How to Join a Domain on Windows 10

How to

Radu Tyrsina

How to

2 min. read

Updated on October 4, 2023

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Both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 come with most of the same settings that were there in Windows 8 and in Windows 7, but they have received a visual makeover and are now better organized. Here is our quick guide on how you can join a domain on Windows 8.1, Windows 10 respectively.

For those who are new to the concept, a domain is a group of network computers that share a common database and security policy and it has a unique name. There can be quite a lot of computers in a single domain, managed by an IT admin and with Windows 8.1, 10, it’s now much easier to join a domain than it was before. This quick step-by-step guide follows the same instructions as with the tutorial on how to rename your PC in Windows 10, 8.1, so read that, as well.

READ ALSO: Fix: Active Directory Domain Services Currently Unavailable in Windows 10, 8.1, 7

If you were wondering about this, then let me make it clear – you can also join with your Windows 10, 8 tablet, but the process could be different with a Windows RT device, but we’ll cover that in a future story.

Easy steps to join a domain in Windows 10

This guide applies to Windows 8.1. The Windows 10 guide is available below.

1. Open the Charms Bar – go to the top right corner or press Windows logo + W

2. Choose the search button and type there ‘PC Settings‘ in the box

3. From the ‘PC Settings’ main menu, select the ‘PC and Devices‘ sub-section.

4. From the ‘PC and Devices’ menu, click or tap on the PC info section.

5. Here, you can easily join a domain name, provided you know its exact name or IP address.

On Windows 10, go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school. Click on the “+” button to connect to the network managed by your organization. Once you’ve done that, the sign in screen appears, and you’ll be able to enter your domain name user account and password to log in.

So, that was about it. In a future article, we will be discussing the reasons of why exactly you can’t join a domain, because our readers have apparently requested a fix for this.

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More about the topics: Windows 10 Guides, windows 8.1 tips

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.