3 Ways to Share an Internet Connection from a Windows PC

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Share your internet with other PCs, phones, and more

Co-authored by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: February 2, 2026 Fact Checked

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Creating a Hotspot

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Sharing via Ethernet (Network Bridge)

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Sharing via Ethernet (Internet Sharing)

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If you want to share your internet connection from a Windows desktop computer or laptop, there are a couple of ways you can do so. You can easily share your internet connection by turning your computer into a mobile hotspot. You can also share your connection via an Ethernet cable. This wikiHow article teaches you simple ways to share your internet connection in Windows.

Quick Steps

Press Win + i to open the Settings menu.
Go to Network & Internet > Mobile Hotspot.
Click Edit, edit your hotspot settings, and click Save.
Choose to share your internet via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Toggle on the mobile hotspot.
Connect other devices via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Creating and Sharing a Wi-Fi Hotspot

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1
Open the Windows Settings menu
. To do so, press Win + i on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Windows Start menu and then click the Gear/Settings icon.
- You can use this method to turn your Windows PC into a hotspot, which allows other devices nearby to access the internet through your computer over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
In Windows 11, it’s in the menu bar to the left. In Windows 10, it’s next to an icon that resembles a globe.

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It’s next to an icon that resembles an antenna. On Windows 11, it’s in the main panel in the middle. On Windows 10, it’s in the menu bar to the left.
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Create your hotspot. To do so, click Edit at the bottom of the menu, enter your hotspot details, and click Save. The details you can edit are as follows:
- Name: This is the name or SSID of the mobile hotspot that your computer will share. So, when others are connecting to the internet through your shared connection, they'll select this name as their Wi-Fi network.
- Password: This is the Wi-Fi password other users will need to enter to connect to your hotspot.
- Band: You can select 2.4 GHz, 5Ghz, or Any available. 5GHz usually results in a faster connection, but doesn’t have as much range.
- Security type: This allows you to select the encryption type for your password. You can select WPA2, WPA3, or WPA2/WPA3. WPA 3 is the most secure encryption type available on most devices.^{[1]
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If you have multiple internet connections, you can select which internet connection you want to share. Use the drop-down menu next to “Share my internet connection from” to select which internet connection you want to share.
You can use the drop-down menu next to “Share over” to select how you want to share your internet connection. You can choose Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Wi-Fi is usually faster and easier to connect to.
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Turn your hotspot on. To do so, click the toggle switch at the top of the screen. You can now connect other devices to the internet through your hotspot.
- On Windows 11, you can quickly turn your hotspot on or off in the Quick Settings panel. To access it, click the Speaker/Wi-Fi/Battery icon in the Windows taskbar in the lower-left corner, then click the Mobile Hotspot icon.
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Connect other devices to the shared internet connection. Use one of the following steps to connect another device:^{[2]
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- QR Code: If your computer is using Windows 11, you can scan the QR code in the Mobile Hotspot settings using the phone or tablet you want to connect to the internet.
- Wi-Fi: To connect via Wi-Fi, open the Wi-Fi settings on the device you want to connect. Select the name of the mobile hotspot you created and enter the password to connect.
- Bluetooth: Open the Bluetooth settings on the device that needs internet access and start scanning. On the computer, click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner, click the arrow next to the Bluetooth symbol, then select the device that needs internet access.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Sharing via Ethernet (Network Bridge)

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You can use a bridge connection to share Wi-Fi with another PC over ethernet. Make sure the computer you want to share is connected to Wi-Fi. If there is no Wi-Fi, make sure your computer is connected to the internet via ethernet and has at least one other ethernet port available.^{[3]
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To do so, click the Windows Start menu and type “Network Connections.” Click View network connections.
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Select both your Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters. To do so, hold Ctrl and click both your Wi-Fi adapter and the Ethernet adapter.
- Not all computers have an Ethernet adapter.
This will create a new Bridge Connection adapter.^{[4]
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It’s at the bottom of the context menu that appears when you right-click the bridge connection.
This will ensure that you can connect another PC using an Ethernet cable. Click OK to close out of the menu.
Connect an Ethernet cable from one Ethernet port to the Ethernet port of another PC. The other PC should be able to access the internet via the Ethernet cable.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Sharing via Ethernet (Internet Sharing)

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This method will effectively turn your host PC into a router. For this to work, the host PC will need to be connected to Wi-Fi. However, if you have more than one Ethernet adapter or a USB Ethernet adapter, you can connect via an Ethernet connection.^{[5]
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To do so, click the Windows Start menu and type “Network Connections.” Click View network connections.
The active connection is whichever adapter is currently being used to connect to the internet. Right-click that adapter and click Properties at the bottom of the menu.
It’s the second tab at the top of the panel.
To do so, click the checkbox next to “Allow other users to connect through this computer’s internet connection.”
To do so, click the drop-down menu below “Home networking connection” and select Ethernet. After you select this, click Ok, and then Yes.
Connect an Ethernet cable from one Ethernet port to the Ethernet port of another PC. The other PC should be able to access the internet via the Ethernet cable.
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Assign an IP address to the host computer. If the other computer is not able to connect to the internet, you may need to assign IP addresses manually. Use the following steps to assign an IP address to the host computer:
- Open the View network connections panel.
- Right-click the Ethernet adapter and select Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
- Select Use the following IP addresses.
- Enter 192.168.1.1 as the IP address.
- Enter 255.255.255.0 as the subnet mask.
- Enter 8.8.8.8 as the preferred DNS server.
- Click OK.
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Assign an IP address to the client computer. Use the following steps to manually assign an IP address on the client computer that is connected to the host computer:^{[6]
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- Open the View network connections panel.
- Right-click the Ethernet adapter and select Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
- Select Use the following IP addresses.
- Enter 192.168.1.2 as the IP address.
- Enter 255.255.255.0 as the subnet mask.
- Enter 192.168.1.1 as the default gateway.
- Enter 8.8.8.8 as the preferred DNS server.
- Click OK.