By default, Windows 11 uses 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections, which is more secure than 40- or 56-bit encryption. If you need to share files between your PC and an old PC or MacBook which still uses 40- or 56-bit encryption, it’s necessary to adjust the encryption level and make them match each other. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 methods to change file sharing encryption level in Windows 11.

Method 1: Change File Sharing Encryption Level via Settings App

1. Press the Windows + I keys to bring up the Settings app. In the left sidebar, choose Network & internet. Next, click Advanced network settings on the right.

   

2. Under the “More settings” section, click the “Advanced sharing settings” option.

   

3. Expand the “All networks” section, you’ll see the “File sharing connections” drop-down menu. From there, you can choose to use 128-bit encryption (Recommended) or 40- or 56-bit encryption.

   

Method 2: Change File Sharing Encryption Level via Registry Editor

1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0. In the right pane, you should see two DWORD entries: NtlmMinClientSec, NtlmMinServerSec. We need to change their value data.

   

2. Double-click each of them and change their value data to 0 for using 40- or 56-bit encryption, or set their value data to 20000000 (in Hexadecimal) for using 128-bit encryption.

   

3. Close Registry Editor.

Method 3: Change File Sharing Encryption Level via Control Panel

1. Open Control Panel in Large icons view, click on the Network and Sharing Center category.

   

2. Click the “Change advanced sharing settings” link in the left side pane.

   

3. Expand the “All Networks” section. Under File sharing connections, you can then choose “Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections” or “Enable file sharing for devices that use 40- or 56-bit encryption“.

   

4. Click on the “Save changes” button.

That’s it!