How to reset firewall settings on Windows 10

On Windows 10, if you’re using the Microsoft Defender Firewall, the time will come when you may need to reset the settings to the default rules for a number of reasons, and this guide includes four ways to complete this task using Windows Security, Advanced Security (Control Panel), PowerShell, and Command Prompt.

The built-in firewall on Windows 10 includes a set of predefined inbound and outbound rules to allow or deny incoming or outgoing traffic to protect your computer from unauthorized access. However, you can always create custom rules and certain apps can also create additional rules to allow services to operate as expected, and over time, these rules can build up, and they can cause many issues.

The ability to reset the firewall settings can help to troubleshoot connectivity problems with apps or when setting up network file sharing. Or you want to clear a bunch of rules that are no longer needed, or you missed configure some rules and you’re not sure which one is causing the issue.

In this guide, you’ll learn four ways to reset the built-in firewall configuration to its default settings on Windows 10.

• Reset firewall settings on Windows 10
• Reset firewall settings using Advanced Security
• Reset firewall settings using PowerShell
• Reset firewall settings using Command Prompt

Reset firewall settings on Windows 10

To reset the settings for Microsoft Defender Firewall, use these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 10.

2. Search for Windows Security and click the top result to open the app.

3. Click on Firewall & network protection option.

4. Click the Restore firewall to default option.

   

5. Click the Restore default button.

   

   Quick tip: You can also get to this page from Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall, and clicking the Restore default option from the left navigation pane.

6. Click the Yes button.

Once you complete the steps, the Microsoft Defender Firewall settings will be deleted, and the default settings will be restored. If you have apps that depend on the firewall settings, you’ll need to reconfigure them again.

Reset firewall settings using Advanced Security

To reset the Windows 10 firewall settings, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and click the top result to open the console.

3. Right-click the “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer” item and select the Restore Default Policy option.

   

4. Click the Yes button.

5. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the custom firewall configurations will be overwritten by the default settings.

Reset firewall settings using PowerShell

To reset the Microsoft Defender Firewall using PowerShell command, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to reset the firewall settings and press Enter:

   (New-Object -ComObject HNetCfg.FwPolicy2).RestoreLocalFirewallDefaults()

   

Once you complete the steps, the PowerShell command will remove all the changes you made to the firewall since Windows 10 was installed.

Reset firewall settings using Command Prompt

To restore the default firewall settings with Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to reset the firewall settings and press Enter:

   netsh advfirewall reset

   

After you complete the steps, the command will delete current Windows 10 firewall settings, and the original settings will be restored on the device.

We’re focusing this guide on Windows 10, but the ability to restore the default settings for the Windows firewall has been around for a long time, which means that you can refer these steps if you’re trying to reset the feature on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. If you’re using third-party firewall, you need to check the manufacturer support website for more specific details.