# Fix ‘The Remote Computer Requires Network Level Authentication (NLA)’ Issue on Windows

**URL:** https://www.compsmag.com/blogs/fix-the-remote-computer-requires-network-level-authentication-nla-issue-on-windows/
**Author:** Ayushi Chauhan
**Published:** 2021-11-20
**Updated:** 2021-11-20
**Categories:** Blogs
**Tags:** Blogs Daily, Computer Guides, Computers Tips and Tutorials, guiderobert, Guides and Tutorials, guiding12, How To Guide, Tips, Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 11
**Reading Time:** 5 min

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This guide is about Fix ‘The Remote Computer Requires Network Level Authentication (NLA)’ Issue on Windows. So read this free guide, Fix ‘The Remote Computer Requires Network Level Authentication (NLA)’ Issue on Windows step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.

## Fix ‘The Remote Computer Requires Network Level Authentication (NLA)’ Issue on Windows - Guide

The remote computer you are trying to connect to requires network level authentication (NLA), but the Windows domain controller cannot be contacted to perform NLA.  If you are an administrator on the remote computer, you can disable NLA using the options on the Remote tab of the System Properties dialog box.

To fix Remote computer requires network level authentication issue in Windows 10/8/7, follow these solutions-

In short, you need to disable network level authentication or loosen up settings so that the remote computer can connect to the host machine without any error.

## Adjust remote desktop security settings

By default, your Windows 11 machine only allows connections from computers with network level authentication.  This built-in security function allows you to block all unwanted connections when you have a large local network and your computer is open for sharing.  You can change the network location from public to private and vice versa as per your need.  However, the same settings can cause the problem mentioned above.  Therefore, you can try disabling this option and check whether the problem persists or not.  Follow the steps below to allow NLA-free connections.

Open this PC on your computer.

Right-click in the empty space and select Properties.

On your right hand side you should find an option called Advanced System Settings.  You need to click on this option.

Switching from Advanced tab to Remote

Alternatively, you can press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter button.

Make sure the Allow remote connections to this computer option is selected.  Otherwise, choose this option and remove the checkmark from the Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication check box.

Click Apply and OK buttons to save your change.

## Disable NLA using Group Policy Editor

You can disable network level authentication using Group Policy Editor.  This is much friendlier and you don't need any specialized knowledge to do this.  The only downside is that you cannot get Local Group Policy Editor on Windows 10/11 Home version.  Even if you load Group Policy Editor, you might not get the similar option in this third-party application.  Therefore, this method only applies to Windows 10/11 Pro and Enterprise users.

Open Local Group Policy Editor.  You can search for it in the Taskbar search box.  Or you can enter gpedit.msc at the Run prompt.

After opening it, navigate to this path - Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Security

On your right hand side you should find a setting called Require user authentication for remote connections using network level authentication.  Double-click this setting to open Properties.

Make sure Disabled is selected.  Otherwise, choose this option and click the OK button. button to save your change.

## Disable network level authentication using Registry Editor

Network level authentication can also be blocked through the registry editor.  However, you must do this on the remote computer.  It's easy to do when the host computer is connected to the remote computer through the local network.  If your Windows Registry Editor has been disabled by mistake or by your system administrator, be sure to enable Windows Registry Editor first.  The advantage of this method is that you can get the registry editor from any version of Windows 11/10/8/7.

Open Registry Editor.  You can search for it in the taskbar search box or enter regedit at the Run prompt.

Go to File > Connect Network Registry.

Enter the name of the remote computer and click Check Names.  You should find Remote Computer Registry Editor on your host computer.

After opening the remote computer's Registry Editor, navigate to this path- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Terminal Server > WinStations > RDP-Tcp

Here you can find two keys, namely SecurityLayer and UserAuthentication.  Open one after one and set the value to zero (0).

After that, open PowerShell and type this command-restart-computer

## Shut down NLA using PowerShell

To turn off or disable network level authentication with the help of Windows PowerShell, you need the remote computer name.  Otherwise it is not possible to start with this method.  If you collected this, follow these steps.

Open Windows 11 PowerShell with Administrator privilege.  To do this, search for 'powershell' in Cortana's search box > right-click on the corresponding result > select Run as administrator.

Type the following commands one after one - $TargetMachine = "remote-computer-name" (Get-WmiObject -class "Win32_TSGeneralSetting" -Namespace root  cimv2  terminaiservices -ComputerName $TargetMachine -Filter "TerminalName = 'RDP-tcp'") .SetUserAuthenticationRequired (0)

## Final note

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