Net Policy Change Samba

To allow a Windows 11 machine to access a Samba share, you may need to adjust your security policies and enable older, less secure protocols, especially if connecting to a legacy Samba server. Modern versions of Windows disable these features by default for improved security. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Warning: Enabling insecure guest logons or the outdated SMBv1 protocol reduces your system's security. It should only be done in a trusted network environment, such as a home network, and preferably avoided altogether. The best practice is to configure your Samba server to use a more secure, modern protocol like SMBv3 and require authentication. [1, 2, 3, 6, 7]

Option 1: Enable insecure guest logons (Recommended for most home users)

This policy change allows your Windows 11 machine to connect to Samba shares that do not require a username or password. You can make this change using the Group Policy Editor (for Pro and Enterprise editions) or the Registry Editor (for all editions). [8, 9, 10]

You can enable insecure guest logons via the Group Policy Editor by navigating to and enabling the corresponding policy. [8]

Alternatively, this can be done through the Registry Editor by creating a key under and adding a DWORD (32-bit) Value named with a data of 1. In both cases, a restart is required. [8, 11, 12]

Option 2: Enable the outdated SMBv1 protocol

If the Samba server requires the older SMBv1 protocol: [13, 14, 15]

Access Windows Features via , check the box for SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support, click OK, and restart your PC. [13]

Open Windows Terminal as Administrator and run . Restart your computer. [14]

Option 3: Disable SMB signing requirements

If the Samba server does not support SMB signing, you may need to disable this requirement, which can be done using PowerShell with the command executed in Windows Terminal as Administrator. Restart your computer afterward. [16, 17, 18]

After changing policy settings

Once changes are made, you can access the share via in File Explorer. [19]