During the installation of Windows 10, the setup asks you to set network location to either Public or Private. You can change the network location or network profile to Public or Private even after installing Windows 10.
You should set network location to Public when you are accessing the internet via public hotspots (airport, hotel, etc.) or a network that you don’t trust. When the network is set to Public, other devices on the network cannot discover your PC and hence cannot connect to your PC.
It’s highly important to change the network location to Public before connecting to networks in airports and hotels.
When you have connected your PC to your home network or a trusted network, you can set the network location to Private. PCs and other devices on the same network can discover your PC when the network profile is set to Private. Again, unless you want other PCs on your network to discover your PC, you can leave the network location set to Public.
Complete the given instructions to set your Windows 10 PC’s network location to Home or Private.
IMPORTANT: You must need to sign-in to an admin level account to set network location to public or private.
Set network location to Public or Private in Windows 10
Method 1 of 2
Step 1: Open the Settings app. Navigate to Network & Internet > Wi-Fi. If you have connected via an Ethernet cable, please navigate to Network & Internet > Ethernet instead.
Step 2: Click on the network name that your PC is currently connected to.
If you are using an Ethernet connection:
Step 3: In the Network profile section, choose Public to set your network location to Public. Likewise, select Private to set network profile to Private.
If you are on Windows 10 Creators Update or earlier versions, you might just see Make this PC discoverable option. Turn on Make this PC discoverable option to set the network location to Private. To set the network location to Public, turn off the switch.
If you cannot find any of the options mentioned above, it’s likely that you have not signed-in to an admin level account.
Method 2 of 2
Step 1: Click on the wireless/network icon in the system tray or the hidden icons area. If you cannot find it, please refer to our fix to missing wireless network icon guide to restore it.
Step 2: Clicking the wireless/network icon brings up the network flyout where you can see all available networks as well as the network to which your PC is currently connected. The network to which your PC is currently connected appears at the top of the list.
Step 3: Click the Properties link which appears just below the network name of the currently connected network to open network settings page in the Settings app.
Step 4: In the Network profile section, select Public to set network profile to Public, and select Private set network location to Private.
Hope it helps you!
You might also like to know how to reset network data usage in Windows 10.
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