How to Turn On Mobile or PC Hotspot using Bluetooth on Windows 10

Hosted Networks also known as Virtual networks have been featured since windows 7. You could usually be able to create a hotspot through group policy settings or via command prompt. But now, beginning from Windows 10 build 14316, you can easily set up a hosted wireless network via your settings. What’s more, you can turn on an existing hotspot via Bluetooth using another device. Other than sharing internet, this feature is also used by applications for sharing files and data. They won’t have to prompt uses to manually turn hotspot on and connect.

There are different Windows 10 devices you can allow another device to start your Hotspot via Bluetooth on. Either the hotspot must be set up in your phone or on your computer or any other window 10 device. Most people use laptops and mobile phones and that is what we will cover in this article. If you have set up a hotspot on your laptop you can turn it on using your windows phone. Vis versa, if the hotspot is on your mobile phone, you can turn it on using your laptop. The second device sends a signal via Bluetooth and invokes the APIs of the first device to turn the hotspot on. It then connects to the available network automatically.

Prerequisites: Here are the things you must have in order to turn on hotspots via Bluetooth:

1. Both devices must have Bluetooth. The Bluetooth of both devices must be running/turned on and paired
2. If you are running the hotspot on your PC, you must at least have Windows 10 build 14316 to set up the hotspot that allows other devices to start it via Bluetooth. Your computer must also support hosted networks in order to set up a hotspot.
3. If you are running the hotspot on your mobile phone, you must at least have Windows 10 mobile to set up the hotspot that allows other devices to start it via Bluetooth. You must also have an active data plan on your phone
4. Both devices must be running a windows operating system. Other operating systems e.g. android and iOS are not supported yet.

To know which version of Windows 10 you are running on your computer, press Windows Key + R to open Run, type ‘winver’ and hit enter. To tell if your computer supports hosted networks type “netsh wlan show drivers” in the Command prompt window and press the Enter.

If you meet all the prerequisites, here is how to set up a hosted network that can be turned on by other devices via Bluetooth.

Step 1: Set up a Hotspot on your Windows10 computer or mobile phone and allow another device to turn on mobile hotspot

The first step is to set up a Hotspot on your Computer or mobile phone. Choose the device you want to remotely switch and set up a hotspot on it.

Here is how to set up a hotspot on your windows 10 computer

1. Open Settings.
2. Click Network & internet.
3. Click Mobile hotspot.
4. Toggle ‘Turn on remotely’ to on. Keep in mind that both devices must have Bluetooth turned on and they have to be paired.
5. Click the Edit button if you want to change the Network name and password.
6. Under Share my Internet connection from, select the Wi-Fi adapter you want to share so other devices can access the internet.
7. Click the switch to turn on Mobile hotspot.

Here is how to set up a hotspot on your windows 10 mobile phone

1. First unlock your phone, swipe down the notification center and you will see the option “Mobile Hotspot”. Click on this option and it will take you to the hotspot settings. In case you don’t see the option, open settings > Network and Wireless > Mobile Hotspot.
2. Turn on the hotspot option and you can see your phone coming up as a Wi-Fi connection on other devices.
3. If you want to change the SSID (the Wi-Fi name) and the password, click the edit button at the bottom. Here you will be able to add your own name and password.
4. At the end you have a toggle button which says “Allow another device to turn on mobile hotspot. Both devices must have Bluetooth turned on and be paired.” Turn this toggle button to the on position to allow remote switching.

Step 2: Pair your PC and your phone

To pair, one of your devices must be visible/searchable by the other device.

1. On your phone, go to settings > Bluetooth. Turn on Bluetooth. If there is an option ‘make this device visible to other Bluetooth devices’ click on it to allow visibility.
2. Then using the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut, open the Settings app.
3. Navigate to Devices and go to Bluetooth.
4. Make sure the Bluetooth switch is in the on position. (You’ll know it is working because you’ll notice the message that reads “Your PC is searching for and can be discovered by Bluetooth devices.”)
5. Select the device you want to connect and click Pair.
6. A code will appear on the screen and will also be sent to your phone. If both codes are the same, click on pair/yes/connect to allow the pairing to complete.

