How to change network names in Windows 7?
For various reasons I swapped out our home wireless router for another. It has the same SSID (and WPA version, etc.) setup. But, Windows still detects that it's a different router and assigns the network a different name.
The first name was: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot+
The second name is now: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot+ 2 (two spaces)
It appears in the wireless network management snap-in using the SSID (so no problem):
But, elsewhere it shows the 'wrong' one.
The number 2 and the spaces (there are two for some reason) bother me. Is there an official way to modify these values? Because I can only find a references to the value in the registry, and I'm not sure how adjusting these will affect my system. But, if there's nowhere else to change it, I'll risk it. The registry values I found are below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Signatures\Unmanaged\
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Wpad\{GUID}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\HomeGroup\NetworkLocations\Home
1 Answer
Well, I finally found the GUI way to do this. In the Network and Sharing Center, click on the network icon under View your active networks (not the one at the top, that browses your network):
Now you can change the name! You can also manage, merge and delete other Network Locations, which is the correct term.
Problem solved, all is well in the Universe.
Answer derived from here:
