discovery is turned off” error, preventing you from sharing files between devices on the same network. You can also encounter this error after a Windows update.
There can be different reasons why you may experience this error. The Network Discovery error can arise when critical services stop running, when the SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support stops working, , or when the Network Discovery is disabled in the Windows Defender Firewall.
Fortunately, there are a few methods that can possibly help you fix the issue. Let’s see how.
Method 1: Enable Network Discovery
The functioning of the Network Discovery of your system depends on a few Windows services that should be in the running status and should be running automatically. So, if any or all of these services are not running, you may come across the network discovery issue. So, make sure you check all of 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 on the network icon and click on Open Internet & Network settings.
Step 2: In the Settings window, go to the right side, scroll down and under the Advanced network settings section, select Network and Sharing Centre.
Step 3: It opens the Network and Sharing Centre window in the Control Panel.
Now, click on Change advanced sharing settings on the left side of the pane.
Step 4: In the Advanced sharing settings window, click to expand the Private section.
Now, select the Turn on network discovery option under Private (current profile) and check the box next to Turn on 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 on Start menu and select Run to launch the Run command window.
Step 2: In the Run command window, type services.msc and hit Enter to open the Services window.
Step 3: In the Service manager window, go to the right side and under the Names column look for Function Discovery Resource Publication.
Double-click to open its Properties window.
Step 4: In the Properties window, under the General tab, go to the Service status and check if it’s running.
If not, then click on the Start button to start 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: Under the Names column, look for SSDP Discovery and double-click on it to open its Properties window.
Step 7: In the Properties window, check if the Service status show Running.
If not, then press the Start button to start the service.
Step 8: Navigate to the Startup type field and and select Automatic from the drop-down 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 under the Names column and double-click to open its Properties window.
Step 10: In its Properties window, under the General tab, check if the Service Status field shows Running.
If not, then click on Start to start the service.
Step 11: Now, go to the Startup type section and set the field to Automatic.
Hit 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 an error message “Windows could not start the service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process.“, when you click on Start for any of the services above, follow the below steps to fix this issue.
Step 1: Go to Start menu, right-click on it and select Run.
Step 2: This will open the Run command window.
In the search box, write services.msc and press OK.
Step 3: In the Services window that opens, double-click on any of the above services (Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, or UPnP Device Host service) to open its Properties window.
Step 4: Go to the Log On tab, go to This account and click on Browse.
Step 5: In the Select User dialogue box, click on Advanced.
Step 6: Next, click on Find Now.
A list of account names will be generated under the Search results field.
Select the desired account name and press OK.
Step 7: Back in the Select User window, the account name will appear under the Enter the object name to select field.
Press OK to return to the Properties > Log On dialogue box.
Step 8: Now, type the Password and Confirm password in the respective fields.
Press Apply and then OK to save the changes and exit.
Once done, you can now try sharing connecting to the network discovery and you should be able to share files now.
Method 3: Turn on SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support
The SMB feature is critical for file sharing, however, it has been apparently turned off in the latest versions of Windows 10. This often leads to the error while trying to sharing files and printers over the network. Simply turning the feature on can help you get rid of the error in most cases. Let’s see how:
Step 1: Press the Win + R keys together on your keyboard to open Run command window.
Step 2: Type appwiz.cpl in the Run command search box and press OK to open the Programs and Features window in the Control Panel.
Step 3: Now, go to the left side, and Turn Windows feature on or off.
Step 4: In the Windows features dialogue box, check the box next to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.
Press OK to save changes and exit.
*Note – Click on the plus (+) symbol next to it to expand the section. As you select the SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support, the other components get selected automatically.
Restart your PC and you should not see the “Network Discovery is turned off” error anymore while sharing files.
Method 4: Enable Network Discovery through Command Prompt
Those who are making use of the Windows Defender Firewall, would need to add the Network Discovery for it to work. Sometimes, the Firewall settings may get changed during a Windows update and hence, you encounter the error. Let’s see how to enable it using the command line:
Step 1: Press the Win + X hotkeys on your keyboard and click on Run in the menu.