You can also connect two computers by making one visible to the other. You can set the visibility from the Bluetooth settings of your PC.

Step 3: Start your mobile hotspot remotely

After pairing both your devices, make sure both their Bluetooth are on. To make sure remote switching via Bluetooth works, turn off the hotspot on both devices first.

1. Turn on the Wi-Fi on the device you want to use to turn the other’s hotspot on.
2. If your Bluetooth are on, the other device should appear on your Wi-Fi list. e.g. on your phone, go to setting > Wi-Fi > turn Wi-Fi on and look for your device in the list. On your computer, you can click on the Wi-Fi icon on your system tray (right bottom corner of the taskbar) and see the device on your list.
3. Click/tap on the hotspot and click ‘Connect.’ This will automatically turn on the hotspot of the other device and connect to it.
4. If you are asked for a Wi-Fi password, input the password and connect (you will only have to do this once)

Other than the Bluetooth being on for both devices, your phone must have an internet connection and the cellular data must be switched on otherwise the hotspot won’t turn on. The only caveat with wireless hotspot feature is that you’re limited to share your internet connection with up to 8 devices.

How to turn your Windows 10 PC into a wireless hotspot

Whether you’re connecting to the internet using a wireless or wired adapter, similar to previous versions, Windows 10 allows you to share an internet connection with other devices with a feature called «Hosted Network».

Hosted Network is a feature that comes included with the Netsh (Network Shell) command-line utility. It’s was previously introduced in Windows 7, and it allows you to use the operating system to create a virtual wireless adapter – something that Microsoft refers to «Virtual Wi-Fi» — and create a SoftAP, which is a software-based wireless access point.

Through the combination of these two elements, your PC can take its internet connection (be it an ethernet connection or hookup through a cellular adapter) and share it with other wireless devices — essentially acting as a wireless hotspot.

In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to verify if your network adapter supports the feature, how to configure and enable a wireless Hosted Network, and how to stop and remove the settings from your computer when you no longer need the feature.

To follow this guide, you’ll need to open the Command Prompt with administrator rights. To do this, use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut, and select Command Prompt (Admin).

How to check if your wireless adapter supports Hosted Networks in Windows 10

While some adapters include support for Hosted Network, you will first need to verify your computer’s physical wireless adapter supports this feature using the following command:

NETSH WLAN show drivers

If the generated output shows Hosted network supported: Yes, then you can continue with the guide. If your wireless adapter isn’t supported, you could try using a USB wireless adapter that supports the feature.

How to create a wireless Hosted Network in Windows 10

Creating a wireless hotspot in Windows 10 is relatively straightforward — don’t let the command line scare you. Simply follow the steps below to configure a wireless Hosted Network:

While in Command Prompt (Admin) enter the following command:

NETSH WLAN set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=Your_SSID key=Your_Passphrase

Where the SSID would be the name you want to identify your wireless network when trying to connect a new device, and the passphrase is the network security key you want users to use to connect to your network. (Remember that the passphrase has to be at least 8 characters in length.)

Once you created a Hosted Network, enter the following command to activate it:

NETSH WLAN start hostednetwork

How to share your internet connection with a Hosted Network in Windows 10

Up to here, you created and started a Hosted Network in your Windows 10 PC. However, any wireless capable device won’t be able to access the internet just yet. The last thing you need to do is to share an internet connection using the «Internet Connection Sharing» feature from a physical network adapter.

Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu, and select Network Connections.

Next, right-click the network adapter with an internet connection – this could be a traditional Ethernet or wireless network adapter — select Properties.

Note: In Network Connections, you should now see a new our new Microsoft Hosted Virtual Adapter which is labeled Local Area Connection* X, and with the SSID name.

Next, from the Home networking connection drop-down menu select the Microsoft Hosted Virtual Adapter.

