Windows Firewall Service Disabled – Fix in 3 Steps

Before You Start – What You'll See

You might see a red shield icon in your system tray. Or a message that says "Windows Firewall isn't using the recommended settings." Some people get error code 0x80070422 when they try to turn it on from Control Panel. This happens after Windows Update, or after you uninstall a third-party antivirus like McAfee or Norton.

I've seen this a lot. The fix is usually simple, but sometimes you need to dig deeper. Here's the order I'd try – start with the 30-second fix first.

Quick Fix (30 Seconds) – Check Windows Firewall Service Status

This is the first thing to check. Most of the time, the service just got stopped by something.

Press Windows Key + R on your keyboard. This opens the Run box.
Type services.msc and press Enter. A window called Services will open.
Scroll down the list until you find Windows Defender Firewall. It might be near the bottom.
Double-click the service name. A properties window opens.
Look at the Startup type drop-down menu. It should say Automatic (not Automatic (Delayed Start) or Manual).
If it's set to anything else, change it to Automatic.
Click Apply, then click OK. After clicking Apply, you should see the window close.
Now right-click the service again and choose Start. If it starts without an error, you're done. If it gives an error, move to the next step.

Expected outcome: The firewall service should be running now. Check your system tray – the red shield should turn green or disappear.

Moderate Fix (5 Minutes) – Reset Firewall Rules and Dependency

If the service still won't start, something might be blocking it. A corrupt rule or a missing dependency can cause this.

Step 1: Reset the firewall policy
This clears out any broken rules that might stop the service.

Open Command Prompt as administrator. Right-click the Start button and pick Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
Type this command and press Enter:
```
netsh advfirewall reset
```
You should see Ok. on the next line.
Restart your computer. After it boots back up, try starting the firewall service again from Services.

Step 2: Check service dependencies
Windows Firewall needs two other services to run. If those are stopped, the firewall won't start.

Open Services again (Windows Key + R, type services.msc).
Find Base Filtering Engine. Double-click it.
Set its Startup type to Automatic. Click Apply, then OK.
Right-click it and choose Start if it's not running.
Repeat for Remote Procedure Call (RPC) – that one should already be running. If it's not, set it to Automatic and start it.
Now try starting Windows Defender Firewall again.

Expected outcome: After these steps, the firewall service should start. If you still get an error, the problem is deeper.

Advanced Fix (15+ Minutes) – Repair System Files and Registry

If the service still refuses to start, it's probably a corrupted system file or a messed-up registry key. This is rare, but I've seen it after failed updates.

Step 1: Run System File Checker (SFC)
This checks for broken Windows files.

Open Command Prompt as admin (right-click Start, pick Command Prompt (Admin)).
Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. This takes 10-15 minutes. Let it finish – don't close the window.
When it's done, you'll see either "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations" or "found corrupt files and repaired them." If it says it repaired files, reboot and try the firewall service again.

Step 2: Check the registry for the firewall service
If SFC doesn't help, the service might be missing from the registry. This happens when a third-party antivirus tool removes it.

Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, press Enter. Registry Editor opens.
Go to this path by pasting it into the address bar at the top:
```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MpsSvc
```
If the MpsSvc folder is missing, you need to restore it. That's a bigger problem – you might need to use System Restore or reinstall Windows. But if it's there, check the Start value. Double-click it and make sure the value is 2 (that means Automatic). If it's 4 (Disabled), change it to 2 and click OK.
Close Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Step 3: If nothing else works – reset Windows Firewall with DISM
This is the nuclear option. It fixes the underlying system image.

Open Command Prompt as admin.
Type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter. This downloads fresh system files from Microsoft. It can take 20-30 minutes.
After it finishes, run sfc /scannow again.
Reboot and check the firewall service.

Expected outcome: After DISM, the firewall should start normally. If it still doesn't work, your Windows installation might be too damaged. A reset or reinstall might be your last option – but I've only seen that once in 10 years.

Pro tip: If you recently uninstalled a third-party antivirus, run their official removal tool from their website. Norton and McAfee leave behind drivers that block the Windows Firewall service. The removal tool cleans those up.

That's it. Start with the quickest fix, move down the list. You'll probably be done in under a minute.