Windows 10 Unable to Access Router Settings When Network Is Set to Private

[6.7LMegaCab]

As the subject states when I set the network to "private" I am unable to access the router admin page or the QNAP NAS login page. When I set the network to "public" everything works fine. I have searched high and low and haven't found anything to resolve this issue. All non-Windows devices can access the router and QNAP without any issues.

I initially thought it was the Asus router since I was still running the outdated 384 Merlin firmware. So in my efforts to troubleshoot, I decided to capitalize on this and upgrade the main router along with updating both to the latest Merlin. This is when I realized when I changed the network on Windows 10 to private, I could no longer access the router. Changing the network back to 'public', everything works as it should. I then created a local admin account on my computer to see if it had something to do with the Windows login profile. This didn't change the behavior of the router being blocked when setting the network to private (I also set the Windows login account to User - no change). I checked another computer and the same thing happens. Doesn't matter what browser is used either.

I have searched high and low through the built-in Windows' Firewall, changed a multitude of settings, and even disabled it and still am unable to access the router if the network is set to private.

So, I am now wondering if the routers' built-in Firewall has anything to do with it, or if using OpenDNS causes Windows to see the network as public? It doesn't make sense, but that is the only thing I can possibly reason with.

Here's my current setup:

Main Router: Asus RT-AC86U (Merlin 386.1)
AP: ASUS RT-AC68P (Merlin 386.1)

Routers are setup using the AiMESH - however, I know this has nothing to do with it as I ran into the same problem when I only had the AC68P.

I went to GRC Shields Up and ran their port scanner and it came back as unable to access the router, so perhaps it doesn't even matter.

Can anyone shed light on why I can't set the networks to private here in my house? All Windows devices can still access the internet whether the network is set to public or private. I can ping the router just fine if the network is set to private.

 

[OzarkEdge]

As the subject states when I set the network to "private" I am unable to access the router admin page or the QNAP NAS login page. When I set the network to "public" everything works fine. I have searched high and low and haven't found anything to resolve this issue. All non-Windows devices can access the router and QNAP without any issues.

I initially thought it was the Asus router since I was still running the outdated 384 Merlin firmware. So in my efforts to troubleshoot, I decided to capitalize on this and upgrade the main router along with updating both to the latest Merlin. This is when I realized when I changed the network on Windows 10 to private, I could no longer access the router. Changing the network back to 'public', everything works as it should. I then created a local admin account on my computer to see if it had something to do with the Windows login profile. This didn't change the behavior of the router being blocked when setting the network to private (I also set the Windows login account to User - no change). I checked another computer and the same thing happens. Doesn't matter what browser is used either.

I have searched high and low through the built-in Windows' Firewall, changed a multitude of settings, and even disabled it and still am unable to access the router if the network is set to private.

So, I am now wondering if the routers' built-in Firewall has anything to do with it, or if using OpenDNS causes Windows to see the network as public? It doesn't make sense, but that is the only thing I can possibly reason with.

Here's my current setup:

Main Router: Asus RT-AC86U (Merlin 386.1)
AP: ASUS RT-AC68P (Merlin 386.1)

Routers are setup using the AiMESH - however, I know this has nothing to do with it as I ran into the same problem when I only had the AC68P.

I went to GRC Shields Up and ran their port scanner and it came back as unable to access the router, so perhaps it doesn't even matter.

Can anyone shed light on why I can't set the networks to private here in my house? All Windows devices can still access the internet whether the network is set to public or private. I can ping the router just fine if the network is set to private.

Perhaps uninstall your PC network adapter in Windows Device Manager, restart Windows, and then re-install it if it doesn't re-install automatically.

OE

 

[RMerlin]

Try resetting your network settings (this is a bit similar to the old command line based series of netsh commands):

How to Reset Your Entire Network in Windows 10 and Start From Scratch

If you're suffering network problems in Windows 10 that you just can't seem to fix, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update now includes a feature that lets you reset your network back to how it was when you first installed Windows.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

Perhaps uninstall your PC network adapter in Windows Device Manager, restart Windows, and then re-install it if it doesn't re-install automatically.

OE

Hey! Thanks for the reply OE! I used your post to configure my router setup (the post from Feb 14, 2018). Still working on optimizing the networks, but so far they are working great!

Back to the original issue:

I forgot to mention that I have already done that, multiple times, even before upgrading my router setup. Before I realized that the reason I couldn't access the original single router set up was that the network was set to private, I had uninstalled the network adapters, restarted, and let Windows do its magic. I would have expected it to be a driver issue but it happens on every computer when I set the network to private.

I've cleared the browser cache, released/renewed IPs, deleted the stored/known networks, nada. Only when I change back to public would it allow me to access the router login.

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

Try resetting your network settings (this is a bit similar to the old command line based series of netsh commands):

How to Reset Your Entire Network in Windows 10 and Start From Scratch

If you're suffering network problems in Windows 10 that you just can't seem to fix, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update now includes a feature that lets you reset your network back to how it was when you first installed Windows.

www.howtogeek.com

Sir, thank you for the reply as well! Your firmware is the reason I've been sticking with Asus routers.

Did that as well; more times than I count.

I also did the command line just to be sure. Nada.

I guess I didn't try my daughters' laptop; basic configuration from HP. Her network was set to public as well; I changed it to private and what you do know, I was able to access both the NAS and Router login pages. Hmm.

I am using Windows 10 Pro - ASUS Q551L. Any other thoughts?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Sir, thank you for the reply as well! Your firmware is the reason I've been sticking with Asus routers.

Did that as well; more times than I count.

I also did the command line just to be sure. Nada.

I guess I didn't try my daughters' laptop; basic configuration from HP. Her network was set to public as well; I changed it to private and what you do know, I was able to access both the NAS and Router login pages. Hmm.

