How to Stop VMware from Using Port 443 – Change VMware Port 443

If VMware is interfering with other apps likes WAMP, XAMPP, etc. Here’s how to stop VMware from using port 443 & change it to another port.

VMware Workstation by default uses port 443 to access shared VMs over the network. As most of you know, port 443 is generally used for secure communication. In fact, if you open any network or process monitor, you will see vmware-hostd.exe using port 443 under the processes tab. Even if you are not sharing VMs, VMware Workstation still uses port 443 in the background.

For the vast majority of users, port 443 in use is not a big problem. However, if you have applications that require port 80 or port 443 to work, they will throw network or routing errors. For example, if you are trying to run server applications like XAMPP, WAMP, etc., they might not able to run as they should.

In those cases, you can disable the Shared VMs feature to stop VMware from using port 443. On the other hand, if you need the Shared VMs feature, you can also change VMware to use any port other than 443.

Without further ado, let me show you the steps to stop VMware from using port 443 and how to change VMware port 443.

Important note: Before proceeding with the below steps, you should turn off any saved VMs. If there is any VM in a paused state, you might not be able to modify the port settings. Also, you need admin rights to make changes.

Stop Vmware from using port 443

To stop VMware from using port 443, follow these steps.

1. First, open VMware Workstation. You can do that by searching for “VMware workstation” in the Start menu or by clicking on the taskbar icon.

2. Click on the “Edit” option and select the “Preferences” option. This action opens the VMware Workstation settings window.

3. Select the “Shared VMs (Deprecated)” option on the sidebar. This is the tab that shows all the settings related to the Shared VMs.

4. Click on the “Change settings” button. If you see a UAC prompt, click on the “Yes” button. This action will enable the admin only settings in the same panel.

5. Click on the “Disable sharing” button. This will disable the Shared VMs feature and stop VMware from using port 443.

6. (optional) If you want to use the Shared VMs feature, change the port number in the “HTTPS” field from 443 to anything you want. Just make sure that the port you are using is not a well-known port or will not be in conflict with other applications. I generally recommend a port number that is above 1024. For example, you can use port 8888.

7. Click on the “Ok” button to save changes.

8. Finally, close the VMware Workstation application.

That is all. From now on, VMware Workstation will not use port 443. This means that applications can free use it as and when needed. This should also fix the port problems with server applications like XAMPP and WAMP.

I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, check out how to create shared folder in VMware.