How to Exit Telnet

This wikiHow teaches you how to exit a Telnet server and return to the normal Command Prompt console on a Windows computer.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Exiting the Telnet Console

  1. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 1
    1
    Open your Command Prompt window. This should be the Command Prompt window in which your Telnet server is running.
  2. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 2
    2
    Make sure Telnet is active. If you see "Microsoft Telnet>" on the bottom-left side of the list of commands, Command Prompt is running the Telnet console.
    • If you see your username (or "system32") here instead, Telnet has already been exited.
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  3. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 3
    3
    Enter the "Close Server" command. Simply type in close and press ↵ Enter. This will close your Telnet server.
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    4
    Enter the "Quit" command. Type in quit, then press ↵ Enter.[1]
    • You can also just type in q and press ↵ Enter.
  5. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 5
    5
    Wait for the normal Command Prompt window to appear. You should eventually see the "Microsoft Telnet>" prompt on the left side of the window disappear; it will be replaced by the Command Prompt tag which is either your username or "sytem32>".
  6. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 6
    6
    Close and re-open Command Prompt if necessary. If you can't get the Telnet console to switch back to Command Prompt, you can simply click the X in the top-right corner of Command Prompt to close it and then re-open Command Prompt. This will get rid of the Telnet console.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Disabling Telnet

  1. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 7
    1
    Open Start
    Windows Start
    .     Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
  2. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 8
    2
    Open the "Windows Features" section of Control Panel. Type turn windows features on or off into Start, then click Turn Windows features on or off at the top of the Start window.
    • You may need to click the Control Panel icon that appears in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen in order to open its window.
  3. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 9
    3
    Scroll down and uncheck the "Telnet Client" box. It's in the "T" section of the menu, near the bottom of the page.
  4. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 10
    4
    Click OK. This option is at the bottom of the window. Your computer will begin disabling Telnet.
    • This will take several minutes.
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    5
    Click Close when prompted. Doing so signifies that Telnet has been disabled by your computer.
  6. Image titled Exit Telnet Step 12
    6
    Restart your computer. Click Start
    Windows Start
    , click Power
    Windows Power
    , and click Restart in the resulting pop-up window. Once your computer finishes restarting, Telnet should be completely disabled.
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Warnings

  • While it used to be available on Mac computers, Telnet is not supported by Macs running macOS High Sierra and up.[3]
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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References

  1. ↑ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-xp/bb491013%28v=technet.10%29
  2. ↑ https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-telnet-2626026
  3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208430

About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 39,940 times.
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Co-authors: 8
Updated: August 10, 2021
Views: 39,940
Categories: Remote Access Services
Article SummaryX

1. Go to the Telnet Command Prompt window.
2. Type in close and press Enter to close the server.
3. Type in quit and press Enter to close the Telnet console.

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