How to set your network location in Windows 10

[JamieKavanagh]

Network location in Windows 10 sounds more important than it really is. It just refers to whether your computer is discoverable on a network or not. It is primarily designed to lower the risk of being hacked while out and about. For example, if you have your network location set to public, you cannot browse network devices or appear in a network browser or Workgroup. It does not influence any other network setting.

If you would like to know how to set your network location in Windows 10, this is how you do it.

If you have just upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8, it is worthwhile checking this setting as the install sometimes modifies it. It’s also worth ensuring your firewall is active before performing this change.

Set your network location in Windows 10
1. Type or paste Control Panel into the Search Windows box.
2. Navigate to Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center.
3. Check your network type in the window that appears. It will say either Public or Private.
4. Click on Homegroup in the bottom left corner of the window.
5. You will then be asked if you want to be discoverable. If you do, select yes and your network location will be changed to Private.

Once you have changed to a private network, if indeed you changed, you should now be able to browse other machines within your Homegroup, who have sharing enabled. Just remember to have some kind of firewall activated on any connected computer.

Some more useful Windows 10 tweaks:
How to forget wireless network profiles in Windows 10
How to Sync Gmail and Calendar with Windows 10 Mail
How to Add or Remove OneDrive in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10

View all of our Windows 10 Tutorials