Rename a Network in Windows 11 & 10: "Network 2", Adapters, Wi-Fi and PC Name

To rename a network such as "Network 2" in Windows 11 or 10, open Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles, click each subkey until ProfileName shows the name you want to change, double-click it, type a new name, and restart. On Pro, Enterprise and Education editions you can use secpol.msc > Network List Manager Policies instead, with no registry editing. Here is the confusion most guides do not clear up: "network name" means four different things in Windows. The profile name ("Network 2"), the adapter name ("Ethernet 3"), the Wi-Fi name others see (set on the router), and your PC's name on the network are each changed in a different place. This page covers all four, so you change the one you actually mean.

Jake's friend Ethan works from home with a laptop that has been through three docking stations, a USB Ethernet adapter, a phone tether and a travel router. His network list showed Network, Network 2, Network 3, all the way to Network 7, and his VPN app asked him to choose the right one every morning. He had no idea which was the home office and which was the hotel from last spring. At Jake's shop they deleted the stale profiles, renamed the remaining two "Home office (dock)" and "Phone tether", renamed the adapters to match, and set the home network to Private so file sharing with the printer worked again. Fifteen minutes later his network list made sense. That is the full process on this page.

Renaming is safe and reversible: a network's name is only a label. It does not change your connection, your IP address, your firewall rules or your Wi-Fi password, so nothing breaks if you pick a different name later.

The four "network names" in Windows, and where each lives

The first row is what the old version of this guide covered, and what most people mean by "rename network in Windows". The others are just as common, though, especially the Wi-Fi name, which Windows cannot change at all because it belongs to the router.

Why Windows names networks "Network 2", "Network 3" and so on

Windows keeps a network profile for every network it connects to, so it can remember whether that network is Public or Private and apply the right firewall rules. Wi-Fi networks get their profile name from the Wi-Fi name, so they usually look sensible. Wired networks have no name to borrow, so Windows calls the first one Network, the next new one Network 2, and so on.

Windows decides a wired network is "new" by looking at details of the network, chiefly the router's hardware address and the domain information it hands out. So a new profile appears when you:

• Plug into a different router, switch, docking station or office network.
• Replace your home router, even with the same settings.
• Use USB tethering from a phone, which looks like a new wired network each time on some phones.
• Connect through a virtual machine host, VPN adapter or travel router.
• Reset network settings, which wipes profiles and starts the numbering again.

Over a few years a laptop can collect a dozen numbered profiles. They are harmless, but they make network lists confusing and can attach the wrong Public or Private setting to a network you use every day.

Rename a network profile with Registry Editor (all editions)

This works on Windows 11 and 10 Home, Pro and every other edition. Registry Editor is safe when you change only the value described here; do not delete or edit anything else.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, press Enter, and click Yes at the User Account Control prompt.
2. Paste this into the address bar at the top of Registry Editor and press Enter:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles
3. Expand Profiles. Each subkey, a long ID in curly braces such as {8D3B5A0E-...}, is one network.
4. Click each subkey in turn and look at ProfileName on the right. Stop when it shows the name you want to change, such as Network 2.
5. Double-click ProfileName, type the new name, for example Home office, and click OK.
6. Optionally double-click Description and give it the same name, so it matches in every place Windows shows it.
7. Close Registry Editor and restart the PC, or disconnect and reconnect the network.

After the restart, Settings > Network & internet and the network icon's tooltip show the new name. Firewall rules, sharing settings and the Public or Private setting are unchanged because they are tied to the profile, not the name.

Not sure which profile is which?

The same subkey has a DateCreated and DateLastConnected value (stored as binary data) and a Category value, where 0 is Public, 1 is Private and 2 is Domain. The quicker way to identify the active one is to run Get-NetConnectionProfile in Terminal: it lists the current network's Name, adapter and category. Look for that exact name in ProfileName.

Rename with Local Security Policy (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

On Pro and higher editions, Local Security Policy offers a cleaner, point-and-click way that also lets you change the icon and lock the name.

1. Press Windows + R, type secpol.msc, and press Enter.
2. Click Network List Manager Policies in the left pane.
3. On the right, you see All Networks, Unidentified Networks, Identifying Networks, and one entry per known network. Double-click the network you want to rename.
4. On the Network Name tab, select Name and type the new name.
5. Under User permissions, choose User can change name or User cannot change name.
6. Optionally use the Network Icon tab to pick a different icon, and the Network Location tab to set it as Private or Public.
7. Click OK, then sign out and back in or restart.

secpol.msc is not included in Home editions. If Windows says it cannot find secpol.msc, use the registry method above; it achieves exactly the same result.

Rename a network profile with PowerShell

For people comfortable with Terminal, PowerShell renames the current network in one go. Set-NetConnectionProfile can change the category but not the name, so the script edits the same registry value the manual method does. Open Terminal (Admin) from the Start button's right-click menu and run:

$old = "Network 2"; $new = "Home office"
Get-ChildItem "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles" | Where-Object { (Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath).ProfileName -eq $old } | ForEach-Object { Set-ItemProperty $_.PSPath -Name ProfileName -Value $new; Set-ItemProperty $_.PSPath -Name Description -Value $new }

Change the two names in the first line to match yours. Run Get-NetConnectionProfile afterward; once you reconnect the network or restart, the new name appears. If nothing changes, check the old name is exactly right, including spaces and capital letters.

Delete old network profiles (stop the numbers climbing)

Renaming "Network 7" is easier when Networks 1 to 6 are gone. Old profiles are safe to delete; Windows creates a fresh one the next time you connect to that network, with default Public settings.

Wi-Fi profiles

Open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks, click a network you no longer use, and choose Forget. From Terminal, netsh wlan show profiles lists them and netsh wlan delete profile name="Hotel Guest" removes one. Our guide to forgetting Wi-Fi networks goes further, including removing all profiles at once.

Wired and other profiles

1. Note which networks you still use, by running Get-NetConnectionProfile while connected to each.
2. In Registry Editor, under ...\NetworkList\Profiles, right-click the subkey of each old profile and choose Delete. Take care not to delete the active one.
3. Optionally, also clean the matching entries under ...\NetworkList\Signatures\Unmanaged, where each entry has a Description showing the profile name; delete the ones for networks you removed.
4. Restart.

If you prefer not to edit the registry, Pro users can see every profile in secpol.msc, and a full reset with Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset removes them all at once. Network reset also removes VPN adapters and resets Wi-Fi passwords, so keep it as a last resort and have your Wi-Fi password ready; our guide to viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords helps you note them first.

Rename a network adapter ("Ethernet 3", "Wi-Fi 2")

Adapter names show which piece of hardware is connected: the built-in Wi-Fi, a USB Ethernet adapter, a dock's network port, or a VPN's virtual adapter. Renaming them is especially useful on PCs with several.

Windows 11 Settings

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings.
2. Click the adapter you want to rename to expand it.
3. Click Rename next to "Rename this adapter", type a name such as Dock Ethernet, and click Save.

Network Connections (both versions)

Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl, and press Enter. Click an adapter once, press F2, type the new name and press Enter. You need administrator rights.

PowerShell

Get-NetAdapter lists adapters, and Rename-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet 3" -NewName "Dock Ethernet" renames one. This is handy in setup scripts for new PCs.

Avoid renaming VPN and virtual machine adapters, such as those created by Hyper-V, VirtualBox, WireGuard or corporate VPN clients. Some of these apps look for their adapter by its original name and stop working when it changes.

Change the Wi-Fi network name (SSID)

The Wi-Fi name that phones, TVs and laptops see is broadcast by your router, so it can only be changed on the router. Windows only displays it.

1. Find your router's address. In Terminal, run ipconfig and look for Default Gateway, often 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. Many routers also have a phone app.
2. Open that address in a browser and sign in with the router's admin password, printed on its label if you never changed it.
3. Find Wireless, Wi-Fi or WLAN settings, and change the Network Name (SSID). On dual-band routers, change both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, or use the same name for both if the router supports band steering.
4. Save. Every device disconnects and must join the new name with the same password.

When you change the SSID, Windows sees a new network and creates a new profile, so you may need to set it to Private again (see below) and forget the old name. A tip from Jake: never put your surname, address or flat number in the Wi-Fi name. It is visible to everyone within range, and a neutral name gives away nothing.

Rename your PC's Mobile hotspot

When your PC shares its connection, it broadcasts its own Wi-Fi name, usually something like DESKTOP-7QJ3MXL 1234. To change it, open Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot, find Properties, click Edit, and change Network name. The same screen sets the password and band. Our guide to sharing your connection with Mobile hotspot covers the rest of the setup, including when the hotspot will not turn on.

The hotspot name follows the same rules as a router's SSID: up to 32 characters, visible to everyone nearby, so keep it neutral. Changing it disconnects any phones already joined, and they must pick the new name and enter the password again. The hotspot creates its own virtual adapter, usually called Local Area Connection* 10 or similar in ncpa.cpl; leave that adapter's name alone, because Windows manages it. If you use the hotspot to give a games console or smart TV internet in a hotel, a short name without spaces is easiest to find in their menus.

Rename your PC (the name other devices see)

Your router's device list, other PCs on the network, file sharing and Bluetooth all show the computer name. New PCs get random names like DESKTOP-7QJ3MXL, which are hard to tell apart.

1. Open Settings > System > About (on Windows 11 you can also click the PC name at the top of Settings > System).
2. Click Rename this PC.
3. Type a name of up to 15 characters, using letters, numbers and hyphens only, no spaces. For example Ethan-Laptop.
4. Click Next and restart.

From Terminal, Rename-Computer -NewName "Ethan-Laptop" -Restart does the same in an administrator window. On a work PC joined to a domain or managed by Intune, ask IT first; renaming can break the device's link to company management.

Public or Private: the setting that matters more than the name

Every network profile is either Public or Private (or Domain on work networks). This decides which Windows Firewall rules apply, and whether other devices can see your PC.

To change it: open Settings > Network & internet, click Wi-Fi or Ethernet, click the connected network's properties, and choose Public network (Recommended) or Private network under Network profile type. In PowerShell: Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name "Home office" -NetworkCategory Private. Renaming first makes this command easier, which is one more reason to give networks real names. Ethan's printer stopped working on his dock because that network had been created as Public; switching it to Private fixed it at once.

The new name keeps changing back? Fixes

1. You renamed a profile you are not connected to. Run Get-NetConnectionProfile and rename the profile it names, not an older one with a similar name.
2. Windows created a new profile. A new dock, router or tethered phone counts as a new network, which starts again at "Network N". Rename the new one, and delete the old one.
3. A policy controls the name. On Pro, check secpol.msc > Network List Manager Policies > All Networks. If Network name is set to a fixed value, or "User cannot change name" is chosen, that wins.
4. A network reset or feature update cleared profiles. Rename again after the reset; profiles are rebuilt from scratch.
5. Wi-Fi profile name follows the SSID. For Wi-Fi, Windows may refresh the display name from the broadcast name. To truly rename a Wi-Fi network everywhere, change the SSID on the router.
6. Domain networks. On a company network the profile takes the domain's name, and changing it locally is not supported.

Identify which network is which before you rename

When several profiles exist, a quick check stops you renaming the wrong one:

• Settings > Network & internet shows the currently connected network at the top, with its name and type.
• Get-NetConnectionProfile shows the name, the adapter (InterfaceAlias) and the category for every connected network.
• ipconfig /all shows each adapter's default gateway and DNS suffix, which helps you tell the home router from a dock or a phone.
• Control Panel's Network and Sharing Center (type control /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter in Run) shows active networks with their connection names side by side.

Connect to each network you use regularly, run Get-NetConnectionProfile, and write down the name it shows. Any profile in the registry not on your list is a candidate for deleting.

Good names: a simple scheme that stays readable

Pick names that say where and how, so they still make sense in a year:

• Place first: Home, Office, Studio, Parents.
• Then connection: Home (Wi-Fi), Home (dock), Office (Ethernet), Phone tether.
• Keep them short: long names are cut off in the network flyout and VPN menus.
• Avoid personal details: profile names are local, but SSIDs and PC names are visible to others.
• Match adapter names: renaming "Ethernet 3" to "Dock Ethernet" alongside the profile "Home (dock)" makes troubleshooting instant.

Ethan's two remaining profiles, "Home office (dock)" and "Phone tether", have needed no thought since. Names can use spaces, brackets and most punctuation, and up to 255 characters in the registry, but anything over about 30 characters gets cut off in menus, so short and specific wins.

VPN, firewall and security apps that show network names

Many apps read the profile name to decide how to behave. Corporate VPN clients may connect automatically on untrusted networks; third-party firewalls and antivirus suites often ask "Is this network trusted?" by name; and Windows Defender Firewall's notifications reference it. A clear name helps you answer those prompts correctly. If an app lists networks by an old name after you rename them, restart the app or the PC so it reads the profile again. Some apps keep their own list of trusted networks; check their settings and update the entry rather than adding a duplicate.

Phones, USB tethering and travel routers

Phone tethering over USB and some travel routers create a new profile almost every time, because the phone or router assigns itself a different hardware address. That is the main source of "Network 9" on frequently tethered laptops. Two habits help: prefer Wi-Fi hotspot from the phone, which keeps one profile named after the phone's hotspot name, and rename the hotspot on the phone to something clear such as "Ethan phone". On iPhone, the hotspot name is the phone's name under Settings > General > About > Name; on Android it is under the hotspot settings. Our guide to mobile and cellular connections covers built-in cellular modems too.

