Windows 10 “Can’t find server” or “Couldn’t locate machine” When Connecting Over Network

When connecting to a Windows 10 PC over the network, you may see a message such as “Can’t find server” or “Couldn’t locate machine”.

This error message means that no device on the network has responded to the name that you have entered.

If you want to get connected as quickly as possible, use an IP address instead of a network name. You can return to this page later to try the network name once you know that FileBrowser will connect.

Home Environment

In FileBrowser's "Name or URL" field enter just the computer network name and do not prefix with "HomeGroup", "WorkGroup" etc. If you normally use a UNC path such as "\\computername\sharename\foldername", just enter "computername" (without the quotes) into the "Name or URL" field.
Try adding ".local" to the end of the computer name.

Work Environment

In a work environment you may need the DNS name of the target file server in FileBrowser's "Name or URL" field. Your system Administrator will be able to tell you this.

However if you wish to find out for yourself
Start a Command Prompt, simply press the Windows key and type 'Command" and select the Command Prompt App result that appears

Then in the Command Prompt app type the word "ping -4" followed by your computer name and press return, if you dont know the name of your computer you can find out here. The network name of the Windows machine in this example is computer3.
In this example "computer3.stratospherix.com" should be entered into the "Name or URL" field.

I have a different version of Windows

Back to main

FileBrowser browsing files stored on a Windows network share

About FileBrowser

FileBrowser provides reliable access to files stored on Windows PCs, NAS drives, and other network storage devices directly from iPhone and iPad.

Whether you are connecting on a home network, office network, or VPN connection, FileBrowser is designed for fast and secure access to Windows shared folders, SMB network drives, and file servers.