2 Simple Ways to Enable IP Routing on Windows 10 and 11

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A quick guide to allow IP routing for connecting 2 devices

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: August 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Using the Windows Registry
|
• Using Windows Services
|
• Verifying IP Routing
|
• Video

|Show more |Show less

Are you looking to enable IP routing on your Windows computer? IP routing, sometimes also known as forwarding, is the process of determining the shortest path to send data from one computer to another across different networks. In Windows, this is disabled by default. This wikiHow will teach you how to enable IP routing on all versions of Windows, including earlier versions of Windows.

Enabling IP Routing on Windows: Quick Steps

1. Search Regedit in the Start Menu to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters.
3. Right-click IP Enable Router and select Modify.
4. In the Value Data field, change the “0” to a “1.”
5. Click OK to close the Registry Editor, then restart your computer.
6. Restart your computer

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Windows Registry

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1. 
   1
   Open the Registry Editor. You can do this by clicking the Start Menu icon or pressing the Win key to open your Start Menu. Then search regedit in the search bar and click the executable app result.

   • Click Yes when prompted. Before the app runs, you'll get a pop-up asking if the program "Registry Editor" can make changes to your device. You'll need to allow this by pressing Yes to continue.
   • Warning: Making changes to the Windows Registry can cause permanent damage to your Windows operating system.
2. 
   2
   Navigate to the “Parameters” folder. Do this by clicking the downwards-pointing arrow next to each folder to expand the folder and show all locations inside the folder. Navigate to the following location:

   • Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
   • Expand SYSTEM.
   • Expand CurrentControlSet.
   • Expand Services.
   • Expand Tcpip.
   • Expand Parameters.
   • Click the Parameters folder to see the files listed inside it.
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3. 
   3
   Right-click "IPEnableRouter" and click Modify. When you right-click the file, a menu will pop up at your cursor. When you select Modify, a window will appear.

   • If “IPEnableRouter” doesn’t exist, you can create it. To do so, right-click a blank space in the Registry editor and hover over New. Select DWORD (32-Bit) Value and set the Value Data to “1.”
4. 
   4
   Change the "Value Data" field from "0" to "1." The 1 will enable your IP routing capabilities in Windows 10.
5. 
   5
   Click Ok and close the Registry Editor. This enables IP routing on your computer.

   • Once your computer restarts, open Command Prompt and enter netsh interface ipv4 show interface <id> to verify if IP forwarding is enabled. Replace the bracketed information with your computer's ID and don't include the brackets.
6. 
   6
   Restart your computer. In order for the changes to take effect, you need to restart your computer. Click the Windows Start menu and then click the Power icon. Click Restart.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Windows Services

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1. 
   1
   Open Windows Services. You can use Windows Services to enable IP routing. Use the following steps to open Windows Services:

   • Press Win + R to open Run.
   • Enter services.msc into Run and click OK.
2. 
   2
   Scroll down and right-click Routing and Remote Access. All items are listed alphabetically. You’ll need to scroll down a ways to find this item. Right-click it to display a context menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Properties. This opens the Properties menu for Routing and Remote Access.
4. 
   4
   Set “Startup Type” to “Automatic” or “Manual.” This allows you to enable Routing and Remote Access.
5. 
   5
   Click Apply followed by Ok. This saves the property changes.
6. 
   6
   Click Routing and Remote Access. This highlights the item.
7. 
   7
   Click the Play triangle. It’s at the top of the page. This starts Routing and Remote Access and enables IP Routing.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Verifying IP Routing is Enabled

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1. 
   1
   Open the Command Prompt

   

   . Use the following steps to open the Command Prompt:

   • Click the Windows Start menu.
   • Type CMD.
   • Right-click the Command Prompt.
   • Click Run as Administrator.
2. 
   2
   Type ipconfig /all and press ↵ Enter. This prints your IP configuration information.
3. 
   3
   Verify IP Routing is enabled. It should say “Yes” next to “IP Routing Enabled.” It’s below “Windows IP Configuration” near the top of the printout.
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