Network Connection - Change Name in Windows 8

How to Rename a Network Connection in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8

information   Information
A network connection is a set of information that enables your computer to connect to the Internet, a network, or another computer. When you install a network adapter in your computer, Windows automatically names and creates a connection for it in the Network Connections folder. A local area connection is created for an Ethernet network adapter. A wireless network connection is created for a wireless network adapter.

This tutorial will show you how to change the name of a network connection (adapter) to any name you like in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Note   Note
A connection name cannot contain tabs or any of the following characters:

\ / : * ? < > |





OPTION ONE

To Rename Network Connection in Network Connections Folder


1. Do step 2 or 3 below for how you would like to open the Network and Sharing Center.​
2. On your desktop, right click on the Network icon in the taskbar notification area, click/tap on Open Network and Sharing Center, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​
Connection_Name-1.jpg
3. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Network and Sharing Center icon, and go to step 4 below.​
4. In Network and Sharing Center, click/tap on the Change adapter settings link on the left side. (see screenshot below)​
Connection_Name-2.jpg
5. Do step 6 or 7 below for how you would like to rename the connection. (see screenshot below)​
Connection_Name-3.jpg
6. Select (highlight) the connection (ex: Ethernet-2) that you want to rename, click/tap on Rename this connection in the toolbar, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 5)​
7. Right click on the connection (ex: Ethernet-2) that you want to rename, click/tap on Rename, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 5)​
8. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​
9. Type in a new name for the connection, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​
Connection_Name-4.jpg
10. You can now close the Network Connections folder if you like.​




OPTION TWO

To Rename Network Connection in an Elevated Command Prompt


2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: This command will give you a list of your current network connections.​
netsh interface show interface
Connect_Name_CMD-1.jpg
3. Under the "Interface Name" column, make note of the network connect name (ex: Ethernet-2) that you want to change. (see screenshot above)​
4. In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: This command is what renames the network connection.​
netsh interface set interface name="CURRENT NAME" newname="NEW NAME"
For example, if I wanted to rename Ethernet-2 to Ethernet-Router, I would type this command below exactly.​
netsh interface set interface name="Ethernet-2" newname="Ethernet-Router"
Connect_Name_CMD-2.jpg
5. When finished, you can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.​





OPTION THREE

To Rename Network Connection in Registry Editor


1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.​
2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​
3. In Registry Editor, navigate to the location below, and select (highlight) the Network key. (see screenshot below)​
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network
Connect_Name_Registry-1A.jpg
4. Use the Find and Find Next feature in Registry Editor to search for your current network connection name (ex: Ethernet-2). (see screenshot below)​
Connect_Name_Registry-1B.jpg
5. When found, you should see your current network connection name (ex: Ethernet-2) as the Name string value of the Connection key like below.​
Connect_Name_Registry-2.jpg
6. In the right pane of Connection, double click/tap on the Name string value to modify it. (see screenshot above)​
7. Type in a new name for the connection, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)​
Connect_Name_Registry-3.jpg
8. When finished, you can now close Registry Editor if you like.​


That's it,
Shawn


 

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Guys I had a heck of a time with this problem and finally found what I consider the best solution to it.

There is a quirk in the Windows 8 OS that will force your connection to to take on the name of the WIRELESS SID if you have BOTH Ethernet and wireless NIC cards/functionality in your PC (most do now) and the Ethernet card is unable to take its private IP from your wireless/hard-wired router. In my case my PC arrived from the factory with its own Ethernet private IP with DNS active. That made it unable to get its initial private IP from my router over the wired LAN and it was then able to connect on the wireless side. That had the obtuse effect of naming that Ethernet connection to the channel name of the wireless channel it was connected (mine is dual band/channel) to even though it was also set up as a hard wired lan connection.

I read all the various online advise about hand regediting the network profile names - but that is NOT the way to fix this problem and it leaves one open to corrupting the registry if you fat finger in the wrong keys. Those profile come and go like spam every time a new wireless connection comes into range (people walking by or driving by in the parking lot etc.). I learned the proper way to do this from this bright guy named Dmitri (http://dmitrychernik...4#comment-78578). The big confusion comes from the fact that there are THREE different names associated with a connection and these names are given to different conceptual levels of a network connection: 1) HW Adapter Name; 2) Gateway Name and ; 3) Network Name. Most people are being advised to edit the adapter & profiles names via regedit but need or want to change the latter NETWORK name so that all their old non-wireless LAN hardwired PCs at home can connect to the network that contains both wireless and Ethernet HW lines. To me it was just too "irrational" to connect an Ethernet LAN PC hardwire to a connection network auto-named by Windows 8 as "Wireless2.4Ghz" (the name my network initially took when it set up the connection over a wireless router channel rather than over its Hardwired LAN cable).

A lot of people simply forget to set up the network permissions and defaults from the administrator tool and this where all these changes can be made.

The proper way to edit the connection name is to go into the administrator utility and set it up proper there. Go into a PowerShell and type "secpol.msc" (or click Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Local Security Policy). Once here you simply edit the name you want and also all the other defaults that general non-admin users (if any) can tinker with so there's at least an initial definition for all fields of the connection record.

From the same utility you can also change the icons and images used to depict your network that is now named to something more endearing to you.

Saved me hours of head scratching and very simple solution that requires no hand editing of the register.

Best of Luck
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Many thanks.My local network has given me fits. When looking at the Network and Sharing page on any machine, the local network would appear as "Network n" where n could be 3, 5, 2, whatever. I thought that might be one of the things causing me trouble. As a result of your post they now all say the same thing. However, the Local Security page still thinks they are Networks 3, 5, ... with new names assigned. I guess that isn't one of my problems, but there are many, many ways a network can foil sharing files. Even the freaking time/calendar can do it. I need a checklist, but it shouldn't be this complicated.Thanks again
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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