Fix Error: This share requires the obsolete SMB1 protocol

SMB stands for Server Message Block, a network file-sharing protocol. It allows applications and computers to communicate and share files, printers, and various resources over a network.

SMBv1 was deprecated by Microsoft in 2014 and is no longer installed on Windows devices. Starting with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and Windows Server 1709, SMBv1 is not included by default.

You might have stored crucial files on a file share or USB drive exclusively using SMBv1. When attempting to access the file share, you could encounter this error message:

Exact Error message and Screenshot:

You can’t connect to the file share because it’s not secure. This share requires the obsolete SMB1 protocol, which is unsafe and could expose your system to attack. Your system requires SMB2 or higher. For more info on resolving this issue, see: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=852747

You may also find an error in Windows event viewer “SMB1 negotiate response received from remote device when SMB1 cannot be negotiated by the local computer.”

You might encounter the following error message in addition to the one mentioned above. Here is a list of error messages:

• The specified network name is no longer available.
• Unspecified error 0x80004005
• System Error 64
• The specified server cannot perform the requested operation.
• Error 58

Why Did I Receive an Obsolete SMB1 Protocol Error?

You’ve encountered this error because either you attempted to connect to a device that exclusively uses the SMBv1 protocol or a device that relies on SMBv1 tried to connect to a newer version of Windows, where SMBv1 isn’t enabled by default. This situation can trigger the error you’re seeing.

SMBv1 is known to have significant security vulnerabilities and is susceptible to various types of attacks. Microsoft strongly recommends using SMBv2 or SMBv3 protocol instead of SMBv1.

How to Fix Obsolete SMB1 Protocol Error?

You can quickly resolve the error “You can’t connect to the file share because it’s not secure” by temporarily enabling SMBv1 on your Windows device to connect to the file share or USB drive to access the data.

However, it’s essential to disable SMBv1 on your Windows device promptly after backing up the data because it’s no longer needed and poses security risks.

You can enable SMBv1 using two methods. The first method provides a GUI-based approach for enabling SMBv1 on a Windows 10/11 device, while the second method involves using PowerShell cmdlets. Let’s explore both options:

Method 1: Enable SMBv1 on a Windows 10/11 device using GUI

To enable SMBv1 on your Windows 10/11 device, simply follow these steps:

• Press Windows + R together to open Run dialog box.
• Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter to open Programs and Features window.

• On Programs and Features window, find “Turn Windows features on or off”

• Scroll down on the list of Features and select SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.

• Click on OK button to enable SMBv1 protocol on your device. After that Windows will search for the required files and enable this protocol.
• Click on Restart now button and restart your device to complete this process.

Once SMBv1 has been enabled on your device, you can try to access the share once again, this time you should be able to access the shared folder.

After you’ve copied your files or completed your work, it’s recommended to uncheck the “SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support” option to disable SMBv1.

Method 2: Enable SMBv1 on a Windows 10/11 device using Powershell

If you would like to use PowerShell to enable SMBv1, you may follow below steps:

• Check the current status of SMBv1 protocol on your computer by running below powershell cmdlet. As you can see from the screenshot, SMBv1 is currently disabled on this computer.

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

Alternatively, you can also run below command to get SMBv1 Protocol status:

Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select EnableSMB1Protocol

• You can Enable SMBv1 on your device by running below powershell command. Please note, you will get a prompt to restart your computer to complete this operation. If you press Y and Enter, your device will be restarted immediately.

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

• Confirm if SMBv1 has been enabled on your device. You can run below command to confirm and look for State parameter value which should set to Enabled.

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

• After you have enabled SMBv1, you can test to see if you are able to connect to the file share now. Once your work is done, you should disable SMBv1. You can use below command to disable SMBv1 on a windows device:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

Please note that your system will restart Immediately after you type Y on the prompt and press Enter.

FAQs