How to Change Your Device Name for Nearby Sharing in Windows 11

Do you use Nearby Sharing to send files to other people? It is a great way to move photos or documents quickly using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. By default, your computer shows its boring, technical name to others. Now, you can give it a friendly nickname.

Why do this? Using a custom name makes it much easier to spot your computer when you are trying to send a file to your own device or a friend’s device.

What happens when done? Your computer will broadcast your chosen nickname instead of its system name whenever you use the Nearby sharing feature or connect to a network.

Computer Name vs. Device Manager Names

It is important to know that your “Computer Name” (or hostname) is different from the hardware names found in Device Manager. The computer name is what other devices see on your network. Device Manager names refer to specific hardware drivers, like your graphics card or network adapter. Changing your computer name will not change your hardware driver names.

Change Your Device Name via System Settings

This is the easiest way to rename your PC for network discovery and Nearby Sharing.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows key + I.
2. Go to System and select About at the bottom of the list.
3. Click the Rename this PC button.
4. Enter your new name and click Next.
5. Restart your computer to apply the changes.

Note: This method requires admin privileges.

Rename Using PowerShell

Advanced users can use the Rename-Computer cmdlet to change the name quickly.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Terminal (Admin).
2. Type the following command and press Enter: Rename-Computer -NewName "New-Friendly-Name"
3. Restart your computer to finish.

Note: This method requires admin privileges.

Advanced Registry Method

If you only want to change the name for Nearby Sharing without changing your system hostname, you can edit the registry.

Warning: This method requires admin privileges. Be careful, as changing registry settings can affect your system.

1. Open the Registry Editor by searching for regedit in the Start menu.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
3. Right-click in the empty space, select New, then String Value.
4. Name it ShareFriendlyDeviceName.
5. Double-click it and enter your preferred name.

Summary

Renaming your PC makes it easier to identify your device on a network and when using Nearby Sharing. You can change your system name through the About settings page, use the Rename-Computer PowerShell command, or modify the ShareFriendlyDeviceName registry key for specific sharing preferences. For more details, visit the official Microsoft Support page.” }