Click OK to finish.

At this point, you should be able to see and connect any wireless capable device to the newly created software access point, and with access to the internet.

How to stop sharing an internet connection with other devices in Windows 10

If you want to temporary stop allowing other devices to connect wirelessly through your computer, you can type the following command in the Command Prompt and hit Enter:

NETSH WLAN stop hostednetwork

At any time, you can just use the start variant of the command to allow other devices to connect to the internet using your computer as an access point without extra configuration:

NETSH WLAN start hostednetwork

Similarly, you can also use the following command to enable or disable a wireless Hosted Network:

NETSH WLAN set hostednetwork mode=allow

NETSH WLAN set hostednetwork mode= disallow

How to change a Hosted Network settings in Windows 10

In the case you want to change some of the current settings, such as SSID or network security you can use the following commands:

NETSH WLAN set hostednetwork ssid=Your_New_SSID

NETSH WLAN set hostednetwork key=Your_New_Passphrase

How to view the current Hosted Network settings

There are two commands to view the Hosted Network settings on your computer:

The following command shows the mode and SSID name in use, max number of clients that can connect, type of authentication, and cipher:

NETSH WLAN show hostednetwork

And the following command will also reveal the current network security key among other settings, similar to the previous command:

NETSH WLAN show hostednetwork setting=security

How to disable a wireless Hosted Network in Windows 10

While the setup of a wireless Hosted Network in Windows 10 is not very complicated, Microsoft doesn’t make very straightforward to remove the configurations when you no longer need the feature.

Although you can use the stop or disallow commands, these actions won’t eliminate the settings from your computer. If you want completely delete the Hosted Network settings in Windows 10, you’ll need to modify the Registry.

Important: Before you change anything settings on your computer, it’s worth noting that editing the Windows Registry can be a dangerous game that can cause irreversible damages to your system if you don’t know what you are doing. As such, it’s recommended for you to make a full backup of your system or at least System Restore Point before proceeding with this guide. You have been warned!

Open the Start menu, do a search for regedit, hit Enter, and click OK to open the Registry with admin rights.

Scroll down the following path in the Registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\currentcontrolset\services\wlansvc\parameters\hostednetworksettings

Right-click the HostedNetworkSettings DWORD key, select Delete, and click Yes to confirm deletion.

Restart your computer

Open to the Command Prompt and use the following command:

NETSH WLAN show hostednetwork

You will know that you have successfully deleted the settings when the Settings field reads Not configured.

Make sure you turn off «Internet Connection Sharing» in the physical network adapter that was sharing the internet with other devices. Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu, and select Network Connections.

Uncheck the Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection option.

Click OK to complete the process.

Things you need to know

Although the wireless Hosted Network feature in Windows 10 allows you to implement an access point solution to share an internet connection with other devices, it’s not meant to be a solution to replace a physical wireless access point.

Also, there are a few things you want to consider. For example, wireless speeds will dramatically be reduced compared to the rates provided from a physical access point. Perhaps it would not be a big deal for internet browsing, but downloading or transferring big files could be an issue for some users.

You also need to consider that your computer needs to be always turned on to act as a wireless access point. If the computer enters into sleep, hibernate, or restarts, your wireless hotspot will stop working, and you will need to start manually the feature using the NETSH WLAN start hostednetwork command.

You cannot run a SorftAP and ad hoc at the same time on Windows. If you need to create a temporary network connection between two computers, setting up ad hoc will turn off SoftAP — you can run one or the other, not both at the same time.

Wrapping things up

Wireless Hosted Network is a nifty feature in Windows can be a great tool to have for when you need to create a wireless access point on the go. It won’t match the performance of a physical wireless access point, but it can be useful for many unexpected scenarios — like having one wired ethernet connection and several devices you want to get online. It’s not a replacement for the real thing, but in a sticky situation, it can be just the fix you need.

More resources

For more tips and tricks on Windows 10, and get the latest news, you can visit the following resources:

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