PowerShell Disable-NetAdapter

last modified February 15, 2025

In this article, we will cover the Disable-NetAdapter cmdlet in PowerShell. This cmdlet disables network adapters on a system. It is useful for network troubleshooting and management.

Network adapter basics

A network adapter is hardware that connects a computer to a network. It can be physical (Ethernet, WiFi) or virtual (VPN, Hyper-V). Each adapter has a name and interface description. PowerShell provides cmdlets to manage them.

Basic Disable-NetAdapter usage

The simplest way to use Disable-NetAdapter is with the -Name parameter. This disables the specified network adapter. You need administrator privileges to run this cmdlet. The adapter will remain disabled until enabled.

Disable-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet" -Confirm:$false

This command disables the Ethernet adapter without confirmation. The -Confirm:$false parameter suppresses the confirmation prompt. Use this carefully as it will immediately disable network connectivity.

Disable multiple adapters

You can disable multiple adapters at once using wildcards. This is useful when you need to disable several similar adapters. The command supports pipeline input for multiple adapter names. Always verify the adapters first.

Disable-NetAdapter -Name "WiFi*" -Confirm:$false

This command disables all adapters whose names start with "WiFi". The wildcard (*) matches any characters after "WiFi". This affects all WiFi adapters on the system.

Disable adapter by interface description

Adapters can also be disabled using their interface description. This is useful when adapter names are not consistent. Use the -InterfaceDescription parameter instead of -Name. Descriptions often include manufacturer details.

Disable-NetAdapter -InterfaceDescription "Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller" -Confirm:$false

This command disables the adapter with the specified description. The description must match exactly. You can find descriptions using Get-NetAdapter first.

Disable adapter with confirmation

For safety, you can include a confirmation prompt before disabling. This is the default behavior when -Confirm is not specified. The prompt shows which adapter will be disabled. You must confirm by typing 'Y' or 'Yes'.

Disable-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"

This command shows a confirmation prompt before disabling the Ethernet adapter. It's safer than disabling immediately. The prompt helps prevent accidental network disconnections.

Disable adapter using pipeline

You can pipe adapter objects from Get-NetAdapter to Disable-NetAdapter. This allows for more complex filtering before disabling. Combine with Where-Object for selective disabling. This method is powerful but requires care.

Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq "Up" } | Disable-NetAdapter -Confirm:$false

This command disables all currently active network adapters. It first gets all adapters, filters for those with status "Up", then disables them. Use this cautiously as it affects all active connections.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the Disable-NetAdapter cmdlet in PowerShell.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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