Cannot add network shared drive in Windows 11

Question

Hi,

The situation is:

I have a Asus router (model: RT-AC1300UHP) which allows me to plug my external drives to its USB port, then set it up as SMB shared from the router's configuration page. The router is fine and i can see the contents of these drives in my android tv, and in my windows laptop.

However, in my Windows 11 desktop PC, I can't map or even see these drives in my network neighborhood. Previously, the desktop PC was in windows 10 and i was able to see/map these network drives. (I did a clean install and not just an upgrade).

I've checked the Windows features and made sure the "SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support" are added. I even set to "Automatic" the following in Services.msc (computer browser service, function discovery provider host, function discovery resource publication, SSDP discovery, UPnP device host), but nothing works.

I tried enabling the "UPnP Media server" settings in my Asus router, and Windows 11 was able to recognize it as a media server and i was able to see the various "media" in my network drives. However, this is not what i want since, as a media server, it was only showing pictures, videos, or audio files.

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Internet and connectivity ***

Answer 1

Hello ,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.
According to your description, this issue may be related to the network settings of Windows 11 or the configuration of the SMB protocol. Here are some possible solutions and steps:

1. City reboot device, sometimes rebooting router and computer can fix network connection issues. Second, make sure your network is set to "Private Network". And make sure that network discovery is enabled.
2. While you have checked the SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support, make sure it is properly enabled.
   Windows 11 uses SMB 2.0 or later by default. Make sure your router also supports these versions of the SMB protocol.
3. Sometimes Windows Firewall may block network sharing. You can try temporarily disabling the firewall to see if you can access the shared drive.
4. Try to access the drive by entering a shared IP path.
5. Make sure your network adapter drivers are up to date.
6. Log in to the router's admin interface and check the settings of the SMB share to make sure that Windows 11 access is not restricted.

If the above steps still don't resolve the issue, we recommend checking the Windows 11 changelog to see if there are any known network sharing issues

I hope the information above is helpful.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Regards,
Jill Zhou

Answer 2

Was there a solution on this? Having the same issue after doing clean install of Windows 11.