How to Remotely Shut Down a Windows PC Over LAN – Step‑by‑Step Guide

Learn how to remotely shut down a Windows computer that is connected to the same local area network (LAN).

Prerequisites

Both computers must be on the same LAN.

The target computer must use the same administrator account as the controlling computer.

Find the Target Computer’s IP Address

On the target PC, open Start → Settings → Network & Internet → Status → View network properties . Scroll to the Wi‑Fi section and note the IPv4 address . If the address appears as “192.168.2.2/24”, ignore the “/24”.

Enable Remote Shutdown via Registry

Open the Registry Editor ( regedit ) with administrator rights.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System .

Right‑click the System folder, choose New → DWORD (32‑bit) Value .

Name the value LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy and set its data to 1 .

This allows remote shutdown commands to be accepted.

Enable Remote Registry Service

Open Start → type services and press Enter.

Find Remote Registry , set its Startup type to Manual , then click Apply and OK .

Restart the computer.

Use the Remote Shutdown Interface

Open a command prompt with administrator rights and run shutdown /i .

In the dialog, click Add and enter the target computer’s IP address.

Select the computer, choose Shutdown from the “What do you want these computers to do?” dropdown.

Optionally set a time limit, uncheck “Planned”, and add a comment.

Click OK to initiate the shutdown.