DirectConnect

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File Explorer can’t see the other computer on the network? How to fix it

Type \\ and the other computer’s name or address into File Explorer’s address bar, and you can open it whether or not it’s listed under Network. To make other Windows PCs appear in the list, set the network to Private, turn on network discovery and start the discovery service on both PCs.

Why this is harder than it should be

  • Network discovery is off on Public networks. Windows labels new networks, including a cable connection, as Public, and hides your PC from others and others from you.
  • The old way of listing computers is gone. Windows removed the SMB1 protocol that used to build the Network list. Computers now have to announce themselves a newer way, and many don’t.
  • Macs and Linux usually don’t appear at all. A Mac announces itself in a way the Network list doesn’t show. A Linux computer needs an extra service, such as wsdd, alongside Samba.
  • A background service has to be running. If the service that publishes your PC to the network is stopped, other computers can’t see it.
  • The firewall can block it, even with sharing switched on.
  • Seeing it isn’t the same as opening it. The other computer has to share a folder, and you need an account and password on it.
  • The connection doesn’t last. After sleep, a restart or unplugging the cable, you connect again.

1. Set the network to Private

Do this on both PCs:

  1. Open Settings and choose Network & internet.
  2. Choose the connection the computers share: Wi-Fi and then the network’s properties, or Ethernet for a wired or cable connection.
  3. Under Network profile type, select Private network.

A Thunderbolt or USB4 cable between two PCs appears as an extra Ethernet connection, usually named Unidentified network. Windows treats it as Public until you change it.

2. Turn on network discovery and file sharing

Do this on both PCs:

  1. In Settings, choose Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings.
  2. Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery.
  3. Under Private networks, turn on File and printer sharing.

These switches also open the matching rules in Windows Defender Firewall. If you use other security software with its own firewall, check that it allows file and printer sharing on the private network too.

3. Check the discovery service

The Function Discovery Resource Publication service makes a PC appear on other PCs’ Network lists. On the PC that’s missing from the list:

  1. Open the Start menu, type Services and open it.
  2. Double-click Function Discovery Resource Publication.
  3. Set Startup type to Automatic and click Apply.
  4. Click Start, then OK.

4. Share a folder on the other computer

Even when the other computer appears, there’s nothing to open until it shares a folder.

On a Windows PC

  1. In File Explorer, right-click the folder and choose Properties.
  2. On the Sharing tab, click Share….
  3. Choose the account that will sign in, set its permission level, and click Share.

The PC’s name is in Settings > System > About, next to Device name.

On a Mac

  1. In System Settings, choose General > Sharing and turn on File Sharing.
  2. Click the info button next to File Sharing to add folders and choose who can open them.
  3. Click Options…, and under Windows File Sharing, select your account and enter its password.

The Mac’s name is at the bottom of the Sharing settings, next to Local hostname.

5. Skip the Network list and connect directly

Connecting by name or address works once sharing is on, and it’s the only reliable way to reach a Mac or Linux computer. In File Explorer’s address bar, type \\ followed by the other computer’s name or address:

  • \\DESKTOP-NAME for another Windows PC.
  • \\Your-MacBook.local for a Mac, using its local hostname.
  • \\169.254.20.30 for a direct cable connection, using the other computer’s address on the cable.

Windows asks you to Enter network credentials. Use an account on the other computer, not your own. For a Windows account linked to a Microsoft account, enter the email address and the account password, not the Windows Hello PIN. Select Remember my credentials to skip this next time.

If the computers are connected by a cable

With no router on the cable, each computer gives itself an address starting with 169.254. To find the other computer’s address:

  • On Windows: open Terminal, run ipconfig, and find Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address under the cable’s Ethernet adapter.
  • On a Mac: in System Settings, choose Network > Thunderbolt Bridge > Details…, and look under TCP/IP.

Connect with that address rather than the computer’s name. If both computers are also on Wi-Fi, the name can lead Windows to the Wi-Fi address, and the copy runs over Wi-Fi instead of the cable.

Two other things slow cable copies down. Windows 11 version 24H2 and later require SMB signing by default, which adds work to every transfer. And network file sharing handles folders of small files slowly: in our tests, SMB took almost four minutes to copy 20,000 small files over a 10 Gb/s cable.

Keep the connection after sleep or a restart

A share you open from the address bar is gone after a restart. To keep it:

  1. In File Explorer, right-click the shared folder and choose Map network drive….
  2. Choose a drive letter.
  3. Select Reconnect at sign-in and click Finish.

If the other computer is asleep or unplugged when you sign in, Windows says it could not reconnect all network drives, and the drive stays unavailable until you open it again. For more, see why a network share disconnects after sleep.