Win 10 network not connected to internet - changing from public to private?

Question

Hi,

I have a PC running Windows 10 professional. I have it on a wired LAN with that has no connection to the internet / outside world. Every computer on this LAN is assigned a static IP address in the range 192.168.3.x with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. As there is no connection to the internet, I have no router to act as a gateway. For this reason, I left the default gateway field in my network adapter (IPv4) configuration blank. With this setup, when I go to Network and Sharing Center, my network shows up as "Public". I would like to change it to "Private" so that I can take advantage of Network Discovery and File Sharing, but I cannot figure out to to do this.

If anyone can tell me how I can change this network connection from "Public" to "Private", I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks and best regards,
Paul

Answer 1

From an elevated PowerShell prompt
Get-NetConnectionProfile

make note of the InterfaceAlias then replace "Ethernet" below with your InterfaceAlias

Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias Ethernet -NetworkCategory Private

--please don't forget to Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 2

Hi DSPatrick,

Thank you for your response. Can you please tell me where I can find the "InterfaceAlias" you refer to?

When I look at the network connection in Network and Sharing Center, it shows up simply as "Unidentified network". I would actually like to rename this to something more descriptive / meaningful, but I cannot figure out away to assign it a different name.

I appreciate your help with this.

Best regards,
Paul

Answer 3

Can you please tell me where I can find the "InterfaceAlias" you refer to?

From an elevated PowerShell prompt Get-NetConnectionProfile

-please don't forget to Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 4

Thank you DSPatrick - that worked great!

I might be deviating from my original question, but would you happen to know if there is a way now that I have set my LAN to "Private", if I can change the displayed name to something other than "Unidentified Network"?

If it is best that I start a new thread with this question, I am happy to do so. Just let me know.

I appreciate your help!

Best regards,
Paul