This post explains how to enable or disable projecting to this PC in Windows 11. ‘Projecting to this PC’ is a Windows feature that uses wireless technology to project the content of other devices to your PC screen and allows you to control the connected device using your mouse or keyboard. You can use this feature to project the screen of a Windows Phone, Android Phone, or another Windows PC over the same wireless network.
Projecting to this PC uses the Connect app for screen mirroring. This app is no longer available in Windows, but the functionality can still be accessed via Wireless Display, which can be installed as an ‘optional feature’ on Windows 11. In addition to this, it requires hardware support for the Miracast app. We have previously explained how you can use Projecting to this PC on Windows 11. In this post, we are going to show you how to enable this feature if you don’t have it enabled by default, and also how to disable this feature.
How to Enable or Disable Projecting to this PC in Windows 11
We will show you how to enable or disable Projecting to this PC in Windows 11 using the following methods:
- Using Windows Settings
- Using Registry Editor
- Using Group Policy Editor
Let us see these in detail.
1] Using Windows Settings
- Click on the Start menu button in the taskbar area of your Windows 11 PC.
- Click on Settings.
- Scroll down to the ‘Projecting to this PC‘ option under System settings.
- In the topmost dropdown, select ‘Available everywhere on secure networks‘ or ‘Available everywhere‘ to enable the setting.
- To disable the setting, select ‘Always Off‘ in the same dropdown.
2] Using Registry Editor
Tip: Take a backup of your Windows Registry to restore the system to its normal state in case something goes wrong.
- Press the Win + R key combination.
- Type regedit in the Run dialogue box and press the Enter key.
- Click on the Yes button in the User Account Control prompt.
- In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsConnect
If you can’t find the Connect key, right-click on the Windows folder on the left panel and select New > Key. Rename the key as ‘Connect’. - Then right-click anywhere in the empty area on the right panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename this value as ‘AllowProjectionToPC‘.
- Right-click on this key and select Modify.
- Change the Value Data from 0 to 1.
- Reboot your PC.
This will enable the ‘Projecting to this PC’ setting. To disable the setting, change the value data of the ‘AllowProjectionToPC’ key to 0.
3] Using Group Policy Editor
The Group Policy Editor is only part of the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. If you have Windows Home, you may use this workaround to enable the missing Local Group Policy Editor.
Use the following steps to enable Projecting to this PC using the Group Policy Editor:
- Press the Win + R key combination.
- Type gpedit.msc in the Run dialogue box and press the Enter key.
- In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following path:
Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsConnect - On the right panel, double-click on the ‘Don’t allow this PC to be projected to‘ setting.
- In the Settings window, select the Disabled option and then click on Apply button.
- Click on the OK button.
This will enable Projecting to this PC on your Windows 11 PC. If the policy setting doesn’t work, restart your PC or force an update to the configured policy by typing the following command in the elevated Command Prompt:
gpupdate /force
To disable the setting, navigate to the same path in the Local Group Policy Editor and choose Enabled.
This winds up how to enable and disable Project to this PC in Windows 11. Hope you find this useful.
Change how often to Ask to Project to this PC in Windows 11
You can change how often to ask to ‘Project to this PC’ on a Windows 11 PC through System Settings. Click on the Start menu button, select Settings, and then navigate to the Project to this PC option. You will see 3 dropdowns. The second dropdown lets you change this setting. Choose between ‘First time only’ or ‘Every time a connection is requested’ and exit settings. The changes will reflect immediately.
Turn On or Off Projecting to PC only when on Power Source in Windows 11
To Turn On or Off Projecting to this PC only when on Power Source, go to System > Settings > Project to this PC. Then scroll down to the On/Off button at the bottom of the screen. You can toggle this button to make your PC discoverable for projection only when it’s plugged into a power source, or always discoverable.