What you will achieve

Share your PC’s Ethernet or Wi‑Fi connection with phones and tablets over a Windows Mobile Hotspot — configure SSID, password, band, and troubleshoot common sharing failures.

1) Enable Mobile Hotspot in Settings

Open Settings → Network & internet → Mobile hotspot (Windows 10: Settings → Network & Internet → Mobile hotspot).
Set Share my Internet connection from to Ethernet or Wi‑Fi depending on how this PC gets online.
Choose Share over — usually Wi‑Fi; some PCs also offer Bluetooth.
Click Edit to set network name, password, and band (2.4 GHz for range, 5 GHz for speed).
Toggle Mobile hotspot on.

2) Connect client devices

On the phone or tablet, join the hotspot SSID with the password you set. Up to eight devices can connect on most adapters — check Properties under the hotspot toggle for the connected count.

3) Quick toggle from the taskbar

Click the network icon in the system tray → right-click or expand the quick settings tile → toggle Mobile hotspot. Pin it via Settings → Personalisation → Taskbar → System tray icons for one-click access.

4) Command-line start and stop

For scripting or when Settings UI misbehaves, open Admin PowerShell:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=MyHotspot key=YourPassword123
netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Note: modern Windows prefers the Settings Mobile Hotspot path; legacy hostednetwork may not work on all Wi‑Fi drivers. Use Settings first.

5) Fix common hotspot problems

Toggle greyed out — update Wi‑Fi driver from Device Manager or the PC maker’s site.
Clients connect but no internet — verify the source adapter has internet; disable VPN temporarily.
Firewall blocks sharing — allow Wireless Network Connection in Windows Security → Firewall → Allow an app.
Metered source — Windows may limit hotspot on metered connections; check Settings → Network & internet → [adapter] → Metered connection.

6) Check adapter support

Not every Wi‑Fi chipset supports hosted networks. In Device Manager, open your wireless adapter properties → Advanced tab and look for Hosted network supported: Yes in PowerShell: