How to Share a Folder on Windows 11

Networking Your Home Computers

If you have multiple computers in your home—perhaps a desktop PC in the office and a laptop in the living room—transferring large files between them can be incredibly frustrating. Emailing files to yourself is slow and restricted by attachment limits. Walking back and forth with a USB flash drive feels like a relic from the early 2000s. Uploading gigabytes of video footage to Google Drive just to download it again on the laptop in the next room is an immense waste of internet bandwidth.

The most efficient way to move files between two computers on the same Wi-Fi network is to use Windows 11’s built-in folder sharing feature. By sharing a folder on your network, you are essentially turning one computer into a local server. Any other computer connected to your home Wi-Fi can open that folder, copy files out of it, or drop new files into it, at the maximum speed of your local router (which is significantly faster than your internet connection).

Setting up a shared folder on Windows 11 only takes a few minutes, provided both computers are connected to the same private network.

Step 1: Ensure Your Network Profile is Set to Private

By default, Windows 11 blocks file sharing on “Public” networks (like a coffee shop Wi-Fi) to protect you from hackers. Before you can share a folder, you must tell Windows that your home Wi-Fi is a “Private” and trusted network.

1. Click the Network icon (Wi-Fi or Ethernet symbol) in the bottom right corner of your taskbar.
2. Click the small arrow icon next to your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to expand its details.
3. Click on the i (Properties) icon next to the network you are currently connected to.
4. In the Settings window that opens, look at the “Network profile type” section.
5. Ensure the radio button is set to Private network.

You must perform this step on both the computer sharing the folder and the computer trying to access it.

Step 2: Turn on Network Discovery and File Sharing

Now that Windows knows you are at home, you need to explicitly enable the file-sharing service.

1. Click the Start button and type Advanced sharing settings into the search bar, then hit Enter.
2. Expand the Private networks section.
3. Turn on the toggle switch for Network discovery.
4. Check the box underneath it that says Set up network connected devices automatically.
5. Turn on the toggle switch for File and printer sharing.

Step 3: Share the Specific Folder

With the network configured, you can now choose exactly which folder you want to share with the rest of your house. We highly recommend creating a dedicated folder on your desktop called “Shared Drive” rather than attempting to share your entire C: Drive, which is a massive security risk.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want to share.
2. Right-click the folder and select Properties.
3. Click the Sharing tab at the top of the window.
4. Click the Advanced Sharing… button. (You may need administrator privileges to click this).
5. Check the box at the top that says Share this folder.
6. (Optional) You can change the “Share name” here if you want it to appear differently on the network, but leaving it as the default folder name is usually best.
7. Click the Permissions button.

By default, Windows shares the folder with “Everyone” but only gives them “Read” permission. This means other computers can copy files out of the folder, but they cannot delete files or add new files to it. If you want full two-way transferring:

8. Ensure “Everyone” is selected in the top box.
9. In the bottom box, check the Allow box next to Full Control.
10. Click Apply, then click OK on all open windows.

Step 4: Access the Shared Folder from the Second Computer

Now move to your second computer (the laptop in the living room).

1. Ensure it is connected to the same Wi-Fi network and set to “Private” (as in Step 1).
2. Open File Explorer.
3. Scroll down the left-hand navigation pane and click on Network.
4. A yellow warning banner might appear at the top of the window saying “Network discovery is turned off.” If so, click it and select “Turn on network discovery and file sharing.”
5. You should now see an icon representing the first computer (usually named something like DESKTOP-X7B9). Double-click it.
6. You will likely be prompted to enter a username and password. This is the exact same username and password you use to log into the first computer. (If you use a Microsoft Account to log in, type your email address and your Microsoft password).
7. Once authenticated, you will see your shared folder.

You can now drag and drop files into this folder just as if it were a physical USB drive plugged directly into the laptop.