Windows forces cabled ethernet to be Public (Unidentified Network)

I have been setting up a brand new Acer laptop with Windows 8 SL preinstalled. It connects to my wireless network without a hitch. But if I plug in an ethernet cable on the same network, I do not get the sharing dialog bar, and the network is set to Public (unidentified). Nothing I do will change it to Private. I have tried using manual IP settings, tried everything possible in Advanced Sharing Settings. I even used the Homegroup troubleshooter, which said it had changed the network type to Private - But as soon as the machine was restarted, it was back to Public. The ability to right-click on the network name does not work either.

I have many other Windows 8 machines running quite happily on this cabled network, so I thought the laptop might be faulty. I took it to another site, and voila! As soon as I connected a LAN cable I got the sharing dialog and the laptop worked perfectly!

Back at my site, I then suspected the router. I replaced it with another one, but got the same symptoms as described above. Public, unidentified. Can NOT be changed.

This is a serious issue. Is there a proper solution?

January 13th, 2014 6:06am

Hi,

Please first update the wired network connection driver and then try the manual steps under Let me fix it myself in this article:

Windows 7 Network connections are stuck in Public mode

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2578723

If the issue still persists, please try to change it in GPO:

  1. Go to start>Search>secpol.msc
  2. Network List Manager Policies>Unidentified Networks
  3. Double Click>Change Location Type to Private.

This means from now on all Unidentified Networks will be set as private.

For further help, please help to collect the event log and upload here for further research.

Collect event log:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/what-information-appears-in-event-logs-event-viewer

Look forward to your response.

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January 14th, 2014 3:34am

Hi Kate,

Everything is a learning curve - in this case no different. I had tried most of the things that you suggest, of course initially I could not try the GPO solution because as I mentioned, this was a Windows SL version. I went to the trouble of obtaining a 3rd party GP editor that works on SL versions. But even after adjusting the Network List Manager Policies, the cabled network remained stubbornly stuck on 'Public'. Literally, I tried everything (losing three or four hours of my Sunday in the process.)

The clue came when I connected another client's desktop computer (running Windows 7) to the same switch - Suddenly this machine, which previously had been running just fine on the network, also showed limited connectivity, and had it's network connection marked as Public. Maybe I should have realised what was happening when the laptop's wireless networking had no problems.

Anyway - the problem lay in the network switch that fed cable to these computers. I changed the switch and Voila! Everything worked perfectly again!

In my defense, I followed all the correct procedures for finding the problem, and saw many similar issues during my research on the Internet. None of them suggested that a physical switch might cause such an issue. Nor did any of Microsoft's technical solutions. It is probably worth suggesting that this be mentioned right at the outset of any troubleshooting advice in future!

January 14th, 2014 5:53am

Hi Kate,

Everything is a learning curve - in this case no different. I had tried most of the things that you suggest, of course initially I could not try the GPO solution because as I mentioned, this was a Windows SL version. I went to the trouble of obtaining a 3rd party GP editor that works on SL versions. But even after adjusting the Network List Manager Policies, the cabled network remained stubbornly stuck on 'Public'. Literally, I tried everything (losing three or four hours of my Sunday in the process.)

The clue came when I connected another client's desktop computer (running Windows 7) to the same switch - Suddenly this machine, which previously had been running just fine on the network, also showed limited connectivity, and had it's network connection marked as Public. Maybe I should have realised what was happening when the laptop's wireless networking had no problems.

Anyway - the problem lay in the network switch that fed cable to these computers. I changed the switch and Voila! Everything worked perfectly again!

In my defense, I followed all the correct procedures for finding the problem, and saw many similar issues during my research on the Internet. None of them suggested that a physical switch might cause such an issue. Nor did any of Microsoft's technical solutions. It is probably worth suggesting that this be mentioned right at the outset of any troubleshooting advice in future!

  • Marked as answer by Beevreeter Tuesday, January 14, 2014 10:53 AM
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January 14th, 2014 1:51pm

Hi,

Thanks for your great sharing on this issue.

This would be benefit many other users who encounter the similar issue like yours.

January 14th, 2014 9:19pm

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