Windows uses a feature called Network Discovery to find and display other computers and devices on your local network. When it's off, misconfigured, or blocked, your PC simply won't see (or be seen by) other devices, even though everything is connected to the same router.

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Fix 1: turn on Network Discovery and File/Printer Sharing

  1. Open Control Panel (search for it directly, since it's easier to find than navigating Settings for this specific page) → Network and Sharing Center
  2. Click Change advanced sharing settings in the left panel
  3. Expand the Private (current profile) section
  4. Select Turn on network discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing
  5. Click Save changes

Do this on every computer you want to see and be seen by — it needs to be enabled on each device individually, not just the one you're currently troubleshooting.

Important: only enable this for your Private network profile, never for Public networks (like coffee shops or airports), since Network Discovery makes your computer visible and reachable to other devices on the same network — appropriate for a trusted home or office network, not a public one.

Fix 2: confirm your network is actually set to Private

If Windows thinks you're on a Public network, it disables discovery regardless of the setting above:

  1. Go to Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet)
  2. Click your active connection
  3. Confirm the network profile is set to Private, not Public

Fix 3: check the required background services are running

Network Discovery depends on several Windows services running correctly. If any are stopped, discovery can fail even with the right settings enabled:

  1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, press Enter
  2. Find and check each of these is set to Automatic and currently Running: Function Discovery Provider Host, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, UPnP Device Host, and DNS Client
  3. For any that aren't running, right-click → Start; for any not set to Automatic, right-click → Properties → change Startup type to Automatic

Fix 4: check the Windows Firewall isn't blocking discovery

  1. Open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection
  2. Click Allow an app through firewall
  3. Click Change settings, find Network Discovery in the list, and ensure both Private and Public boxes are checked (or at minimum Private)

Fix 5: reset network settings as a last resort

If individual fixes don't resolve it, a full network reset clears all networking components back to default, often resolving deeper configuration issues:

  1. Go to Settings → Network & internet → Advanced network settings → Network reset
  2. Confirm — this removes all saved Wi-Fi networks and VPN configurations, so have your Wi-Fi password ready, and your computer will restart

If only some computers are missing, not all

If you can see most devices but one or two specific computers are missing, double-check that the same settings above (Network Discovery, file/printer sharing, correct services) are also correctly configured on those specific missing machines — the issue may be isolated to them rather than your current computer.