Step 2: This will open the Run command window.
Type, cmd in the search field and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter shortcut key to launch the Command Prompt in elevated mode.
Step 3: In the Command Prompt console, run the below command and hit Enter:
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Yes
You should see a success message “Operation completed successfully“.
This will enable the Network Discovery feature in the Firewall settings.
Now, try to refresh the network between devices and it should work now.
Step 4: But if you still see the error, execute the below command in the Command Prompt (admin) console and press Enter:
REG add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\dnscache” /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
*Note – When you want to disable the Network Discovery in Firewall settings, run the below command in the Command Prompt (admin) console and hit Enter:
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=No
Method 5: Allow Network Discovery in Firewall Settings
The Network Discovery on your machine won’t function if it’s disabled by the Windows Firewall, hence you would to change the Firewall settings to make sure it is allowed. Let’s see how:
Step 1: Press the Win + X keys together on your keyboard and click on Run.
This will open the Run command window.
Step 2: In the Run command search field, write firewall.cpl and hit Enter to open the Windows Defender Firewall page in the Control Panel window.
Step 3: Now, click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall option on the left.
Step 4: You will reach the Allowed apps page.
Here, look for Network Discovery in the list under Allowed apps and features, and check the box next to it to enable it.
Press OK to save changes and then close the window.
Step 5: Now, repeat Method 1 to enable Network Discovery in the Network and Sharing Centre window in the Control Panel.
Now, reboot your PC and check if the “Network Discovery is turned off” error is gone.
Method 6: Reset the Network Stack
When all the configurations are made in the right way, you can try resetting the network and see if it works. In this method, the network adapters are deleted and re-installed, while deleting any cache settings at the same time. Let’s see how:
Step 1: Press Win + R hotkey on your keyboard to launch the Run command box.
Step 2: In the Run command box, type cmd in the search field and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys together to open Command Prompt with admin rights.
Step 3: Now, run the below commands one by one in the console and hit Enter after each command:
ipconfig /release ipconfig /flushdns ipconfig /renew netsh int ip reset netsh winsock reset
Once done, restart your PC and you should now be able to hare files over the network.
Method 7: Update Network Adapter
Sometimes the error can also show up due to corrupt 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 on Start and click on Run.
Step 2: In the Run command window that opens, type devmgmt.msc in the search field and press OK to open the Device Manager window.
Step 3: In the Device Manager window, expand the Network Adapter section, right-click on the adapter and select Update driver.
Step 4: In the Update Drivers window, click on Search automatically for drivers option.
Step 5: It will now start looking up for any latest updates and if available, will update automatically.
Once the update is complete, exit the Device Manager window and restart your PC.
Now, check if the Network Discovery error is resolved.
Method 8: Run Network Troubleshooter
Step 1: Press the Win + I keys together on your keyboard to launch the Settings app.
Step 2: In the Settings window, click on 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 on Additional troubleshooters.
Step 5: Next, go to the Find and fix other problems section and click on Network Adapter.
Click on Run the troubleshooter button.
Step 6: The troubleshooter will now start detecting any issues and if found, it will display some recommended settings. You simply need to follow the on-screen instructions to fix the issue.
Step 7: Next, click to expand the Shared Folders option and click on Run the troubleshooter.
It will now look up for any issues and if found, will offer suggestions for you to fix the issue.
Restart your PC and you should not see the Network Discovery error anymore.
Method 9: Perform a Network Reset
When none of the above method works, you can try resetting the network settings to see if the error is resolved.
Step 1: Go to the Taskbar, on the right side, right-click on the network icon and click on Open Internet & Network settings.
Step 2: It will take you to the Settings app > Status page.
On the right side of the screen , scroll down and click on Network reset.
Step 3: In the Network reset window, click on Reset now.
If any confirmation dialogue pops up, confirm to proceed.
Now, go back and check if you can share files now.
Thank you for helping me Fix “Network Discovery is Turned Off” Error in Windows 10. Details may change as Windows evolves, but things never become simpler.