Getting into Network Settings on Windows — The Real Deal
This one trip-up I kept hitting was navigating Windows’ network menus, especially if you’re on Windows 11 or a newer version. It feels like a maze sometimes. So, to actually get into your network configs, you start by clicking the Windows icon (or Start menu, whatever you call it), and typing “Control Panel“. When it pops up, hit Enter. Sounds straightforward, right? But depending on system speed or if you’re on a slow HDD (been there), the window can lag or sometimes just not open immediately. So don’t get frustrated if it’s sluggish.
Once inside the Control Panel, look for the “Network and Internet” section. That’s where most of the magic happens. Click it, and then head over to “Network and Sharing Center”. On older setups, it’s tucked under “Status” or the sidebar. Here, you’ll find your active network connection—Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPNs, virtual adapters, you name it. Honestly, it’s pretty intuitive once you find it, but in some Windows versions or heavily customized setups, it might be a mess. Oh, and some OEMs (like Dell or ASUS) slap their own UI over Windows Settings, so sometimes you have to dig in there first, which can be confusing.
Digging Into Your Network Adapters
Next, click on “Change adapter settings” in the left sidebar of the Network and Sharing Center. That opens a list of all network interfaces—wired, wireless, virtual adapters, even some VPN ones. The key here is to right-click your Ethernet connection and select “Properties”. Yeah, right-clicking on those icons is the start of a little adventure. Sometimes, it gets tricky because you see multiple adapters — Intel, Realtek, Killer NIC, whatever. It’s sometimes hard to tell which one is which, especially if they have weird names or driver info.
In the Ethernet properties window, click on “Configure” — it’s a button on the same window. That opens another window with tabs like “Driver”, “Details”, and “Advanced”. The one you want is “Advanced”. Here, you’ll see a list of properties—some familiar, some obscure—like “Speed & Duplex”, “Flow Control”, or “Priority & VLAN”. Driver-specific options can vary a lot depending on the manufacturer and driver version. On some systems, it might say “Interface Metric” or “Network Priority”.
Making Ethernet Win & Wi-Fi Follow Orders
This is where it gets interesting. In the “Advanced” tab, look for properties like “Interface Metric” or “Priority & VLAN”. These control which connection Windows prefers — lower numbers mean higher priority. If you want Ethernet to be your go-to, assign it a low value, like 1 or 10. For Wi-Fi, set a higher number to let it only kick in if Ethernet fails. Windows usually gives Wi-Fi high metrics by default, which is why Ethernet often takes a backseat. Change these values carefully—sometimes, you need to click a drop-down or type in a number manually.
Once you set the desired values, click “OK” and then close out the windows. Restart your computer if needed. Sometimes, Windows doesn’t pick up the new priority until after a reboot. To double-check, you can open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces. This command lists all network interfaces with their current metrics. The lower the number, the higher the priority.
If Wi-Fi still refuses to back off, you might have to disable it temporarily and then re-enable it, or revisit those “Advanced” settings. Some driver updates or Windows updates can reset these preferences or hide these options, so don’t get discouraged if it’s not straightforward.
Putting It All Together
One last pro tip — after you tweak the metrics, disable and re-enable the adapters via “Network Connections” or using netsh interface set interface "Ethernet" disable then enable it again in PowerShell. Sometimes Windows gets stubborn and doesn’t apply the changes until it sees the adapters cycle. Usually, a reboot helps, but this method can give Windows that extra nudge. And to verify the right connection is prioritized, take a quick look at your network interfaces’ metrics again with that same netsh command.
Keep in mind, driver quirks and manufacturer customizations can make this messier — you might need to update your drivers from the manufacturer’s website or do a clean install. Also, depending on your hardware, some options might be grayed out or missing, especially if your OEM has locked down certain settings for stability.
Anyway, after messing around for a while, I found that manually setting the Interface Metric was the most reliable way to get Windows to prefer Ethernet over Wi-Fi, especially when both are connected. It’s kind of a subtle tweak but can save a lot of headaches during streaming or gaming when you want stable connections.
Hope this helped — it took way too long for me to figure out how to do this cleanly. Just a quick checklist: Double-check adapter priorities, use netsh commands to verify, restart network adapters if needed, and keep your drivers up to date. Good luck, and hopefully this saves someone else the hours I spent fussing with this stuff late at night!