Windows 10 keeps switching network location from Private to Public

No matter what I do, I cannot get Windows 10 to leave my home WiFi connection as Private.

When I reboot the machine it is public, and in network settings there is no way to change this.

So instead I go into Windows Explorer and open the Network section, where I am told "Network discovery is turned off. Network computers and devices are not visible. Click to change..."

and I do, and a flyout comes from the side asking me to allow this, which I do. I go to the network settings and I see that my connection I indeed private.

15-20 minutes later, I go back to network settings, and it has changed back to Public!

I've tried changing the registry settings, I've tried changing the setting in secpol.msc (and looking at it now it is set to Private, even though the connection remains public).

I "forgot" the connection and re-added it, but it never prompts me to choose if I want to access pcs on the network it just automatically defaults it to public.

I don't see anything in the EventViewer that would explain or even log the change, and I have absolutely no idea how to fix this...

HOW DO I STOP IT FROM DOING THIS?!

Instead of getting work done for the past 2 hours I've been fighting this stupid problem. I would really appreciate any help I can get to stop this and permanently lock the connection as private...

Solution 1:

I had the same exact issue, drove me nuts for months and finally fixed it by doing the following. It may be overkill but it worked and that's all that mattered to me lol.

Delete all known wireless network profiles

1. Open elevated Command Prompt (CRTL+X, Command Prompt(Admin))
2. Type without quotes "netsh wlan show profiles" and press Enter. This will give you a list.
3. Type without quotes "netsh wlan delete profile name="ProfileName"" and press Enter.
4. Repeat #3 for every network that was displayed in your list.
5. Exit the command prompt

Make sure WLAN AutoConfig service is set to Auto

1. Open services (Start, type "services" and hit enter.)
2. Find "WlanSvc(WLAN AutoConfig)" and double click to open it's properties.
3. Hit the STOP button.
4. Make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic". Somehow mine was set to manual so it never started. Setting it to automatic will start the service at boot.
5. Close Services

Remove and reinstall all network adapters

1. Open device manager (CTRL+X, device manager)
2. Click the "view" menu and select "Show Hidden Devices"
3. Expand (+) the Network Adapters section
4. Right-Click every single adapter listed and select "Uninstall" but do NOT select "delete software" if asked.
5. Restart/Reboot your PC

In theory upon startup your PC will detect and reinstall all currently connected network adapters. And once you re-join your wireless network (you should even have to type in your WPA2 key) you should be asked "Do you want to turn on sharing between PCs and connect to devices?" Answering yes should set the network type to Private and hopefully STICK.

Again this may be overkill but after trying every other "solution" I could find this is the way I could get it to stick. Hope this helps!