Set Up a Mobile Hotspot Connection in Windows 11 Network and Internet Settings

Prerequisites for Setting Up a Mobile Hotspot

Before you set up a mobile hotspot, check three things: your hardware, your internet source, and your account type. Most modern laptops pass all three. Older USB Wi-Fi 📶 adapters are the usual problem, because some can’t broadcast a connection. Check your network adapter’s properties in Device Manager before you start.

• Wi-Fi 📶 Hardware: Your computer needs a wireless adapter that supports hosted networks or Wi-Fi 📶 Direct. Most modern laptops and pre-built desktops have one. Older USB Wi-Fi dongles may not. If the Mobile hotspot toggle is greyed out or turns itself off, the adapter or its driver is the first thing to check. Updating the driver sometimes fixes it.
• Internet Connection: Your PC needs an active connection to share. That can be an Ethernet cable plugged into your port, a separate Wi-Fi 📶 network, or an integrated cellular modem. With no working connection, the hotspot may turn on, but connected devices will have no internet.
• Administrator Privileges: Sign in with an administrator account. You need it to change network sharing properties and hotspot settings. On a standard account, some options may be blocked or ask for admin credentials.

How to Configure Your Mobile Hotspot Settings

Before you turn the hotspot on, change the default network name, password, and band. Defaults are hard to tell apart from other networks in a crowded place, and a password you chose is more secure. The steps below are for Windows 11.

1. Press Win+I to open Settings ⚙️.

   

2. Click Network & internet in the left-hand menu.
3. Click Mobile hotspot to open the configuration panel.

   

4. Click the Edit button next to “Network details”. The name, password, and band fields become editable.
5. Type a new name in the Network name field.
6. Type a password in the Network password field. It must be at least 8 characters long.
7. Choose a frequency band from the Band dropdown menu: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or Any available. The 5 GHz band is faster but has shorter range. The 2.4 GHz band reaches further and is supported by more older devices. The choices you see depend on your adapter, and some adapters offer only one band.
8. Click Save. The panel returns to its normal view and shows your new details.

They will need the new password to reconnect.

How to Turn On Mobile Hotspot in 🪟 Windows 11

You can turn on Mobile Hotspot from Settings or from the Quick Settings panel. Once it’s on, nearby devices can see your network and connect to it.

To turn it on from the Settings app:

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.

   

3. Click Mobile hotspot.

   

4. If you have more than one connection, check the "Share my internet connection from" dropdown and pick the one you want to share.
5. Turn the Mobile hotspot switch to On. The switch label changes to On, and the page shows your network name and password.

To toggle it from Quick Settings instead:

1. Press Windows key + A to open the Quick Settings flyout.
2. Click the Mobile hotspot quick action button to turn it on or off. If the button is missing, click the pencil icon at the bottom of the flyout, choose Add, and select Mobile hotspot.

   

While the hotspot is active, the Mobile hotspot page lists connected devices under "Devices connected". It shows how many of the maximum allowed devices (usually 8) are using your network. To undo this step, turn the same switch to Off.

Connecting Other Devices to Your 🪟 Windows 11 Hotspot

Once the hotspot is on, connecting a device is the same as joining any other Wi-Fi network. Your PC then acts like a standard router for that device.

1. Open the Wi-Fi settings on the device you want to connect, such as a smartphone, tablet, or another laptop.
2. Scan for available networks and find the Network name you set in Windows 11. If it doesn't appear, check that the hotspot is still on and that the band you chose is supported by the device. Some older devices can't see 5 GHz networks.
3. Select the network and enter the Network password you set.
4. Confirm the connection on the device. Once it authenticates, the device reaches the internet through your Windows 11 PC.

Back on the PC, the new device should appear under "Devices connected" on the Mobile hotspot page.

How to Share Your Connection Over Bluetooth

Bluetooth sharing is an alternative for PCs with no usable Wi-Fi adapter, or for times when you want to save battery. It uses much less power than a Wi-Fi broadcast. The trade-off is much slower data transfer speeds.

Your client device must be paired with your Windows 11 PC first:

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Click Bluetooth & devices in the left-hand sidebar.
3. Make sure Bluetooth is set to On, then pair your device by following the on-screen prompts. Both devices will show the paired state when this works.
4. Return to the main Settings menu and click Network & internet.
5. Click Mobile hotspot.

   

6. Find the "Share over" dropdown menu near the top of the page.
7. Change the setting from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth.
8. Turn the Mobile hotspot switch to On.

To go back to Wi-Fi sharing, set "Share over" to Wi-Fi again.

Power Saving and Automatic Turn-Off Settings

The power saving option turns the hotspot off by itself when no devices are connected. This stops the hotspot from draining a laptop battery while nobody is using it. It is most useful on a laptop that is running on battery.

1. Open Settings and go to Network & internet.
2. Click Mobile hotspot.
3. Find the Power saving toggle. You may need to expand the section first.

   

4. Turn the switch to On. Windows now switches the hotspot off automatically when no client devices remain connected.

If your hotspot keeps turning itself off, this setting is the likely cause. Turn the switch to Off to keep the hotspot running with no devices attached.

Advanced Management via Registry Editor

Network administrators and power users can use Registry Editor (regedit.exe, the Windows tool for viewing and changing system configuration settings) to look at the policies that govern hotspot behavior. Most people never need to do this. If you only want to turn the hotspot on or off, use Settings.

Back up the registry before you change anything. In Registry Editor, choose File then Export and save a copy.

To view the sharing policies:

1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if the User Account Control prompt asks for administrator permission.
3. In the left-hand pane, go to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnections

If keys for managing connection sharing policies exist here, they control how network sharing behaves under enterprise group policies. If the path is empty or missing, no such policy has been set on this PC.

Automating Mobile Hotspot with PowerShell

PowerShell (a task automation framework made up of a command-line shell and a scripting language) lets you drive the hotspot from the command line instead of the Settings pages. You need an administrative console for this.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin). Click Yes if User Account Control appears.
2. To start the mobile hotspot, run this command: Start-Process "ms-settings:network-mobilehotspot"

Direct PowerShell cmdlets for starting the hotspot need specific network profile wrappers. The Settings URI scheme is the way to trigger the interface directly. Depending on how your build handles it, you may still need to confirm the Mobile hotspot switch on the Settings page. To stop the hotspot, turn the switch to Off there.

How to Undo This

To undo your hotspot setup, go to Settings › Network & internet › Mobile hotspot and turn the switch to Off. Your name, password, and band settings stay saved for next time.

To clear everything and return your network adapters to their defaults, use Network reset. You'll find it under Advanced network settings in Network & internet. Treat it as a last resort. It removes saved Wi-Fi networks and VPN connections, reinstalls your network adapters, and restarts the PC. Make sure you have your Wi-Fi passwords before you use it.