How to Rename Network Adapter in Windows 10 & 11

Find the default network adapter name boring? You can change it. Here is how to rename a network adapter in Windows 10 & 11.

Windows uses dedicated network adapters for network connections. For example, your WiFi has its own network adapter, and Ethernet is no different. Whether a real or virtual network adapter, Windows or the network adapter automatically assigns a default name to it.

In general, the default name makes it easy to recognize the network adapter. For instance, the WiFi adapter is named “WiFi,” and the Ethernet adapter is called “Ethernet.” As you can see, you can quickly tell which adapter belongs to WiFi and Ethernet.

Though the default names are helpful, you can change a network adapter’s name if you don’t like it or get bored with the generic default name.

Let me show you how to rename a network adapter in Windows 10 and 11 operating systems without ado.

Table of contents:

Rename network adapter from Settings
Command to rename network adapter
Change network adapter from Control Panel

The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.

Rename network adapter from Settings

You can rename a network adapter directly from Windows Settings app. All it takes is a few clicks, and you are good to go.

Launch settings with “Start + I.”
Go to the “Network & Internet” tab.
Go to the “Advanced network settings” page.
Expand the network adapter.
Press the “Rename” button.
Type the new network adapter name.
Click the “Save” button.
With that, you have renamed the network adapter.
Close the Settings app.

Steps with more details:

First, use the “Start key + I” key binding to open the Windows Settings app. After that, go to the “Network & Internet” tab.

This page shows all the options and settings related to Windows Network and Internet. Click the “Advanced network settings” option at the bottom.

This page lists all the network adapters available on your computer. From the list, find the network adapter for which you want to change the name and expand it. Next, press the “Rename” button.

Type the new network adapter name in the blank field and press the “Save” button.

With that, you have successfully renamed a network adapter from the settings app in Windows 10 and 11.

You can follow the same steps to rename other available network adapters.

Command to rename network adapter

Windows has a simple command to rename a network adapter. Let me show you how to change the network adapter name from the command line. i.e., Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Right-click the Start menu icon.
Choose the “Windows Terminal (Admin)” option.
Execute the below command to get current network adapter names.
netsh interface show interface
Copy the network adapter name you want to change.
Execute the below command while replacing old and new names.
netsh interface set interface name="oldName" newname="newName"
Close the terminal window.
With that, you have changed the network adapter name.

Steps with more details:

Right-click on the Start menu in Windows 10 and 11 and choose “Windows Terminal (Admin).” You can also select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option.

In the terminal window, execute the below command to get network adapter names. Copy the network adapter name which you want to rename.

netsh interface show interface

Next, execute the below command while replacing the old and new names with actual names. i.e., the old name with the name you got from the first command, and the new name is the one you want to assign.

netsh interface set interface name="oldName" newname="newName"

Finally, close the terminal window.

With that, you have renamed the network adapter from the command line.

Change network adapter from Control Panel

The ability to rename a network adapter is nothing new. It has been present since older Windows versions. In fact, you can do it from the Control Panel too. Here’s how to do it. Let me show you how.

Press the Start key.
Search and open “Control Panel.”
Click on “Networking and sharing center.”
Press the “Change adapter settings” link.
Right-click on the network adapter.
Click the “Rename” option.
Type the new name and press Enter.
With that, you renamed the network adapter.
Close the Control Panel window.

Steps with more details:

First, we must open Control Panel. For that, search for it in the Start menu. After opening it, go to the “Networking and sharing center” page. Once you are here, press the “Change adapter settings” link on the sidebar.