With today’s technology, you can get connected to the Internet via a mobile hotspot, a wireless router, or even use your own smartphone as the hotspot.

Solve the mobile hotspot issue on your Windows 10

  • If the Windows 10 hotspot is not working, the cause might be your driver or certain settings.

  • When the mobile hotspot is not working on Windows 10, the possibilities to fix that are numerous, so patiently go through each one.

  • The Windows 10 mobile hotspot was not working for some users because of device space.

  • There might also be some apps that interfere with the settings, so make sure to check that out.

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  • Click Start Scan to find Windows issues that could be causing PC problems.

  • Click Repair All to fix issues affecting your computer’s security and performance

  • Restoro has been downloaded by 0 readers this month.

A mobile hotspot allows you to share your network connection with other devices that want to connect to or access the Internet, using the Wi-Fi feature.

Whenever you try to connect to a mobile hotspot, some challenges can arise due to:

  • Incorrect configuration
  • Incorrect setup
  • The outdated wireless network adapter driver

There are several other instances that can cause your mobile hotspot not to work on a laptop or Windows 10.

Before trying any of the solutions in this article, you could establish if the issue is only with a specific device that won’t connect to your computer’s hotspot or with all of them.

Try also surfing using a modem or Wi-Fi to see if the issue is your computer or connection-related.

Here are the solutions you can use to fix the mobile hotspot issue in Windows 10.

What do I do if the mobile hotspot is not working on Windows 10 laptop?

1. Free up space

With no apparent connection, freeing up space on the mobile device helped some to reestablish the hotspot connection.

In one particular case, the user had already updated both the Windows device and the phone and had tried to use both the wireless and the wired connection, without a VPN connection.

2. Update all essential drivers

For a quick fix, we strongly suggest you update all outdated drivers automatically by using DriverFix.

This is a tool that will save you from manually searching and installing fresh driver versions since it will do the whole job.

It’s a great alternative (and safe, at the same time) to ensure that your device gets the latest drivers’ updates.

  • Download and install DriverFix.
  • Allow the tool to scan your PC for missing and out-of-date device drivers.
  • Inspect the detailed report the tool will offer once scanning finishes.
  • Choose the device driver you want to update. (You can also bulk update all outdated drivers.)

12. Install the driver in compatibility mode

  • Download the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website
  • Save it on your local disk
  • Right-click on the driver set up file
  • Click Properties
  • Click Compatibility tab
  • Check the box next to Run this program in Compatibility mode
  • Select the Operating System from the drop-down list
  • The driver will install, then check its functionality.
  • Restart the computer and check if the issue persists.
  • Click Start
  • Select Settings
  • Go to Network & Internet
  • Click Mobile Hotspot
  • Turn on Mobile Hotspot
  • Go to Related Settings
  • Click Change adapter options (Take note which adapter is connected to the Internet, and which one is your mobile hotspot – usually listed as Local Area Connection)
  • Right-click the adapter connected to the Internet
  • Click Properties, then go to Sharing tab
  • Uncheck Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection (you can skip this step if it is already unchecked) and click OK.
  • Open Properties
  • Under the Sharing tab, check to Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection.
  • If a popup says Internet Connection Sharing is currently enabled, click OK
  • Go to a Home networking connection
  • Select the Mobile Hotspot adapter
  • Click OK.

Check if your mobile hotspot is working now. Otherwise, try the next solution.

3. Troubleshoot Network Adapter

  • Click Start
  • Go to the search field box and type Troubleshooting
  • Select Troubleshooting from the search results
  • Click View all on the left pane
  • Click Network Adapter
  • Click Next
  • The detection process to identify any issues will begin
  • Select the network adapter to diagnose.

This is an automated, built-in Windows tool that finds and fixes common Network Adapter settings issues on your computer.

It will also check whether the Network Adapter drivers are updated or not, and give you a clue on the hardware failures related to the Network Adapter.

4. Check the Wi-Fi adapter

  • Click Start
  • Type CMD in the search field box
  • Select Command Prompt (Administrator)
  • Type the following command NETSH WLAN show drivers
  • Press Enter
  • Check for a line saying Hosted network supported and check if it says Yes or No.

If it says No, there is a problem because it means your Wi-Fi adapter doesn’t support the mobile hotspot feature.

In this case, buy another Wi-Fi adapter that supports it as there’s no other way of fixing it.

There are many worthwhile alternatives for Wi-fi adapters for Windows 10. The most powerful ones work with any wireless routers and cover the entire house and include built-in wireless security encryption.

5. Update network drivers manually

  • Right-click Start
  • Select Device Manager
  • Select Network Adapters
  • Right-click on your network adapter
  • Select Update driver
  • Click Search automatically for updated driver software
  • Once the steps are complete, click Close
  • After installing the updated driver, click Start >Power > Restart

If your computer cannot connect to the Internet, download a driver from a different computer, save it to a USB flash drive, then manually install it on your own computer.