Seeing other PCs and devices on your home network

Renaming often goes hand in hand with wanting to see other devices. For that, the profile must be Private, and Network discovery and File and printer sharing must be on under Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings. Other PCs then appear under Network in File Explorer by their computer names, which is why renaming PCs to something recognizable is worth the restart. Our guide to File Explorer shows where the Network section sits. Note that HomeGroup no longer exists; file sharing on a home network now works through ordinary shared folders and your Windows account credentials.

Command reference: every network-name command in one place

All of these run in Terminal, which opens PowerShell by default. The netsh and ipconfig commands also work in Command Prompt. "Admin" means you need Terminal (Admin), opened by right-clicking the Start button.

Per-network settings that follow the profile

Once networks have proper names, it is easier to manage the settings Windows stores for each one. Open Settings > Network & internet, click Wi-Fi or Ethernet, then the network's properties. Besides Public or Private, you will find:

• Metered connection: turn it on for phone tethers and capped plans. Windows then limits background downloads, including some updates and OneDrive sync, on that network only.
• Set a data limit: tracks usage for that network and warns you near a cap.
• Connect automatically when in range (Wi-Fi): turn it off for networks you only use occasionally.
• DNS server assignment and IP assignment: per-network overrides, useful when one network needs custom DNS.

These belong to the network, not the name, so renaming keeps them. Ethan set "Phone tether" as metered, which stopped his laptop from downloading a large update over mobile data on a train.

Random hardware addresses and your router's device list

Windows 11 can use a random hardware address (random MAC address) on Wi-Fi, either for all networks or per network, under Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi and the network's properties. This improves privacy on public networks, because the network cannot track the same device across visits. At home it has a side effect: your router may list your laptop as a new, unnamed device, and address reservations or parental controls tied to the old address stop matching.

If your router's device list is full of unknown entries, set Random hardware addresses to Off for your home network only, then rename the device in the router's app to something like "Ethan laptop". Leave it on for cafes and hotels. Renaming the PC itself, as above, also helps, because many routers display the computer name they receive.

Rename devices in your router's app

Most current routers and mesh systems let you rename the devices they see, which is separate from anything in Windows. Open the router's app or admin page, find Devices, Clients or Attached devices, and edit the name. Router names help with parental controls, guest network management and spotting unknown devices on your Wi-Fi. If the router shows only a random hardware address with no name, check the address in Windows with ipconfig /all under Physical Address to match it to your PC before renaming it.

A tidy device list is also a quick security check. Once every phone, PC, TV and smart plug in the house has a recognizable name, an entry you cannot place stands out immediately. If you find one, change the Wi-Fi password on the router, reconnect your own devices, and see whether the stranger returns. Many router apps can also notify you when a new device joins, which is worth turning on once the list is clean.

Docking stations: why every dock looks like a new network

Docks and USB-C hubs with Ethernet ports have their own network adapter inside. Plugging into a different dock means a different adapter, and often a different network profile, even on the same office network. That is why hot-desking laptops collect many "Network" and "Ethernet" entries. Practical fixes: rename the adapter for the dock you use most, delete profiles for docks you no longer use, and on managed office networks ask IT whether the network is identified as a Domain network, which avoids the numbering entirely. Keeping the dock's firmware and driver updated through the manufacturer's tool also reduces random disconnects that can create fresh profiles.

Renaming mapped network drives and network locations

Some people searching for "rename network name" want to rename a mapped drive in File Explorer, such as share (\\NAS) (Z:). That is simple: open This PC, right-click the drive, choose Rename, and type a label such as Family photos. The label is only for your account and does not affect the share or other users. To change which share a letter points to, disconnect the drive and map it again with Map network drive. Network locations added with Add a network location are shortcuts and can be renamed like any file.

Hidden Wi-Fi networks

A router can be set not to broadcast its name. A hidden network appears in Windows as Hidden Network, and you connect by choosing it and typing the exact SSID. Hiding the name adds little security, because the name is still sent when devices connect, and it makes connecting harder for every guest. If you want a less noticeable network, a neutral name works better than a hidden one. To connect to a hidden network in advance, use Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks > Add network, enter the name, security type and password.

Windows 10 differences

Everything on this page works on Windows 10 with small changes in the Settings paths. Adapter renaming uses ncpa.cpl or PowerShell, because Windows 10 Settings has no Rename button for adapters. Public or Private is under Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Properties for the connected network. The PC name is under Settings > System > About > Rename this PC. The registry location and secpol.msc steps are identical. Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025 for most users, but these settings continue to work for anyone still using it.

