How to change the network type?

Connecting to my Access Point (WEP, Shared Key) works fine, but the network type becomes PUBLIC in the Network and Sharing Center and I cannot change it, it is read only there! My computer is not part of a domain but a member of a workgroup.

I need to change the network type for the above WiFi connection to WORK/HoME.
Please help.

Thank you in advance.

Is the "public network" text highlighted yellow not clickable on your installation? On mine I can click on it and change the network type.

Have you tried removing the network adapter drivers from device manager and let it get detected again on the next reboot? It should ask you how you want to configure it the first time it is detected. It seems strange it is showing as unidentified, which seems to be causing the problem.

Hi, TigerTeal over NeoWin helped me sorting out this. And below are the things I learnt;

1. Windows 7 will not let you change the location type until it determines the network's name (or at least not as UNDEFINED NETWORK);
2. To manage Windows 7 to get the network name, unlike WinXP, you must have a default gateway for the connection you are dealing with;

In my case, I didn't put any default gateway for my WiFi network, because I don't need one, I just needed the system to connect to the WiFi network and it was connecting and I could use all the network resources. But that scenario confused Windows 7 as it couldn't find a default gateway for the WiFi network, thus it failed to recongnize the network, because it needs to talk to the gateway to recognize a network, and thus it was labeling it as UNDEFINED NETWORK and was resulting into a READ ONLY network location type for the WiFi network that I was unable to change. I just put in my Access Point's IP in the default gateway box for the WiFi adopter and Windows 7 was able to recognize the network within 2 seconds and allowed me to change the location type straigh way without any trouble.

I think Microsoft implemented this sort of network binding rule and/or topology in Windows 7 for the for the first time, but am not gonna like it, because it will definitely be resulting into side effects like;

a. Interruption with the main internet connectivity;
b. Ghost UNDEFINED NETWORK for the same adopter;

Thanks for reporting back with the solution, that's going to be a big help with others that will no doubt have the same problem

It seems strange that it can't pick up the SSID from the network the way it has done before, I wonder why they've changed this in W7.

Yes that surely would be a help for the others. One thing, it picks up the SSID okay, it just fails to get the network type and location type without a default gateway!

I recently change my NIC card address which promted the Network Center to set the network at public.

This results in no network access. Attempts to disonnect or change the Network using the Connect or disconnect link in Ntwork and Sharing Center simply opens the Network and Sharing Center icon in the sys tray.

Is there a fix for this?

Running RC Build 7100

The Network and Sharing Center opens up the SysTray prompt when you try to connect or disconnect to/from a network and that is the regular/natural way because you need to connect/disconnect to/from any network using that SysTray prompt.

1. Did you change the network adopter or you manually altered the NIC MAC?
2. This network adopter connects you to ISP or just to your local network?

If the interface is is for your ISP connection, check if your ISP has binded the MAC for the connection.

If the interface is to connect you to a work/corporate/office network, check if there is a firewall on your gateway server that is binded with the previous MAC.

Finally, check if you have the DEFAULT GATEWAY entry for this interface, if not, Win7 will always detect the network as UNDEFINED and won't let you change the network type and/or name.

I have a wireless card -- a D-Link DWA-552 -- and it has been perfectly able to roam wireless networks without any intervention from me on the default gateway front. All it has asked is to define the network type (public/home) when it stumbles across a network it hasn't seen before.

As a note, I live in an apartment complex with 11 different wireless networks, and frequently co-work on the weekends in an area with 3-5 wireless networks.

Microsoft hasn't changed the wireless acquisition methodology; I think you just have abnormal ISP-provided wireless gear (as an example).

Well after further research, here's what I found on Windows 7 RC build 7100. If you change IP addresses for the NIC card or even change ports on a switch port, Windows 7 will see that as a change and go through the Network Discovery. For some reason, if Network Discovery can't do something it will classify the network as public and block all traffic.

Now here's a test I did. On the Windows 7 RC computer, I set a static IP address, subnet mask, default gatewa and DNS servers. I established internet connectivity. If I change the DNS order or give the computer a different address, Network Discovery runs. If Network Discovery can't do whatever it is it does, then the network settings are changed to public which basically denies traffic. All this from simply changing the last octet from .48 to .59 on the IP address. Everything else stayed the same.

I am unable to get internet access even though I had internet access with the .48 address. All DNS and Default gateway configuration remained the same.

This is going to be a big problem with Windows 7 on consumer home computers with routers if DHCP is used and it changes the IP address of a host and Network and Sharing can't do whatever it does and makes the network public. Thus no internet access.

I've yet to find a way to connect or disconnect from one of the profiles listed eg Home, Domain, Work or Public...

I believe that having a method to disable Network and Sharing Center should be built in.