Can t turn on File and printer sharing Windows 10

File and printer sharing is the ability of a computer running Windows to share a folder or attached printer with other computers on the same network.

• File sharing allows you to make files and folders in a shared folder accessible to others on the same network to view, copy, or modify.
• Printer sharing allows you to make an attached printer available to other computer users on the same network.

Windows creates a separate network profile for each network you use. You can turn on or off file and printer sharing separately for each Domain, Private, and Public network profile type.

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off file and printer sharing on your Windows 11 PC.

You must be signed in as an administrator to turn on or off file and printer sharing.

Contents

• Option One: Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Settings
• Option Two: Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Control Panel
• Option Three: Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing for All Network Profiles using Command
• Option Four: Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in PowerShell

Option One

Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Settings

This option is only available starting with Windows 11 build 22509.1011.

1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on Network & internet on the left side, and click/tap on Advanced network settings on the right side. (see screenshot below)

3 Click/tap on Advanced sharing settings on the right side. (see screenshot below)

Open Advanced sharing settings

4 Click/tap on Private networks and/or Public networks to expand open. (see screenshot below step 5)

5 Turn On or Off File and printer sharing for what you want for private and public networks.

File and printer sharing is turned off by default for public networks.

File and printer sharing is turned on by default for private networks.

6 You can now close Settings if you like.

Option Two

Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Control Panel

This option is no longer available starting with Windows 11 build 22509.1011.

1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Network and Sharing Center icon.

2 Click/tap on the Change advanced sharing settings link on the left side in Network and Sharing Center. (see screenshot below)

3 Expand open the Private or Guest or Public network profile you want to turn on or off file and printer sharing for. (see screenshots below)

4 Select (dot) Turn on file and printer sharing or Turn off file and printer sharing for what you want, and click/tap on Save changes.

File and printer sharing is turned off by default for public networks.

File and printer sharing is turned on by default for private networks.

5 You can now close the Control Panel if you like.

Option Three

Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing for All Network Profiles using Command

1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below you want to use into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshots below)

(Turn on file and printer sharing for all network profiles)​

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes​

OR​

(Turn off file and printer sharing for all network profiles)​

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=No​

3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Option Four

Turn On or Off File And Printer Sharing in PowerShell

1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Windows PowerShell.

2 Do step 3 (on) or step 4 (off) below for what you want.

3. Turn On File And Printer Sharing

A) Copy and paste the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below.

(Apply to all network profiles)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled True -Profile Any​

OR​

(Apply to "Domain" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled True -Profile Domain​

OR​

(Apply to "Private" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled True -Profile Private​

OR​

(Apply to "Public" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled True -Profile Public​

4. Turn Off File And Printer Sharing

A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)

(Apply to all network profiles)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled False -Profile Any​

OR​

(Apply to "Domain" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled False -Profile Domain​

OR​

(Apply to "Private" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled False -Profile Private​

OR​

(Apply to "Public" network profile)​

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File And Printer Sharing" -Enabled False -Profile Public​

5 You can now close the elevated PowerShell if you like.

That's it,
Shawn Brink

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