I am using Windows 10 Pro - ASUS Q551L. Any other thoughts?

How are you trying to access the router webUI... what browser? And what is the response/error? Have you purged browser history?

Are you setting any odd IP addresses anywhere? Using router guest WLANs?

Need more clues.

OE

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

Accessing the webUI via http://192.168.50.1/Main_Login.asp with FireFox, Edge, or Chrome does the exact same thing when setting the network to private.

I've purged all data. I still get the same thing. I switched the network to 'private' and this is what I get when trying to get to the router login at 192.168.50.1 (note, same thing happened when it was setup for 192.168.1.1 with the original router).

Here's some screenshots.

MS Edge:

FireFox:

Network Sharing Settings:

Met the 5 file limit:
The Network settings for all are as follows:
Public Folder Whether on or off, same thing
File Sharing Connections: Use 128-bit encryption
Password Protected sharing: On

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

I switched back to public and I can access the webUI:

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

How are you trying to access the router webUI... what browser? And what is the response/error? Have you purged browser history?

Are you setting any odd IP addresses anywhere? Using router guest WLANs?

Need more clues.

OE

I missed your second question:

No guest networks are setup; all routers/AP are set with a static IP:

Main (86U): 192.168.50.1 (this was the default set for the router - figured I'd leave it to ensure a fresh start across all devices)
AiMESH RT-AC68P: 192.168.50.2

Netgear EX6400 (something I had from a while ago), moved outside for garage access is set to 192.168.50.3; this is set up with a separate SSID so I know when my devices switch to this network or when they don't (I can manually select it)

QNAP NAS: 192.168.50.4

Edit:
Static IPs are only set in the router, not on devices (leaving TCP/IPv4 to obtain IP and DNS addresses automatically)

 

[OzarkEdge]

I missed your second question:

No guest networks are setup; all routers/AP are set with a static IP:

Main (86U): 192.168.50.1 (this was the default set for the router - figured I'd leave it to ensure a fresh start across all devices)
AiMESH RT-AC68P: 192.168.50.2

Netgear EX6400 (something I had from a while ago), moved outside for garage access is set to 192.168.50.3; this is set up with a separate SSID so I know when my devices switch to this network or when they don't (I can manually select it)

QNAP NAS: 192.168.50.4

Edit:
Static IPs are only set in the router, not on devices (leaving TCP/IPv4 to obtain IP and DNS addresses automatically)

And the router DHCP server IP Pool does not include 192.168.50.1 to 4?

Is the Netgear router ON? Have you tried with it OFF?

Are you using HTTP vs HTTPS on the router webUI access?

I wonder if switching to 192.168.1.* would work around it.

Have you asked Windows to do its network diagnostic thing... might ID something of concern.

OE

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

And the router DHCP server IP Pool does not include 192.168.50.1 to 4?

Is the Netgear router ON? Have you tried with it OFF?

Are you using HTTP vs HTTPS on the router webUI access?

I wonder if switching to 192.168.1.* would work around it.

Have you asked Windows to do its network diagnostic thing... might ID something of concern.

OE

I just updated the server pool - that never crossed my mind. No/Go

Yes, I tried it with the Netgear router off.

I have tried both HTTP and HTTPS.

I just updated the router to a different IP (.6) - No/Go as well.

If you are referring to the built-in diagnostic thing? I just ran it again and had it check the IP and it said it couldn't detect an issue.

I can ping the router just fine using the command prompt.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I just updated the server pool - that never crossed my mind. No/Go

I wonder if this is one of those times where it would help to shut everything down and then bring up just the router and a test PC. And then bring up the remaining network.

OE

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

Already done that, multiple times. It's gotta be something on this computer. I chatted with MS support and they recommended a clean boot.

I've done that and now slowly trying to bring everything back up until I can access the internet on it. Super slow process to enable, reboot, check, enable, reboot, rinse and repeat.

 

[degrub]

Are you using a software firewall or AV or malware blocking software ?
Any software drivers (virtual network adapters) in the nic driver stack ?

 

[6.7LMegaCab]

Only what Windows 10 provides; no other antivirus or malware blocking software. I have disabled all of the Windows Security features to rule that out and it didn't work either.

After spending about 2 hours trying to slowly enable everything from the clean boot just to get internet access again; I gave up, re-enabled everything and tried to work backward, then just disabled a lot of the stuff I'm not even using at the moment; but none of those are causing this issue.

As for network software drivers; only the Intel AC-7260 drivers and Realtek PCIe is installed; then I'm guessing whatever is provided by Windows considering all the WAN VPN ports.

I noticed the TAP-Win32 Adapter in the pic below was disabled, after taking the screenshot; I re-enabled it, rebooted, no change. I think I disabled it last week trying to figure all of this out.

 

[mdhains]

Only what Windows 10 provides; no other antivirus or malware blocking software. I have disabled all of the Windows Security features to rule that out and it didn't work either.

After spending about 2 hours trying to slowly enable everything from the clean boot just to get internet access again; I gave up, re-enabled everything and tried to work backward, then just disabled a lot of the stuff I'm not even using at the moment; but none of those are causing this issue.

As for network software drivers; only the Intel AC-7260 drivers and Realtek PCIe is installed; then I'm guessing whatever is provided by Windows considering all the WAN VPN ports.

I noticed the TAP-Win32 Adapter in the pic below was disabled, after taking the screenshot; I re-enabled it, rebooted, no change. I think I disabled it last week trying to figure all of this out.

Hi 6.7LMegaCab, did you ever resolve this issue? I have the exact same issue you have described, including trying the troubleshooting steps. In my case this happened on a new computer build using Windows 11. My older Windows 10 computer does not have this issue. So I'm stumped.