Undo a rename

To go back, repeat the same steps and type the old name. For a profile renamed through secpol.msc, you can also select Not configured on the Network Name tab to let Windows choose the name again. For an adapter, rename it back to Ethernet, Wi-Fi or whatever it was; Windows does not mind which name you use. If a profile is in a state you cannot fix, deleting its registry subkey and reconnecting makes Windows create a fresh one with a default name, which you can then rename properly.

Undoing a PC rename works the same way as the rename itself: Rename this PC, type the old name, and restart. Be aware that anything that stored the computer name, such as a mapped drive on another PC (\\Old-Name\share), a printer shared from this PC, or a Remote Desktop shortcut, keeps pointing at the old name until you update it. If you exported the Profiles registry key before starting, double-clicking the saved .reg file and restarting puts every profile name back exactly as it was.

Check that the rename worked

1. Restart the PC, or disconnect and reconnect the network.
2. Click the network icon on the taskbar and open the network's properties; the new name appears at the top of the page.
3. Run Get-NetConnectionProfile and confirm the Name field shows the new name and NetworkCategory is what you expect.
4. For adapters, run Get-NetAdapter and check the Name column.
5. For the PC name, run hostname, and look at your router's device list after a few minutes.
6. Open your VPN or firewall app and confirm it shows the new name; restart the app if it still shows the old one.

If any of these still show the old name after a restart, return to the fixes section above; the usual reason is that you renamed a profile other than the one in use.

Is it safe to edit the NetworkList registry key?

Yes, when you limit changes to ProfileName and Description, or to deleting profiles for networks you no longer use. These values are labels and history; Windows rebuilds anything missing the next time you connect. What you should not do is change the Category value directly or edit the Signatures data values, because inconsistent data there can confuse Network Location Awareness. Use Settings or PowerShell for the Public or Private choice. If you want a safety net, right-click Profiles in Registry Editor and choose Export before you start; double-clicking the saved .reg file later restores it.

Should you use a third-party network renaming tool?

Small free tools exist that list network profiles and rename or delete them with a click. They edit the same registry keys described above. They can be convenient if you manage many PCs, but they add nothing you cannot do in Registry Editor, secpol.msc or PowerShell in a couple of minutes, and every extra utility is one more program to keep updated and to trust with administrator rights. For one or two networks, the built-in methods are the better choice.

If you do try one, download it only from the developer's own site, check it with Microsoft Defender before running, and export the Profiles registry key first so you can undo anything it changes. Avoid "network optimizer" bundles that promise faster internet alongside renaming; those tend to change unrelated settings such as DNS, adapter power options and TCP parameters, and they rarely make any measurable difference.

Shared and office PCs

In a small office without IT staff, consistent names across PCs make support calls easier: "connect to Office (Ethernet)" means the same on every machine. On shared family PCs, renaming is per PC, not per user, because network profiles are stored for the whole machine; any administrator can change them, and the new name appears for everyone who signs in. If a child's account should not change network settings, give it a standard user account rather than administrator rights; standard users cannot rename profiles or adapters.

For a small office, a one-page sheet listing each PC's computer name, its usual network and its adapter names saves time whenever something goes wrong. Combine it with sensible computer names, such as Front-Desk and Accounts-01, and anyone can tell at a glance which machine is offline in the router's device list.

For IT admins: managing network names and profiles

Group Policy. Network List Manager Policies are available in Group Policy under Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Network List Manager Policies, with the same options as secpol.msc: name, icon, location type and whether users may change each. Settings on All Networks apply to every network, which is useful for forcing "User cannot change location" on laptops.

Scripts. Rename-NetAdapter standardizes adapter names in build scripts, Set-NetConnectionProfile sets categories, and Rename-Computer applies naming conventions. Domain-joined networks get the Domain category automatically through network location awareness, so local renames are rarely needed there.

Intune. Computer names can be templated at enrollment in Autopilot profiles. Firewall profiles should be designed around categories, never names, because names are user-editable on unmanaged devices.

Renaming networks in Windows: frequently asked questions

Ethan's VPN no longer asks him to pick from seven anonymous networks every morning. There are two, named for what they are, set to the right type, with adapters labeled to match, and his printer works on the dock again because the network is Private. It took fifteen minutes and no extra software, just knowing which of Windows' four "network names" he wanted to change. Give your networks names you will recognize in a year, delete the ones you have left behind, and the network list becomes something you can read at a glance rather than a puzzle.

Revision note. Written October 2, 2026, rewriting our 2016 guide to cover all four network names in Windows 11 and 10. May your network list finally make sense.