How to use your Windows 11 device as a hotspot

Connectivity is always a big factor when it comes to choosing a laptop or PC. Most devices now come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as standard, although many also support 4G (or even 5G) connections, especially if they’re more portable.

The focus is usually on keeping the computer in question connected to the internet, but what if you want to use it to get other devices online? That’s exactly what Windows 11’s Mobile hotspot feature does, turning the device into its own router of sorts. You might be familiar with this process while using a phone, but the same can be applied here.

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to do this. For example, hotels sometimes limit internet access to one device per booking. That might leave you choosing between a phone, laptop or tablet, especially if you don’t have lots of data to play with. It’s also great if you invite guests over but would prefer if they didn’t all have access to the Wi-Fi password – this provides temporary access which can be turned off at any time.

Without further ado, here’s how to set up a mobile hotspot on Windows 11. This works when sharing both Wi-Fi and LTE connections.

How to set up mobile hotspot in Windows 11

Windows 11’s dedicated mobile hotspot feature makes getting set up relatively simple:

1. Head to Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot
2. Click the drop-down menu next to ‘Share my internet connection from’ and choose which connection you’d like to share. On devices without LTE connectivity, Wi-Fi is the only option that will appear
3. Click the drop-down menu next to ‘Share over’ and choose either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Both should deliver the same speeds and reliability
4. If you trust the devices that will be connecting, leave the ‘Turn on remotely’ toggle on. Otherwise, turn it off
5. Under Properties, click ‘Edit’ and provide a meaningful name and password. This is also where you can choose a 2.4GHz or 5GHz connection, but you should be able to leave it on ‘Any available’ in most cases
6. Click the toggle at the top of the screen to turn mobile hotspot ‘On’.
7. That ‘Share my internet connection from’ option should now be greyed out and your hotspot now active

By default, Windows 11 enables power saving mode here, which turns off mobile hotspot when no devices are connected. If you’d rather that wasn’t the case, just toggle this to ‘Off’

How to connect other devices to Windows 11 mobile hotspot

Once that’s set up, it's extremely easy to get connected using another device:

1. From the device you’d like to use, turn on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (whichever you specified in Step 3 above)
2. Look for the name you chose in Step 5 and tap or click it
3. Enter the password you create and confirm

That’s it! You’re now connected to the Windows 11 mobile hotspot. Up to 8 devices can be connected at the same time.

If you find it’s not connecting, the network band is the most likely cause. Choose 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz within those ‘Properties’ options mentioned above.

Related articles for further reading