How To: Enable Telnet in Windows

TELNET command is a built-in command in Windows operating systems. This command helps to diagnose basic connectivity to any service like Oracle Database service, Web application service or a SQL Server service. The TELNET command is a part of Telnet Client Windows feature which is not present by default on freshly installed OS, hence need to enable before using this. The following steps will guide to enable Telnet Client for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008R2 and later Operating Systems.

Step-by-step guide

Using a command-line

Applicable for Windows Server 2008 R2 or above and Windows 10

1. Open a command prompt (cmd) or Powershell in Run as administrator mode.

2. Run the following command. It will take a while to install telnet client.
   
   

   dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient

Applicable for Windows 7, 8. 8.1

1. Open a command prompt (cmd) in Run as administrator mode.

2. Run the following command. It will take a while to install telnet client.
   
   

   pkgmgr /iu:"TelnetClient"

Using GUI

Applicable for Windows Server OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 or above

1. Open Server Manager from the taskbar icon or from the Start page.

2. Click Manage and then Add Roles and Features.

3. Click Next four times until you get to the Select Features page.

4. Click to select the Telnet Client feature. Click Next.

5. Click Install.

6. You can click Close. No need to wait for the installation to complete.

Applicable for Windows Client OS: Windows 7 or above

Open Turn Windows features on or off from Windows Search

1. Find Telnet Client in the list of features and check the box.

2. Click OK to close the Window and let the Telnet Client install.