Windows 10: Set Network Location to Private or Public in Windows 10

Ok @questorfla. OPTION SIX has been added to the tutorial to easily set the network location of the current network connection with a .vbs file. *Smile

 

I'll work on a .vbs script now that will do the elevation and run the command all in one to make it easier, and will add it to the tutorial shortly to help. [/quote] Thanks: I haven't been a member of Ten Forums long enough to know if your prefer "Brink" or "Shawn" because I see both names used interchangeably.
I may be able to help with the Batch script as I worked that out last night

Code: @ECHO OFF PowerShell.exe -NoProfile -Command "& {Start-Process PowerShell.exe -ArgumentList '-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ""%~dpn0.ps1""' -Verb RunAs}" pause[/quote] If this code is in the same folder as the ps1 code and has the same name, you just run the Bat file with normal level priveledges, no elevation needed.
It works and I would like to wrap this up into a nice utility which would show the user the name of the active profile, as well as its status, then take that name and use it in the next line asking the User to input if it should be set to Private or Public. For my needs, it would always be Private but I went this far so why not make it a choice for either?

Done like this, it could be run portably from a flash drive or sent as a zip file and would work on anyone's system. At least that is my Working Theory. The full ps1 script I used is something like the below (It isn’t Finished but you can see where it is going)

Code: $net = get-netconnectionprofile;Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name $net.Name -NetworkCategory Private pause Get-NetConnectionProfile pause $net = get-netconnectionprofile;Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name $net.Name -NetworkCategory Public pause Get-NetConnectionProfile pause $net = get-netconnectionprofile;Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name $net.Name -NetworkCategory Private pause Get-NetConnectionProfile pause[/quote] All the pauses and repetition are there because I am still testing and want to see what each change accomplishes.
However, this still has no User input to allow anyone to choose the type of Profile they are after.
I need to add the option to Pick Public or Private and do only the one change requested and display the results.


I am not sure whether the display for ‘Get-NetConnectionProfile’ is showing only the active profile or if on other systems it might show all profiles on the system. The laptop I am using only has one wireless profile to start with. If it only show the one that is active that was my intent from the start.

Thanks for the reply and all the help. Both here and on many other things I have learned from your site.

 

Either "" or "Shawn" is fine. *Smile

If you like, how would the .vbs files in OPTION SIX work for you?

 

I can't see an option Six? *Sad
Maybe not yet posted or not yet showing up? I tried to refresh view and tried reconnect to site but only see the ones already there.
Probably my Internet .
Which page is the Option Six displayed on?
Thanks again for all the assistance!

 

It's on the fist page towards the bottom of the tutorial. Here's a direct link below to OPTION SIX to help. *Smile

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/6...a.html#option6

 

Sorry Brink.
I just wasn't looking close enough. I cannot think of any advantage to having a wifi profile set to Public other than it may be needed for a HomeGroup? And the only thing left was to offer them a choice.
As there are only two options, it would be easiest to simply provide a script for PRIVATE and another for PUBLIC and let this one be "OVER" with *Smile.
On a side note, the use of the Free version of NetSetMan (which I believe you have offered people before) also is a nifty thing to have. It seems to do everything else other than offer a fix for the "Private vs Public"

 

No problem. Hopefully the different options in the tutorial will give folks a variety to meet their needs. *Smile

 

I'm running 1511 and have the same problem(s).

 

This may belong in another thread, possibly another forum; I'll apologize in advance, but if this rings any bells, let me know; in the meantime I'll investigate more widely.

The reason I've spent the last 20 hours or so trying to make my local network(s?) Private is I'm trying to add 2 PCs to my Homegroup. One is a Windows 7 machine, the other a Windows 10 (1511, 10586.218). Homegroups, as I suppose everyone now knows, only work with Private networks.

My LAN is fed by a Netgear router providing Gb Ethernet, and 2.4GHz b/g/n, and 5 Ghz a/n wireless connections. All interfaces share the same Class C address space. It looks like Windows is considering those three connections as separate networks -- it will only allow a Homegroup connection to a computer connected to the same interface used by the computer that defined the Homegroup. Specifically, the W7 server that defined the Homegroup is connected via Ethernet; I was able to easily add another Ethernet-connected W7 PC to the Homegroup, but not one connected wirelessly. It did recognize that a Homegroup was available, but when I told it to join, it just sat there. The Homegroup diagnostics and network diagnostics were silent. But when I added a wired connection, the join was completed in a few seconds. Bad wireless link, one might say, but it worked flawlessly to install close to 200 Windows Updates during the day, and worked just now to join the W10 machine, after I used the Registry mod (#1, as I remember) to make the interface Private. Many thanks for that tip and the rest of this thread.

 

Hello PhoebeAnn, *Smile

That's correct. A homegroup requires the joined PCs to be set to a Private network.

It would be best to pursue the homegroup issue in a new thread in the Network and Sharing forum area.

For now, you might see if the information in the tutorials below may be able to help.

Homegroup - Create in Windows 8

Homegroup - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums

Homegroup - Join in Windows 8

Homegroup - Add Computer or Join - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

I just found this forum and I have a question related to this thread:

I have two desktops (mine and my wife's), one laptop (shared), and a Western Digital MyCloud hard drive connected to my home network. The desktops and the MyCloud are Ethernet wired and the laptop is wireless. All connections go through the Netgear router. I have Norton installed for firewall and anti-virus. I am the one who sets up the computers, so I have been running my desktop as Administrator. Today I was looking at the Network and Sharing Center control panel and I see that I have two active networks as shown below.




I'm afraid I don't know where this "Unidentified network" came from and I don't know which device it applies to.

(1) Can you point me in the right direction so I can figure out which device this "Unidentified network" applies to?
(2) I assume it's not one of the desktops, so is there a risk involved if I just make the network Private?

Thanks for the great info.

 

Hello JDA53, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

If you like, click on the "Change adapter settings" link, and see if the network adapter for "Ethernet 3" is listed. If so, you could disable it to remove the "Unidentified network".

 

Thanks a lot for the great post. I'm just wondering is it ever possible (for example due to Windows update) for network discovery to turn on or for network locations to change without user permission ?

Thanks

 

Hello Zzgooloo10, *Smile

Usually this setting will not get changed unless you do so, but it wouldn't surprise me if a Windows Update may reset it back to default.

 

But the original setting is public right? If it has changed to a private network would it be safe to say it was done by someone other than you?