It is the Windows Firewall that protects your device from all kinds of trojans, malware, ransomware, and other online threats. By default, this tool restricts all third-party apps from accessing the system resources. As a result of this, you might face trouble opening certain apps or drivers.
You may disable Firewall on Windows 11/10 temporarily to troubleshoot certain things, and when the issue resolves, turn it back On. In this post, we will learn different ways to either enable or disable Firewall in Windows.
Is it safe to disable Windows Firewall?
If you use some third-party antivirus program, you may consider turning off the Windows Firewall. However, if you are not using any other antivirus, disabling it will make your Windows PC vulnerable to online threats, malware, and other issues.
In case you are troubleshooting something, you may turn off the Firewall and as soon as the issue resolves, turn it back ON. By default, this security feature turns itself On when you restart your computer.
6 Ways to Disable Windows Defender Firewall in Windows 11
How to Disable Windows Firewall
As stated earlier, you should disable Windows Firewall only when you are either troubleshooting some internal issues or you have installed a third-party app. Uninstalling or disabling it for any other reason will simply make your device vulnerable to malicious software, which can cause several new issues or error codes on your computer.
Follow the below steps on how to disable Firewall in Windows –
- Open the Settings menu by pressing Windows + I.
- Go to Privacy & Security, and select Windows Security.
- On the next screen, scroll down and click on the “Firewall & network protection” option.
- Windows Security will pop up next. You will now see an active network either under Domain, Private, or Public. When you find such a network, click on it.
- Under Microsoft Defender Firewall, you will find a toggle switch.
- Turn off this toggle switch as shown in the below snapshot.
- When the UAC window prompts, hit Yes to authorize bypassing the Firewall.
- That’s it, you have successfully disabled Windows Defender Firewall on your system.
How do I disable Windows Firewall for Specific Apps?
Sometimes you might face trouble opening certain apps on Windows PC. This happens mostly when Windows Firewall is restricting their usage. If you do trust those apps, you may disable the Firewall settings for all those apps. Here’s how to perform this task –
- Press Windows + I to launch Settings.
- Inside the Settings window, navigate to the below path –
Privacy & Security > Windows Security > Firewall & network protection
- Scroll down and click on the link – “Allow an app through firewall.”
- Click on the “Change settings” button on the next screen.
Note: In order to change firewall settings, you must have administrator access. If you are not an admin, make sure to log into the administrator account using the correct user id and password.
- On the next screen, tick the checkbox next to an app name. The chosen app will now have access to the internet to use as your default profile.
- Moreover, if you would like it to allow your “Private’ profile”, make sure to tick the box next to an app’s name right under the Private column.
- In case you are not seeing a particular application, you may hit Allow another app. You can then browse to the System32 folder and search for the .exe file of that app and add it to “Allowed apps and features“.
- Click OK and all your current changes will be saved immediately afterward.
How to Restore Windows 11 Firewall Settings to Default
If you ever want to restore the default settings of Windows Firewall, do the following –
- Press Windows + X, and select Settings.
- Go to “Privacy & Security” and select Windows Security from the right pane.
- Moving forward, click on the button that says Open Windows Security.
- Go to the Firewall & network protection section, and click on Restore firewalls to default.
- When the Restore defaults window appears, click the “Restore defaults” button, and your Firewall is now reset to its default settings.
How to access the Windows 11 Firewall settings
Every now and then, users need to access Windows Firewall settings on their devices. If you are also a regular to this setting on your computer, you may use these steps –
- Right-click on Start and select Settings from the menu list.
- Select Privacy & Security, and click Windows Security available on the right pane.
- Click the Open Windows Security button and when it does open, click on the “Firewall & network protection” tile.
That’s it, you are now inside the Windows Defender Firewall. Choose whatever you want to do with the firewall default settings.
Different Ways to Enable or Disable Firewall on Windows PC
One may use either of the following methods to either enable or disable Firewall settings inside Windows 10 –
1] Turn On or Off Windows Firewall settings using Control Panel
- Open Control Panel.
- Locate and click on Windows Defender Firewall.
- On the next screen, click “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off” available on the left pane.
- Locate Private network settings in the Customize settings window next.
Depending on whether you want to enable or disable the firewall settings on your computer, tick the respective radio buttons, and hit OK.
For disabling the Firewall: Check the radio button left of “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended)” under both Public and Private networks, and hit OK.
To re-enabling the Firewall: Tick the radio buttons – “Turn on Windows Defender Firewall” under both Private and Public networks, and hit OK. See the Snapshot below –
2] Using Windows Settings
Disabling Firewall:
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard and type Windows Security in the text field.
- Press Enter, and this will start Windows Defender.
- Locate Firewall & network protection and click on the same.
- Here you will see the following network profiles – Domain network, Private network, and Public network.
- Click on each of the three network profiles one after the other and disable the Firewall for all.
- When you click on Public Network, the following panel will become visible. Under the Windows Defender Firewall, turn off the encircled toggle switch.
- When the UAC window prompts, hit Yes.
- Now, repeat the above steps for Domain and Private Networks as well.
Enabling Windows Defender Firewall:
- Click on the Start button.
- Type Windows Security in the text field, and hit Enter.
- Locate Firewall & network protection, and turn on its toggle switch.
- When the UAC window appears, hit Yes to authorize enabling Windows Defender Firewall.
3] Enable or Disable Firewall using Command Prompt
- First of all, click on the Start button and type CMD.
- Right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
- Click Yes when the UAC prompts and this will launch CMD as administrator.
To disable the firewall settings on your computer, copy/paste the below command on the elevated console, and press Enter.
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
To turn back on the firewall settings on your Windows PC, execute this command.
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on
I hope you know now how to disable or enable Windows Firewall using Command Prompt on your Windows PC.
4] Enable or Disable Firewall using PowerShell
- Press Windows + X, and choose Terminal (Admin). If you are on Windows 10, select Windows PowerShell (Admin) instead from the Power menu.
- On the elevated terminal or PowerShell, copy/paste the following and press Enter. This will disable Windows Defender Firewall on your Windows PC.
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Enabled False
To turn back on Windows Firewall settings on Windows, execute this command on the same prompt.
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Enabled True
That’s it, I hope you find this article useful, and now you know all possible methods to either enable or disable Windows Firewall on your Windows PC.
