How to check SMB version on Windows 11/10
First of all, if you have Windows 7, you should not be disabling SMB v2. This is due to the following reasons:
Request compounding – allows for sending multiple SMB 2 requests as a single network requestLarger reads and writes – better use of faster networksCaching of folder and file properties – clients keep local copies of folders and filesDurable handles – allow for connection to transparently reconnect to the server if there is a temporary disconnectionImproved message signing – HMAC SHA-256 replaces MD5 as the hashing algorithmImproved scalability for file sharing – the number of users, shares, and open files per server greatly increasedSupport for symbolic linksClient oplock leasing model – limits the data transferred between the client and server, improving performance on high-latency networks and increasing SMB server scalabilityLarge MTU support – for full use of 10-gigabyte (GB) EthernetImproved energy efficiency – clients that have open files to a server can sleep.
Even if you are on Windows 8.1 or Windows 11/10, you should not be disabling SMB v3 or SMB v2 because, in addition to the above problems, you might face the following issues too which come with disabling SMB v3:
Transparent Failover – clients reconnect without interruption to cluster nodes during maintenance or failoverScale Out – concurrent access to shared data on all file cluster nodesMultichannel – aggregation of network bandwidth and fault tolerance if multiple paths are available between client and serverSMB Direct – adds RDMA networking support for very high performance, with low latency and low CPU utilizationEncryption – Provides end-to-end encryption and protects from eavesdropping on untrustworthy networksDirectory Leasing – Improves application response times in branch offices through cachingPerformance Optimizations – optimizations for small random read/write I/O.
Methods to check what version of SMB is installed on the Server
We will be using the following methods to check what version of SMB is installed on your computer:
1] The PowerShell Method
If you wish to check what version of SMB you are running, you can just type in the following in the cmdlet for PowerShell: SMB v1 Windows 11/10 and Windows 8.1 SMB v2 Windows 11/10 and Windows 8.1 SMB v1 Windows 7 SMB v2 Windows 7
If it returns the value as True, it is enabled, else is disabled.
2] The Registry Editor Method
Type regedit in Start Search and hit Enter. Once Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key- Now if you have the DWORDs named as SMB1 or SMB2, check their Value Data. If it is set to 0, it is disabled. And in any other case, it is enabled.
Methods to check what version of SMB is installed on Clients
We will be using the following methods to check what version of SMB is installed on your computer,
1] The PowerShell Method
So, if you wish to check what version of SMB you are running, you can just type in the following in Command Prompt with Administrator Level privileges, SMB v1 Windows 11/10 and Windows 8.1 SMB v2 Windows 11/10 and Windows 8.1
2] The Group Policy Editor Method
It is worth noting that this method will not work on Windows 11/10 Home or the equivalent edition of Windows 8 or Windows 7. Open Run box, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Navigate to the following path: Computer Configuration > Windows Settings
Under Registry, look for Registry Item with the following Properties, If the Value Data is set to 4, SMB is Disabled. Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Key Path: SYSTEM\CurrentControl\services\mrxsmb10 Value Name: Start Value type: REG_DWORD Value Data: 4 For a detailed read visit microsoft.com. Related read: Why and how to disable SMB1 on Windows?.