How to manually install the network adapter driver

  • For a .exe (executable) file, double click on it to run the file then install the drivers
  • For individual files, check a file with .inf extension and another with .sys extension then do the following:
  • Go to the search box and type Device Manager to open the app.
  • Select Network adapters and go to the network adapter name (you can also check under Other Devices if yours isn’t listed there)
  • Right-click the network adapter and select Update driver
  • Click Browse my computer for driver software
  • Select Browse then the location where the driver files are stored
  • Click Ok then Next
  • Once the installation is complete, click Close

After installing the updated driver, click Start> Power > Restart.

6. Roll back the network adapter driver

  • Right-click Start
  • Select Device Manager
  • Select Network Adapters then click on the network adapter name
  • Right-click on the network adapter
  • Select Properties
  • Select the Driver tab
  • Select Roll Back Driver. If the button is unavailable, then there’s no driver to roll back to.
  • After rolling back to the previous version of the driver, select Start /Power/ Restart.

Driver updates are sometimes incompatible with system specifications and lead to errors, including connectivity issues. So the natural solution is to uninstall these updates.

Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.Click here to download and start repairing.

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If you successfully rolled back your driver, now you’ll have to prevent Windows from automatically updating it.

7. Create a new connection

If you still have mobile hotspot issues, or issues connecting your device to your mobile hotspot, try and delete the current connection, then create a new one to get rid of the authentication error.

8. Temporarily turn off firewalls and antivirus

A firewall, antivirus, or malware program, sometimes blocks mobile hotspots and won’t work on a Windows 10 laptop.

If this is the cause of the issue, turn off either of the three then try to visit the website you wanted.

Ensure you turn these programs back on immediately after you’re done to prevent hackers, viruses, and worms from damaging your system.

9. Disable Bluetooth

  • Click Start
  • Select Settings
  • Choose Devices
  • Click Bluetooth
  • Set it as Off.

10. Run the Internet connection troubleshooter

  • Click Start
  • Type Troubleshooting in the search field box
  • Select Troubleshooting from the search results
  • Click View all on the left panel
  • Select Internet connections
  • Click Next to run the troubleshooter.

If the troubleshooter can’t load or fails to complete the process, you can remediate that with an antivirus or from Windows settings.

11. Use a hotspot software app

Another simple, and automatic, solution would be to use a dedicated app such as Connectify Hotspot that can turn your Windows 10 device into a hotspot.

What this program does is extend the range of your wireless signal in your home by combining several Internet connections, either wired or wireless.

This facilitates Internet access for all devices without you having to resort to additional hardware.

When using Connectify Hotspot, you basically eliminate networking issues since it bridges other devices.

You also get real-time network usage monitoring as well as firewall protection for each connected device.

⇒ Get Connectify Hotspot

14. Perform a Clean Boot

  • Go to the search box
  • Type msconfig
  • Select System Configuration
  • Find the Services tab
  • Select Hide all Microsoft services box
  • Click Disable all
  • Go to Startup tab
  • Click Open Task Manager
  • Close Task manager then click Ok
  • Reboot your computer

You will have a clean boot environment after all these steps are carefully followed, after which you can try and check if the mobile hotspot problem persists.

Performing a clean boot for your computer reduces conflicts related to software that can bring up the root causes that lead to your mobile hotspot not working on Windows 10.

These conflicts can be caused by applications and services that start up and run in the background whenever you start Windows normally.

15. Start your computer in Safe Mode

  • Click on Start button
  • Select Settings – the Settings box will open up
  • Click Update & Security
  • Select Recovery from the left pane
  • Go to Advanced startup
  • Click Restart now
  • Select Troubleshoot from the Choose an option screen, then click Advanced options
  • Go to Startup Settings and click Restart
  • Once your computer restarts, a list of options will come up.
  • Choose 4 or F4 to start your computer in Safe Mode

If the mobile hotspot problem isn’t there while in Safe Mode, then your default settings and basic drivers are not contributing to the issue.

16. Check Allow sharing connection settings

  • Click Start
  • Select Settings
  • Go to Network & Internet
  • Select Network and Sharing center
  • Click Change adapter settings
  • Right-click Ethernet connection
  • Choose Properties
  • Click the Sharing tab
  • Uncheck Checkbox to Allow sharing the connection
  • Restart mobile hotspot.

Allow other network users to connect using the steps below:

  • Go to Network and Sharing Center
  • Under View your active networks, click the network you connect to the internet from
  • Click Properties
  • Select the Sharing tab
  • Select Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection
  • Click OK.

Let us know if any of the solutions we shared worked for you. If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments section below and we’ll be sure to check them out.

  • Device Connection ErrorFix network issuesmobile hotspot

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