Unable to connect your PC to your home network? Most of the users have reported that they are stuck with the “Enter network credentials” error after upgrading their device to Windows 11. This error comes followed with the following message:
The username or password is incorrect.
The network credentials are needed whenever you’re trying to connect your Windows PC to any network. These credentials can either be your Microsoft account’s username or password or simply your local account details.
Wondering how to get past this error notification? You’ve come to the right place. In this post, we have listed several workarounds that will allow you to fix the “Enter network credentials error” on Windows 11 or Windows 10 devices.
Let’s get started.
How to Fix the “Enter Network Credentials” Issue on Windows
To make sure that you’re not constantly bothered by this alert, each time you try connecting your device to a network, use any of the below-mentioned troubleshooting hacks to get rid of this enter network credentials Windows 10/11 error.
1. Clear All Credentials-
To begin with, we will try clearing all your saved credentials details from Windows Credentials Manager. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Launch the Start menu search box, enter “Notepad” and hit enter to open the default text editor of Windows.
Step 2: In the Notepad, copy and paste the following content:
@echo off
cmdkey.exe /list > "%TEMP%\List.txt"
findstr.exe Target "%TEMP%\List.txt" > "%TEMP%\tokensonly.txt"
FOR /F "tokens=1,2 delims= " %%G IN (%TEMP%\tokensonly.txt) DO cmdkey.exe /delete:%%H
del "%TEMP%\List.txt" /s /f /q
del "%TEMP%\tokensonly.txt" /s /f /q
echo All done
Pause
Step 3: After writing this code on Notepad, now save the file on your desktop with .BAT extension. For example, You can save it as “ClearCredentials.bat” or any other preferred title.
Step 4: Once the file has been saved, head over to the Desktop, right-click on the .BAT file and then select the “Run as Administrator” option to run the Batch file.
After the batch file is executed, all your previously saved credentials and other junk data will be deleted giving you a fresh start to connect your PC.
Also read: Troubleshooting Guide: Windows Network Error 0x800704cf
2. Disable the Credential Manager Service-
The next workaround to resolve the “Enter network credentials error” is by disabling the Credential Manager Service at startup. Once this service is disabled, the error notification won’t annoy you whenever you try to connect your device to any network. Follow these quick steps:
Step 1: Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Type “Services.msc” in the textbox and hit Enter.
Step 2: In the Services window, look for the “Credential Manager” service. Double-tap on it to open Properties.
Step 3: In the Credential Manager properties window, select the “Startup type” value as “Disabled”.
Step 4: Hit on the OK and Apply buttons to save the recent changes.
Exit all windows, reboot your device and then try reconnecting your device to any network to check whether you’re still encountering any issues.
Also read: How To Fix ‘One Or More Network Protocols Are Missing On This Computer’ Error?
3. Disable Password-Protected Sharing in Network Settings-
When the password-protected sharing setting is turned ON, only those users who have a local user account on this PC will be able to access shared files and devices. To make sure that other users can also have the same access, you can turn off the password-protected setting. To disable this setting on your Windows device, follow these quick steps:
Step 1: Tap on the WiFi icon placed on the Taskbar, select the “Network and Internet Settings” option.
Step 2: Select “Network and Sharing Center”.
Step 3: In the Network and Sharing Center window, select the “Change Advanced Sharing Settings” option from the left menu pane.
Step 4: Tap on “All Networks” to see the expanded set of options.
Step 5: Under the “Password Protected Sharing” section, select the “Turn off password protected sharing” option.
Step 6: Once you’re done, tap the “Save Changes” button placed at the bottom.
4. Add a new Credential in the Windows Credential Manager-
Tried the above-mentioned solutions and still no luck? Well, if none of the above-listed resolutions help you in overcoming this issue, you can try adding a new credential in the Windows Credential Manager. Here’s what you need to do:
Step 1: Launch the Start menu search box, type “Credentials Manager” and hit Enter.
Step 2: Tap on “Windows Credentials”.
Step 3: Select the “Add a Windows Credential” option.
Step 4: Enter the network’s name, user ID, and password to add a new credential to your home network.
Step 5: Tap on the OK button after filling in the details.
Once a new credential has been created, you can use this new local ID account while connecting to the network.
5. Use Microsoft Account Credentials –
Another method to fix this issue is logging into the second device using the Microsoft Account credentials. In place of the traditional step of using the local username and password, the Microsoft account credentials can help you fix the error.
6. Create New User Accounts –
If the above method does not help you succeed, try to create a new user account for your target and source computers. There could be a temporary glitch with the account or possibly an error with the credentials verification. Therefore, it can be tried out with the new user accounts for both the devices and with the new username and password you can fix the ‘enter network windows’ error.
7. Set IP address to Automatic –
When the IP address is not correctly configured on your PC, this can result in the error message. With simple steps, you can tweak the settings and let it connect to other computers on the same network.
Step 1: Open Run window by pressing Windows + R on your keyboard. Type the following command and press Enter.
ncpa.cpl
Step 2: Go to your network connection and right click on it to open Properties.
Step 3: In this newly opened tab, head to Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
Step 4: To edit, go to General and then Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.
Step 5: Click on Ok to apply changes.
8. Use Safe Mode –
If none of the above methods work for you, try to use the Safe Mode. Here, it is possible that the system is malfunctioning and showing errors. Therefore, we recommend you to boot your computer in Safe Mode. As it launches Windows with only the minimum required drivers and applications, removing the chances of dysfunctions.
While Safe Mode comes in different kinds – Alternate Shells, Minimal, Active Directory Repair and Network, we select the Safe Mode in Network. It will initiate the Windows to launch in safe mode including the drivers and apps necessary for connecting to the network.
Follow these steps –
Step 1: Go to Start Menu and select Power.
Step 2: Now hold the Shift key while selecting Restart. Now you can see the recovery mode Windows screen, here select Troubleshoot and then move to the Advanced Options.
Step 3: Go to Startup Settings to click on the Restart button.
Step 4: Next, press F5 key to enter the Safe Mode in Network.
Here you can try to connect to your device and check if the error persists.
Conclusion
Here were a few solutions to fix the “Enter Network Credentials Error” on Windows 11/10. Did any of these workarounds help you in overcoming this issue? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box.