Windows: Install Telnet Client – CMD & PowerShell

The telnet client in Windows is disabled by default.

Before using the telnet command in Windows it is needed to enable the telnet client, otherwise you’ll get a result similar to the below messages:

CMD: ‘telnet’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

PowerShell: The term ‘telnet’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.

In this note i am showing how to install the telnet client via the Windows CMD & PowerShell and how to use the telnet command to watch the Star Wars movie on the command prompt.

Cool Tip: Check if TCP port is opened in PowerShell! Read more →

Install Telnet Client via CMD

Start CMD as an administrator: press ⊞ Win keybutton to open the start menu, type in cmd to search for the command prompt and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch it as administrator.

Enable the telnet client in Windows via the command-line prompt (CMD):

C:\> dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient

Install Telnet Client via PowerShell

Start PowerShell as an administrator: press ⊞ Win keybutton to open the start menu, type in powershell to search for the PowerShell and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch it as administrator.

Enable the telnet client in Windows via the PowerShell:

PS C:\> Install-WindowsFeature -name "Telnet-Client"

Cool Tip: Kill a hanging process in Windows from the CMD! Read more →

Watch Star Wars on Command Prompt

Once the telnet client is enabled, you can use the telnet command to debug some network issues or … watch the Star Wars movie on the command prompt:

C:\> telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl