How to Disable Firewall in Windows? The 5 Best Ways

Windows Firewall is always running in the background providing two-way network filtering to the system. It does this by blocking unauthorized traffic from entering or leaving your PC. However, there are situations where you need to disable the Firewall.

Sometimes, Firewalls detect genuine apps as malicious, restricting them from sending or receiving data packets from the network.

So, if you don’t want to harm your system by disabling the entire Windows Firewall, you can opt for methods like activating a single app through the Firewall or even setting rules for incoming or outgoing connections.

Note: The Windows Defender Firewall is an important part of Windows security, so make sure you enable the Firewall after the task is complete.

First, Find the Network Profile Type

You can find three network profiles in Windows—Domain, Private, or Public Network Profiles.

To find out your network the profile type for your network, open Windows settings, go to Network & Internet, and under Properties, you will see the network profile type.

Depending on the network you are connected to, you will need to disable the Firewall on certain types of networks.

Notes: If you have installed a third-party Antivirus application, Windows Defender Firewall settings may not be available. In such cases, you need to disable the Firewall from within the antivirus application.

Through Windows Security

Press Windows key + R. In the Run dialog box, type windowsdefender: and press Enter. After window Windows Security open, click Firewall & network protection. Select an active network. Here, disable Microsoft Defender Firewall. If you want to disable Firewall on all networks, go back to Firewall & network protection. Also disable Firewall & network protection on the remaining network profiles.

Via Control Panel

Go to Run. Type firewall.cpl and press Enter to open Windows Defender Firewall. In the left pane, click Enable or disable Windows Defender Firewall. Click Enable Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) to disable Firewall on all networks or click Turn off Windows Defender Firewall in the selected network profile. Click OK.

Through the Command Line Interface

If you prefer the CLI, you can also use Command Prompt or PowerShell to disable Windows Firewall.

Using Command Prompt,

Press Windows + R and press Enter. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command prompt as admin. Type netsh advfirewall turn off status for all profiles and press Enter to disable Firewall on all profiles. If you only want to disable the Firewall on the current profile, type netsh advfirewall turn off the current profile state. To disable Firewall on a specific profile, type netsh advfirewall set public profile status. Replace public with domain or private depending on the network profile you want to disable. To check if the Firewall is disabled, type netsh advfirewall show all.

Using PowerShell,

Go to Run. Type powershell and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open PowerShell as admin. Type Set-NetFirewallProfile-Enabled False and press Enter. This will disable the Firewall on all networks. If you want to disable the Firewall on the selected network, type Set-NetFirewallProfile-Profile -Enabled False. Change with Domain, Public, or Private, depending on your preference.

Using Registry Editor

Press the Windows key and R at the same time. Type regedit and press Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy On the left pane, you will see two entries, DomainProfile and StandardProfile. Changes to the Standard profile apply to Public and Private profiles. Click DomainProfile or StandardProfile, depending on your choice. In the right pane, double click EnableFirewall. Set value data to 0 to disable Firewall.

Using the Group Policy Editor

Press Windows key + R to open Run. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter. This will open the Local Group Policy Editor. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative template > Network > Network Connection > Windows Defender Firewall.
Click Domain Profile. If you want to disable the Firewall on your Public or Private profile, click it Standard Profile. Double click Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections. ​​Tick Non-active. Click applyThen OK. Now, you cannot change Firewall settings from Windows settings or control panel unless you enable Firewall from group policy.

Notes: Disabling Firewall from group policy restricts users from enabling Firewall from Windows settings, control panel, and command line.

Another Alternative to Disabling the Firewall

When installing an application, it issues listen calls that specify protocol or port information. By default, Firewall blocks this action. Some apps or installers may automatically add login rules that allow connections.

If not, you need to create an inbound exception or allow the app to bypass the Firewall.

Other than that, the easy option is Allow app through Firewall.

Allow Apps Through Firewall

To allow certain apps through Windows Defender, follow these steps.

Open Windows Defender Firewall. Click Allow app through Firewall. Click Change Settings. Under Allowed apps and featuresuncheck the apps you want to disable the Firewall for. Click OK. If you can’t find the app, click it Allow other apps.. and browse to the app for which you want to disable the Firewall.

Set Firewall Rules

Inbound and outbound rules monitor incoming and outgoing traffic from a network and allow or block connections to that network based on rules.

By default, Windows blocks all incoming connections and allows all outgoing connections. Windows asks whether to allow or block a connection each time a request comes in to an application or network service.

When you allow, the Firewall will create an allowed inbound rule that allows incoming connections. If you block the connection, a block rule will be created for the application.

So if you block incoming connections using inbound rules, you must allow connections.

Press Windows key + R. Type wf.msc and press Enter. Click Entry Rules. Here, you can see a list of rules. Check the Actions column to see if the app you’re trying to use is blocked. If it is blocked, double click on the rule, and check it Allow Connection under Actions.

If you have installed an application that uses network services and it is blocked by the Firewall, you need to create an inbound rule to allow connections through the Firewall.

Open Firewall with advanced security. Right click on Entry Rules and choose New Rules. Here, select a Rule type. Program: If you want to disable Firewall on certain programs Ports: If you want to specify a specific TCP or UDP port Special: If you want to set rules on port and application Predefined: If you want to change the Firewall settings on a connection related Windows experience Click it Next. Now, fill in the Program/Protocol and Ports/Scope, depending on your choice. Once you are in Actions, check it Allow connection to disable Firewall on this particular port or program. Click Profile and select the profile you want to apply the rule to. Now, click Name, set a name and description for this new rule, and click Finished.

Lastly, you can also allow all incoming connections while keeping the Firewall state enabled. However, this is not recommended as it makes your system vulnerable to threats on the network

In Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security, right-click Windows Defender Firewall With Advanced Security on Local Computer. Choose Property. Click Domain Profile, Private Profile or Public Profile, wherever you connect. Set incoming connection to Allow. Click applyThen OK.