Windows 11 update 24H2 changes network access

Question

I have two pc's that are almost identical hardware, with W11 Home, but one has not yet updated to 24H2 while the other has.

The apps links shown on the bottom of this image are not present on the 24H2 version, which is a retrograde step as finding the settings app should be easy..

Annoyingly the 24H2 update seems to have broken the network sharing, and finding advanced sharing settings to enable file transfer isnt easy.

Its been working until this morning, but now I'm unable even to see other devices from the "un-updated" machine.

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Windows update ***

Answer 1

Thanks @fgf2001. I will give the public profile a try and report back tomorrow.

Hi,

Not sure if it will make any difference, but you can try and see if it helps or not.

I switched back all my PCs to Private network profile, and everything still works fine on my home setting. 👍😉🤷‍♂️

Answer 2

Here is the MS explanation for using Private or Public network. Confusing as MS usual.

To me the home network is the Private case. 😉

Make a Wi-Fi network public or private in Windows - Microsoft Support

When you first connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows 11, it’s set as public by default. This is the recommended setting. However, you can set it as public or private depending on the network and what you want to do:

• Public network (Recommended). Use this for networks you connect to at home, work, or in a public place. You should use this in most cases. Your PC will be hidden from other devices on the network. Therefore, you can’t use your PC for file and printer sharing.
• Private network. Your PC is discoverable to other devices on the network, and you can use your PC for file and printer sharing. You should know and trust the people and devices on the network.

This explanation below makes more sense to me:

Public network = Your device is not discoverable on the network. By default, the public network location type is assigned to any new networks when they are first connected. A public network is considered to be shared with the world, with no protection between the local computer and any other computer. Therefore, the Windows Firewall rules associated with the public profile are the most restrictive. This blocks the following apps and services from working: PlayTo, file sharing, network discovery, and automatic setup of network printers, TVs, and other devices.

Private network= Your device is discoverable on the network. Select this if you need file sharing or use apps that communicate over this network. You should know and trust the people or devices on the network.

Domain network = The domain network location type is detected when the local computer is a member of an Active Directory domain, and the local computer can authenticate to a domain controller for that domain through one of its network connections.

Answer 3

Hi

Well well. I always thought that a setting was a setting which once set was set. Apparently not with MS!

So, @fg2001 and @StanPolitowski, thank you both for your hints. I tried setting the network profile on my 24H2 machine to public. Suddenly I can see the other machine (HomepC which is on 23H2) under Network. On HomePC I set profile to Public and then private again. No change for the worse. Return to 24H2 machine and set profile back to Private. Still, I can see HomePC even after restart. But this should be the same as where we started - but it's clearly not!

In summary, temporarily setting the networks to public and then back to private again seems to have sorted out the issue I had of not being able to see other network devices from my 24H2 computer. I still need to use the FDResPub restart batch file occasionally to bring the host PC name back under Network.

Concerning the Netgear USB Readyshare issue, this uses basic SMB1 - something that MS have warned us not to use for years. So, whereas this has not been a problem up to 23H2, the lack of visibility of this under Network in 24H2 appears to be the result of MS steps towards making SMB1 unusable. I can still map the USB as a share, so it's not the greatest loss.

Answer 4

Good aftternoon! Good to hear some news about this. I am going to live with whatever it is for now I am sure there will be a fix eventually. In the meantime I finally found the way to get off the Insider Program. On to November general update. We will see.

Answer 5

@GazzazGDBB,

Glad to hear that you got it working.

As for the FDResPub problem, it has been around for years, and MS has been ignoring the reports.

We need more upvotes on the FBH reports to try to get MS to finally fix the bug.

About SMB1, it can probably still be enabled and allowed through the firewall, even if they recommend not to use it.

Let us know how that goes. 😉