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In file managers (Caja, Nautilus, PCManFM, Dolphin), under Network there is an entry for Windows Network but double-clicking this brings up an empty window with 0 items.

However, smbtree does list the (Windows and linux) computer hosts online in the local network, their workgroups, and the directories and printers shared from them.

In a file manager, I can use the location address smb://[HOST_IP]/[SHARE_DIRECTORY] and it works. However, smb://[HOST_IP] without the directory gives an error:

Error: Failed to retrieve share list from server: Invalid argument. Please select another viewer and try again.

EDIT: There are many similar bugs reported relating to samba configuration (which may still be the issue here). However newer bug reports suggest it may have to do with samba and Microsoft deprecating old protocols (SMB1): https://dev.solus-project.com/T1223 It is claimed that this newer issue is present on samba versions after 4.6.10.

Note that the computer with this issue is running Fedora 28 and samba 4.8.3. Another computer on the same network which can successfully browse shares is on Ubuntu 16.04 and samba 4.3.11-Ubuntu.

EDIT: It is not working on Fedora 36 and samba 4.16.8. Even smbtree no longer works, and prints the following message:

main: This is utility doesn't work if netbios name resolution is not configured. If you are using SMB2 or SMB3, network browsing uses WSD/LLMNR, which is not yet supported by Samba. SMB1 is disabled by default on the latest Windows versions for security reasons. It is still possible to access the Samba resources directly via \name or \ip.address.

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Potential issue #1 - resolve order

Sounds like a resolving issue around NMB. It's mentioned here in this thread titled: Nautilus doesn't see network computers... [SOLVED].

non-discovering resolve order 
# What naming service and in what order should we use to resolve host names
# to IP addresses
name resolve order = lmhosts host wins bcast
reported to work resolve order 
name resolve order = bcast lmhosts host wins

Be sure to restart NMB/SMB services once you've made this change.

Potential issue #2 - client protocol

Researching your issue further, I came across this tip in this AU Q&A titled: Nautilus fails to see shares in 18.04. The tip from there was to change the following:

$ more /etc/samba/smb.conf
workgroup = WORKGROUP
client max protocol = NT1

After making the above changes it's advised to reboot, not simply restart.

As part of this tip, make sure that avahi service is running:

$ sudo service avahi-daemon status
$ sudo service avahi-demon start

Potential issue #3 - firewalld

According to this askfedora.org article titled: fedora 27 network browsing doesnt't work. Why? it's suggested to try disabling firewalld. It may be inhibiting the ports 137-139 which are required for Samba's NMB/SMB services to function properly.

Potential issue #4 - Bug 1513394 with gvfs

Continued searches led to this issue that's still listed as open. The issue, titled: Bug 1513394 - Applications using gvfs are unable to browse SMB shares. It has to do with the package gvfs-smb.

Applications using gvfs are unable to browse SMB shares

These steps can be used to see if the issue afflicts your system.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. nmblookup -M -- -
2. nmblookup -M workgroup
3. smbtree
4. gio list network://
5. gio list smb:///
6. gio list smb://workgroup

If things don't work the results from the steps above will look like this:

1. will return IP address for __MSBROWSE__ special name
2. will return IP address for workgroup master browser
3. will correctly list workgroup, workgroup members and their shares
4. returned items are missing workgroup members
5. will return empty
6. will return an error message "The specified location is not mounted"

If things are working the results will look like this:

1. OK
2. OK
3. OK
4. returned items should contain workgroup members
5. should contain workgroup name
6. should contain workgroup members

It should be noted that there doesn't appear to be a fix yet for this:

For the record, it doesn't work in Fedora 28 and Samba 4.8 either.

Read the comments on the issue to see the rest of the story.

References

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  • As mentioned in the link in your comment, I have an entry in journalctl system logs about Kerberos: gvfsd[2694]: Kerberos auth with '[USER]@[WORKGROUP]' (USER]\[WORKGROUP]) to access '[HOST_IP]' not possible
    – adatum
    Jul 7, 2018 at 0:20
  • Stopping firewalld with systemctl did not solve the issue.
    – adatum
    Jul 7, 2018 at 0:22
  • @adatum - interesting, you want to try the kerberos solution to see if it fixes your issue?
    – slm ♦
    Jul 7, 2018 at 0:33
  • What kerberos solution? I'm not familiar with kerberos but read it has to do with Active Directory domains, which I don't think I'm using (how can I check to be sure?).
    – adatum
    Jul 7, 2018 at 0:38
  • 1
    @adatum - agreed - I wouldn't do that either. I'd just deal w/ the having to manually browse to shares until it gets resolved.
    – slm ♦
    Jul 7, 2018 at 4:33
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The issue is now solved on Fedora 30 (MATE desktop environment) with Samba version 4.10.2 !

Places -> Network now shows Windows workgroups and connected computers. Browsing the shared directories works through the file manager. Everything seems as expected once again.

EDIT: It is not working any longer, at least on Fedora 36.

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  • 2
    Not entirely. I have some machines that still is not showing up from fedora 30 / Nautilus while others are working fine. I would say that the fix is there for general use or for most usecases (including yours), but claiming this is permanently fixed sounds too loud or is simply subjective-fact-based.
    – HX_unbanned
    Aug 4, 2019 at 13:37

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