700 words
4 minutes

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults

Cover image for Restore Windows Firewall Defaults

This article is for those looking for a detailed and clear guide on how to restore Windows Firewall defaults.

This guide will cover several ways to restore the default Windows Firewall settings.

We go into the system under an account with administrator rights.

Open Server Manager, click on the “Tools” button in the upper right corner of the screen, and select “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security”.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 1

You can now export the current settings from Windows Firewall and, if necessary, return to them after restoring the default settings.

Right-click on “Windows Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer” and select “Export Policy”.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 2

Assign a name and save the file with Windows Firewall settings.

NOTE

In this manual, the settings file will be saved in the “Documents” folder.

Click on the “Save” button.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 3

Windows Firewall settings exported successfully.

Click on the “OK” button.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 4

Now you can restore the default settings in Windows Firewall.

In the “Actions” section, select “Restore Default Policy”.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 5

Next, you need to confirm the restoration of the default settings.

Click on the “Yes” button.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 6

Windows Firewall defaults have been restored successfully.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 7

In addition, you can restore the default settings in Windows Firewall using the command line.

Press “Start”, specify “cmd” in the search bar, and select “Command Prompt”.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 8

We export the current settings from Windows Firewall in order to return to them if necessary after restoring the default settings.

NOTE

In this manual, the configuration file will be saved to the “C” drive.

We export the current settings from Windows Firewall using the command:

Terminal window
netsh advfirewall export C:\Firewall-Config.wfw

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 9

Now you can restore the default settings in Windows Firewall.

Restore the default settings in Windows Firewall using the command:

Terminal window
netsh advfirewall reset

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 10

Windows Firewall defaults have been restored successfully.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 11

You can also restore the default settings in Windows Firewall using Windows PowerShell.

On the keyboard, press the key combination “Win” and “x” and in the menu that opens, select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 12

Restore the default settings in Windows Firewall using the command:

Terminal window
(New-Object -ComObject HNetCfg.FwPolicy2).RestoreLocalFirewallDefaults()

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 13

Windows Firewall defaults have been restored successfully.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults - Step 14


Patreon Exclusives#

🏆 Join my Patreon and dive deep into the world of Docker and DevOps with exclusive content tailored for IT enthusiasts and professionals. As your experienced guide, I offer a range of membership tiers designed to suit everyone from newbies to IT experts.


Tools I Personally Trust#

If you’re building, breaking, and trying to keep your digital life sane (like every good DevOps engineer), these are tools I actually use every day:

🛸 Proton VPN (60% off link) - my shield on the internet. Keeps my Wi-Fi secure, hides my IP, and blocks trackers. Even on sketchy café Wi-Fi, I’m safe.

🔑 Proton Pass (50% off link) - my password vault. End-to-end encrypted logins, 2FA, and notes - all mine and only mine.

🦑 GitKraken Pro (50% off link) - my visual Git sidekick. Beautiful commit graph, easy merges, and fewer “WTF just happened?” moments.

💜 These links give you discounts - and help support the channel at no extra cost.


Gear & Books I Trust#

📕 Essential DevOps books
🖥️ Studio streaming & recording kit
📡 Streaming starter kit


Social Channels#

🎬 YouTube
🐦 X (Twitter)
🎨 Instagram
🐘 Mastodon
🧵 Threads
🎸 Facebook
🦋 Bluesky
🎥 TikTok
💻 LinkedIn
📣 daily.dev Squad
✈️ Telegram
🐈 GitHub


Community of IT Experts#

👾 Discord


Refill My Coffee Supplies#

💖 PayPal
🏆 Patreon
🥤 BuyMeaCoffee
🍪 Ko-fi
💎 GitHub
Telegram Boost

🌟 Bitcoin (BTC): bc1q2fq0k2lvdythdrj4ep20metjwnjuf7wccpckxc
🔹 Ethereum (ETH): 0x76C936F9366Fad39769CA5285b0Af1d975adacB8
🪙 Binance Coin (BNB): bnb1xnn6gg63lr2dgufngfr0lkq39kz8qltjt2v2g6
💠 Litecoin (LTC): LMGrhx8Jsx73h1pWY9FE8GB46nBytjvz8g


Is this content AI-generated?

No. Every article on this blog is written by me personally, drawing on decades of hands-on IT experience and a genuine passion for technology.

I use AI tools exclusively to help polish grammar and ensure my technical guidance is as clear as possible. However, the core ideas, strategic insights, and step-by-step solutions are entirely my own, born from real-world work.

Because of this human-and-AI partnership, some detection tools might flag this content. You can be confident, though, that the expertise is authentic. My goal is to share road-tested knowledge you can trust.

Restore Windows Firewall Defaults
https://www.heyvaldemar.com/restore-windows-firewall-defaults/
Author
Vladimir Mikhalev
Published at
2021-04-16
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0