Instead of completely disabling or turning off Microsoft Defender Firewall to resolve issues where a particular app isn’t connecting to the internet, you can enable the app to pass through Microsoft Defender Firewall instead. Microsoft Defender Firewall helps protect your device and data against unauthorized access, malware, and other attacks that may steal your identity or lock your computer for ransom. Microsoft Defender Firewall is pretty important, and it is not recommended that you disable it simply because an app is not able to access the internet. You should instead, allow the app to pass through the firewall, and the steps below will show you how to do that in Windows 11.
How to allow the app to pass through Microsoft Defender Firewall in Windows 11
Windows 11 has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. From system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows, all can be done from its System Settings pane. To get to the System Settings, you can use the Windows key + I shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings as shown in the image below: Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and search for Settings. Then select to open it. Windows Settings pane should look similar to the image below. In Windows Settings, click Privacy & security, and select the Windows Security tile on the right to expand it. On the Windows Security setting pane, click the “Open Windows Security” button as highlighted below, That will bring you to the Windows Security home settings pane. From the left menu items, go to Firewall & network protection and click Allow an app through the firewall. From the allowed apps settings window, click the Change settings button at the top as highlighted below. Then click Allow another app button and click Browse to browse and locate the app you want to add. Select the app you want to allow through the firewall and click Open. Then click the Add button to allow the app through the firewall. The app is now allowed to bypass Windows Defender Firewall. By all means, Microsoft Defender Firewall should be enabled and receive updates on your Windows computer. The only reason you may want to turn it off is when you have other security products installed and Microsoft Defender is interfering with them. If Microsoft Defender Firewall is not impacting your PC performance or interfering with other security suites installed, you should keep both installed and enabled. Conclusion: This post showed you how to apps through Microsoft Defender Firewall on Windows 11. If you find any error above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.
