How to fix "The network path was not found" with an Error Code 0x80070035 on Windows?

Error 0x80070035, "The network path was not found", means Windows could not reach or could not sign in to a shared folder that you opened by its \\name. Since Windows 11 24H2, the most common reason is a NAS or router disk that allows only guest access or does not sign SMB traffic. Test the path by name and by IP address first, then fix the device, not Windows.

Facts checked on 14 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What "Windows cannot access, check the spelling of the name" and 0x80070035 mean

The window is titled Network Error. The blue line reads "Windows cannot access \\" followed by the name you typed. Under it Windows says: "Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be a problem with your network. To try to identify and resolve network problems, click Diagnose." Select See details and you get the code: Error code: 0x80070035. The network path was not found.

The code itself is plain. 0x80070035 is Windows system error 53 wrapped as an HRESULT: the 0x8007 part says it is a Windows error, and 0x35 is 53 in hexadecimal. Microsoft's list of system error codes names error 53 ERROR_BAD_NETPATH, "The network path was not found." That is why net use in Command Prompt reports "System error 53 has occurred" for the same failure.

Another message you may meet, "Make sure the path or Internet address is correct", comes from the Run box when the path itself is malformed. Check that it starts with two backslashes and uses backslashes, not slashes.

Why Windows cannot access the shared folder: the causes in order

Most often in 2025 and 2026, the target is a NAS or a router with a USB disk, the error began after Windows 11 24H2 or a later version, and the device relies on guest access or does not support SMB signing. Less often the name does not resolve while the IP address works. Rarely the share was removed, sharing is off, or the device is so old that it only speaks SMB1.

Why Windows 11 shows "check the spelling of the name" with a NAS that used to work

Microsoft's file server team described two changes in Windows 11 24H2. First, SMB signing is required on all connections by default, which stops tampering and relay attacks. Second, guest fallback is disabled on Windows 11 Pro, as it already was on Enterprise, Education and Pro for Workstations. Microsoft Learn says this applies to 24H2 "and later builds", so 25H2 and 26H2 keep it.

The two changes collide on cheap storage. A guest session has no password, so it cannot be signed. A NAS that lets everyone in as guest therefore fails twice on a Pro PC: the guest sign-in is refused, and the session could not be signed anyway. Microsoft names 0x80070035 and "The network path was not found" among the errors you then see.

• Windows 11 24H2 and later, Pro, Enterprise, Education: signing required for outgoing and incoming SMB, no guest fallback.
• Windows 11 24H2 and later, Home: Microsoft Learn says Home requires neither outgoing nor incoming signing, and guest fallback stays on.
• Windows 10 22H2: guest sign-in still allowed on Home and Pro, blocked on Enterprise and Education. Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025, so it gets no further security fixes.
• SMB1: not installed on Windows 11 after a clean install. The SMB1 client can be added back, but Microsoft strongly advises against it.

How to fix error 0x80070035 "The network path was not found"

Fix 1 takes two minutes and tells you which of the other fixes you need. Fixes 2 and 3 solve most NAS cases since Windows 11 24H2. Fixes 4 to 6 cover two Windows PCs and name problems. Fixes 7 and 8 lower security on your PC and are a last resort.

Fix 1. Test the path: open it by name, by IP address and on port 445

5 minutesNo riskEveryone with this error, before changing any setting.

The message lumps a wrong name, a name that does not resolve, a closed port and a refused sign-in together. Three quick tests split them, so you change only what is broken.

1. Press Win + R, type the path with two backslashes, for example \\NAS\Public, and press Enter. Note what happens.
2. Find the device's IP address. For another Windows PC, run ipconfig there and read IPv4 Address. For a NAS, read it in the NAS app or in your router's list of connected devices.
3. Press Win + R again and type the same path with the address, for example \\192.168.1.20\Public.
4. Right-click Start, select Terminal (Windows PowerShell on Windows 10) and run the command below with your device's address.
5. Read the last line, TcpTestSucceeded. True means the device answers on port 445, the SMB port. False means nothing answers there.

Test the SMB port (PowerShell)

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.20 -CommonTCPPort SMB

Fix 2. NAS or router disk: give it a user account and turn on SMB signing

15 to 30 minutesLow riskThe share is on a NAS or a router disk and stopped opening on Windows 11 24H2 or later.

Microsoft's own order for this case starts on the device: turn on signing, turn off guest access, use a user name and password, update the firmware. Windows 11 then connects with its default security in place, and nothing on the PC is weakened.

1. Open the NAS or router admin page in a browser and sign in as its administrator.
2. Install any firmware or system update it offers. Older firmware may not support SMB signing at all.
3. Create a user with a password, if the device only has a guest or everyone account, and give it read and write access to the share.
4. Turn off guest or anonymous access to the shared folders.
5. Turn on SMB signing, or set it to required, in the SMB or Windows file service settings.
6. On the PC, open \\NAS\Share. When Windows asks, type the NAS user name and password and tick Remember my credentials.

QNAP (QTS, QuTS hero)

Control Panel > Network & File Services > Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV > Microsoft Network (SMB) > Advanced Options. Set Restrict anonymous users from accessing SMB shared folders to Enabled (strict) and Server signing to Enforce signing.

Synology (DSM 7)

Disable the guest account in Control Panel > User & Group > User. Give your user permission on the shared folder. We could not confirm the exact name of the signing option in current DSM.

Router with a USB disk

Menus differ by brand. Look for USB storage, Samba, SMB or file sharing, and for a switch that allows access without a password. If the router offers no account and no signing, use Fix 7 or move the disk.

Fix 3. Remove stale connections and saved passwords, then connect with the right account

5 minutesLow riskThe share worked before, or Windows signs in with an old or wrong user name.

Windows keeps one connection per server and reuses saved credentials. An old guest session or a stale password makes the next attempt fail before you are asked, and Synology lists clearing both as a first step.

1. Close every File Explorer window.
2. Open Command Prompt and run net use to list your current network connections.
3. Run net use * /delete /y to drop them all. Mapped drives disappear until you map them again.
4. Open Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
5. Remove every entry with the name or the IP address of the device.
6. Connect again with the account the device knows, using the command below. Type the password when asked.

Map the share with a named account (Command Prompt)

net use Z: \\NAS\Share /user:NAS\username /persistent:yes

• Write the account as NAS\username, where NAS is the device name. For another Windows PC use PCNAME\username.
• Use the password of that account. Synology advises against relying on a Windows Hello sign-in for SMB, so type the real password in the prompt.
• "Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed" means step 3 was skipped.

Fix 4. Turn on network discovery, file sharing and the discovery services

10 minutesLow riskYou share between two Windows PCs, or the port test in Fix 1 failed.

On a network marked Public, Windows does not answer file sharing requests. Microsoft's own checklist for sharing problems is a Private network, discovery and sharing on, and four services set to start automatically, on every PC involved.

1. Open Settings > Network & internet, select Wi-Fi or Ethernet, open your network and set Network profile type to Private network.
2. In the Settings search box type manage advanced sharing settings and open it.
3. Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing.
4. Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
5. For each service listed below: right-click it, select Properties, set Startup type to Automatic and select Start if it is stopped.
6. Do the same on the other Windows PC, then restart both.

• Function Discovery Provider Host
• Function Discovery Resource Publication
• SSDP Discovery
• UPnP Device Host

These services only make the PC visible under Network; a typed \\name path works without them. Step by step with screenshots: Check and restart Windows services

Fix 5. On the other PC: check the share name, its permissions and the firewall

10 minutesLow riskThe folder is on another Windows PC and every computer gets the error.

A share that was renamed, removed or never created gives the same message, because the path no longer exists. Windows also blocks file sharing in its firewall unless the File and Printer Sharing rule is allowed for the network type.

1. On the PC that holds the folder, open Command Prompt and run net share. Your share must be in the list, with the exact name you type.
2. If it is missing, right-click the folder, select Properties, open the Sharing tab and select Advanced Sharing.
3. Tick Share this folder, check the Share name and select Permissions to add the account that will connect.
4. On the Security tab, give the same account at least Read access.
5. Open Windows Security > Firewall & network protection > Allow an app through firewall and make sure File and Printer Sharing is ticked for Private.
6. From the first PC, open \\PCNAME\ShareName again.

To see everything you share from a PC, Microsoft suggests typing \\localhost in the File Explorer address bar. Your user folder shows up there even if it is not shared, because you always have access to your own files.

Fix 6. Fix name resolution: flush the caches and check NetBIOS over TCP/IP

10 minutesLow riskThe share opens by IP address but not by name.

Windows finds a local device by DNS, then by NetBIOS or other local methods. A cached old address, a disabled NetBIOS setting or a stopped TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service makes the name fail while the address works.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run ipconfig /flushdns and then nbtstat -R. Synology names nbtstat -R for exactly this case.
2. Try \\name\share again. If it still fails, press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter.
3. Right-click your Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter and select Properties.
4. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), then Properties and Advanced.
5. On the WINS tab select Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP and confirm with OK in every window.
6. In services.msc, open TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, set Startup type to Automatic and start it.

If the name still fails, a full network reset removes and reinstalls the adapters: Reset the network and flush DNS A lasting fix is a fixed address for the NAS in your router, often called a DHCP reservation.

Fix 7. Last resort for a NAS that cannot sign: allow it on this PC only

10 minutesRead the warningThe device has no SMB signing and no user accounts even after a firmware update, and you need its data now.

These are steps 6 and 7 of Microsoft's own list for a third-party NAS. They switch off the two 24H2 checks on your PC, so the old device opens again, at the price of the protection those checks give.

First read what your PC really enforces. Open Terminal (Admin) and run the line below. True for RequireSecuritySignature and False for EnableInsecureGuestLogons are the 24H2 defaults that block such a device.

Read the current SMB client settings (PowerShell, admin)

Get-SmbClientConfiguration | Format-List RequireSecuritySignature, EnableInsecureGuestLogons

1. On Pro, Enterprise or Education, press Win + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
2. Go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
3. Open Microsoft network client: Digitally sign communications (always), select Disabled and OK.
4. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Lanman Workstation.
5. Open Enable insecure guest logons, select Enabled and OK. Restart the PC.

Home edition, or the same change without gpedit (PowerShell, admin)

Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false
Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true

Answer Y when PowerShell asks to confirm. Change only the setting your device needs: a NAS with accounts but no signing needs the first line only. The old advice to also run Set-SmbServerConfiguration changes what other PCs may do with your shares and does not help you open a NAS. More on the editor: Open the Local Group Policy Editor

Undo: back to the Windows 11 defaults

Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $true
Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $false

Fix 8. Very old device: turn on the SMB 1.0 client to copy your data off

10 minutesRead the warningA NAS, media player or Windows XP machine from before SMB2, and Event Viewer shows event 32000.

Windows 11 has no SMB1 client after a clean install, and Windows 10 removes an unused one after 15 days. A device that only speaks SMB1 cannot be opened at all until the client is back.

1. Confirm the cause first: Event Viewer, Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > SMBClient > Security, event 32000.
2. Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features and select Turn Windows features on or off.
3. Expand SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.
4. Tick SMB 1.0/CIFS Client only and select OK.
5. Restart the PC and open the device's share.

If "The network path was not found" is still there

Windows writes the reason for refused SMB connections into a log that the error window never shows. Open Event Viewer, go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > SMBClient > Security and look at the entries from the minute you tried.

• What to send to the NAS maker: model and firmware version, your Windows edition and version (press Win + R, type winver), the result of the port test in Fix 1 and the event IDs above.
• What to send to your administrator at work: the full path you open, the output of net use, and whether the IP address works. Do not change policies on a managed PC yourself.
• When it is hardware: no link light on the network port, a NAS that does not answer ping after a restart, or disk errors in the NAS's own log. No Windows setting fixes those.
• A shared printer on another PC gives its own codes. See printer error 0x00000040 for that case.

How to keep network shares working after the next Windows update

Microsoft has said it will keep these defaults and collects reports of NAS models that cannot sign. A device that needs Fix 7 to work will need it again after every clean install, so plan its replacement.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Diagnose button in the Network Error window do?

It starts the Windows network troubleshooter, which checks the adapter, the address and the connection to your router. It can fix a dropped Wi-Fi link or an adapter problem. None of the Microsoft pages we read lists it as a fix for required SMB signing, blocked guest access or a missing share, which are the usual causes on Windows 11. Run it once if the PC has no network at all. If it reports no problem, go to Fix 1 on this page and test the path by name and by IP address.

Is 0x80070035 the same error on Windows 10?

Yes, the code and the text are the same, and so are the causes that have nothing to do with security defaults: a wrong name, a name that does not resolve, sharing turned off or a removed share. What differs is that Windows 10 Home and Pro still allow guest sign-in and do not require SMB signing, so an old NAS usually still opens there. If a Windows 10 PC opens a share and a Windows 11 Pro PC does not, the cause is almost always the one in Fix 2. Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025.

Should I uninstall the latest Windows update to get my NAS back?

No. Required SMB signing and blocked guest fallback came with Windows 11 version 24H2, a feature update, not with a monthly security update. Removing the last monthly update does not bring the old behaviour back, and going back to 23H2 removes months of security fixes. Microsoft treats the change as intended and asks you to fix the device first. Use Fix 2, and if the device cannot be fixed, Fix 7 as a documented and reversible exception. Check your version with winver before you blame an update.

Is it safe to enable insecure guest logons?

Not fully, which is why it is the last resort on this page. Microsoft lists three risks: a fake server can connect you without any credential prompt, malicious code such as ransomware can run through the guest session, and guest sessions are open to attackers in the middle of the connection. On a home network you control, with a NAS that cannot do better, the risk is smaller but real. Keep it on only until the NAS is updated or replaced, then run the undo commands in Fix 7.

Why can I see the NAS under Network but not open it?

Seeing a device and opening it are two different steps. The Network view is filled by discovery protocols such as WS-Discovery, which need no sign-in. Opening a share needs an SMB session, and that is where Windows 11 requires signing and refuses guest access. So the NAS icon can show up while every attempt to open it ends with 0x80070035. Fix 2 or Fix 3 is the answer here, not discovery settings.

Which PowerShell commands fix 0x80070035?

There is no single command that fixes it, because the code has several causes. Two commands help most. Test-NetConnection -ComputerName <address> -CommonTCPPort SMB tells you whether the device answers on port 445 (Fix 1). Get-SmbClientConfiguration | Format-List RequireSecuritySignature, EnableInsecureGuestLogons shows whether your PC requires signing and refuses guests. The Set-SmbClientConfiguration lines in Fix 7 change those two values. Run them in an administrator window, only for a device that cannot sign, and keep the undo lines.

Should I turn off password protected sharing?

We advise against it, even though one of Microsoft's own checklists suggests it. Turning it off lets anyone on your network open the folders you share without a password. It also does not help a Windows 11 Pro PC that connects to you, because that PC refuses guest sign-in by default. Create an account on the PC that shares the folder, give it permission on the share, and connect with that account as in Fix 3. The connection is then signed and works with the 24H2 defaults.

What is the difference between 0x80070035 and 0x80070043?

0x80070035 is system error 53, "The network path was not found". It means Windows did not get a working session with the computer. 0x80070043 is system error 67, "The network name cannot be found". Here the computer answered, but the share name after the second backslash does not exist. QNAP reports that Windows 11 may show either code for the same NAS problem. With 0x80070043, check the exact share name with net share on a Windows host, or in the NAS's shared folder list.

Does a VPN cause "Windows cannot access" errors on a home network?

It can. Many VPN clients send all traffic through the tunnel or block local network access, so the NAS address on your home network is no longer reachable. The port test in Fix 1 then shows False although the device is on. Disconnect the VPN, run the test again, and if the share opens, look in the VPN app for a setting that allows access to the local network. On a work laptop, ask your IT team, because that setting may be locked on purpose.