How to turn off Password Protected Sharing in Windows 11/10

In this post, we will show you how to turn off password protected sharing in Windows 11/10 computers. By default, password protected sharing option or feature remains turned on in Windows 11/10. But, you can turn it off by following some simple steps.

The password-protected sharing feature of Windows 11/10 OS helps the users, who have a local user account and password on their computer, to access or open the shared files, the Public folders, and attached printers. Other users who don’t have a user account and password can’t access such items on your computer. But, if you want, you can let other people access the shared files, Public folders, etc., on your computer by turning off the password-protected sharing on your Windows 11/10 computer.

Turn off Password Protected Sharing in Windows 11/10

The steps to turn off password protected sharing in Windows 11/10 computers are as follows:

1. Open the Search box of your Windows 11/10 computer
2. Type control panel in the Search box
3. Press the Enter key to open the Control Panel window
4. Access Network and Internet category
5. Access the Network and Sharing Center
6. Click on the Change advanced sharing settings option available on the left section
7. Expand the All Networks section
8. Scroll down to the bottom part
9. Select Turn off password protected sharing option
10. Press the Save changes button.

That’s it!

Now other people will also be able to access shared files and other supported items on your computer.

In case, you want to undo the changes at any time, simply follow the steps mentioned above, select the Turn on password protected sharing option available in the All Networks section, and use the Save changes button.

Related: Turn on or off Public folder sharing on Windows 11/10.

How do I change sharing permissions?

You can change the shared folder permissions by opening its properties. Open its properties and select the Sharing tab. Now, go to “Advanced sharing > Permissions.” The Share Permissions window will appear. Here you can add or remove users and change the permissions for every user.

Why I cannot turn off password protected sharing?

Though password-protected sharing can easily be turned off in Windows 11/10 computer from the Advanced sharing settings window (the steps are already present above in this post), sometimes users are not able to do it from there. The most likely reason for that is you are using a guest account with a password.

So, to turn off password protected sharing for such a scenario, you need to follow these steps:

1. Open Local Users and Groups window
2. Select the Users folder present on the left section of that window. The names of all the user accounts (including the Guest account(s)) will be visible in the middle section
3. Right-click on the Guest account name
4. Click on the Set Password… option in the right-click menu. A Set Password for Guest box will pop-up
5. Click on the Proceed button
6. Leave the password field and password confirmation field empty
7. Press the OK button
8. Again, press the OK button visible in a small box
9. Close the Local Users and Groups window.

Now you should be able to turn off password-protected sharing on your computer.

Hope this will help.