You need to get a tablet or a friend's phone online, and the only connection in the room is the one your laptop is using.
Windows will share it. The feature has been built in for years, it needs nothing installed, and on most machines it has never once been switched on.
I read what this laptop has set up for hotspots before writing, and the answer was nothing at all, which is the ordinary state.
Where it lives, and the order of the steps
Four steps, and the second one is the choice people get wrong.
⭐ Microsoft's route on its mobile hotspot page: "In the Settings app on your Windows device, select Network & internet > Mobile hotspot".
⚡ Then pick what you are sharing: "Under Share my internet connection from, choose the internet connection you want to share".
⚠️ Then how you are sharing it: "Under Share over, choose how you want to share your connection", which means Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
⛔ The toggle goes on last. Microsoft says to "Turn on the Mobile hotspot toggle at the top of the page" once the rest is set.
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and it is not close
One of these is a real answer and the other is a fallback.
⚡ Microsoft says plainly that "Wi-Fi is usually faster and the default."
⭐ Bluetooth is there for devices with no Wi-Fi, and for the rare case where sharing Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi will not work on your adapter.
⚠️ Expect Bluetooth to be slow enough to notice. It is for a message getting through, not for watching anything.
⛔ Take Wi-Fi unless it refuses. Bluetooth pairing has an order of its own, and it is the slower road.
Changing the name and password
One expandable section, and it is where people give up.
⭐ Microsoft's wording: "Expand the Properties section, then select Edit and enter a new network name, password, and network band. Select Save".
⚡ Do that before you turn the toggle on, or you hand somebody a password and then change it.
⚠️ The network band is in that same dialog. 2.4GHz reaches further and 5GHz is faster.
⛔ Pick 2.4GHz for an old device that cannot see your hotspot at all. That is the commonest reason it is invisible.
The warning worth reading twice
Short, and it is the one that costs money.
⚡ Microsoft states it: "If your device has a cellular data connection and you share it, it will use data from your data plan."
⭐ A laptop with a SIM will happily hand your whole allowance to a tablet that thinks it is on home Wi-Fi.
⚠️ A phone updating itself over your hotspot is the classic way that happens.
⛔ Check the connection you picked in step two. That dropdown is the whole difference.
What this machine reports
Measured here, and every one of them says unused.
⭐ The Windows Mobile Hotspot Service is stopped, on a manual start type. That is what a hotspot that has never run looks like.
⚡ Internet Connection Sharing is running, also on manual. Different service, and its being up is normal.
⚠️ The hotspot settings key exists and holds no values, so nothing has ever been configured here.
⛔ The wireless link read 130 Mbps at the time. ⚠️ It read 86.5 Mbps an hour earlier, on the same connection, which is how Wi-Fi behaves.
What sharing costs the machine doing it
Ours, and it explains a complaint people cannot word.
⚡ Sharing Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi makes one radio do two jobs. Your own connection slows while the hotspot is on.
⭐ That link rate above is the ceiling for both of you together, not for each.
⚠️ A cable into the laptop removes the problem entirely. Share the ethernet and let the radio serve only the hotspot.
⛔ And the battery goes quickly. Worth knowing what yours can still hold before you rely on it.
When the hotspot will not appear
Four causes, cheapest first.
⭐ The other device cannot see 5GHz. Change the band in Properties and look again.
⚡ The adapter does not support sharing Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi. Some do not, and Bluetooth is the fallback.
⚠️ A work or school network can block it, and so can some VPN software.
⛔ And no maximum number of devices is published anywhere on that page. ⚠️ We could not find one, so if a fifth device will not join, test rather than assume there is a limit.
Status: the hotspot services and the wireless link were read on 29 August 2026. Microsoft's mobile hotspot page supplied the route, the order and the data warning. ⛔ No hotspot was started or configured, no network name or password is published, and nothing was changed.
How do I turn my Windows laptop into a hotspot?
Settings, Network and internet, Mobile hotspot. Choose the connection to share, choose whether to share over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, set the name and password under Properties, then turn the toggle on last. Nothing needs installing.
Should I share over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?
Wi-Fi. Microsoft says it is usually faster and it is the default. Bluetooth is there for devices with no Wi-Fi, or for adapters that cannot share Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi, and it is slow enough that you will notice.
Why can my other device not see the hotspot?
Most often the band. Old phones and cheap devices cannot see 5GHz, so change the network band to 2.4GHz in the Properties section and look again. Adapter limits, work networks and VPN software are the other three causes.
Does a Windows hotspot use my mobile data?
If the connection you chose to share is a cellular one, yes. Microsoft warns that sharing a cellular data connection will use data from your data plan. Check the dropdown under Share my internet connection from before you turn it on.
The Short Version
- Settings, Network and internet, Mobile hotspot. Nothing to install.
- Pick the connection to share, then how to share it, then turn the toggle on last.
- Microsoft says Wi-Fi is usually faster and the default. Bluetooth is the fallback.
- Set the name, password and band under Properties before you switch it on.
- 2.4GHz for an old device that cannot see the hotspot at all.
- Sharing a cellular connection spends your data plan, in Microsoft's own words.
- The hotspot service is stopped and unconfigured on this laptop, which is normal.
- No maximum number of connected devices is published anywhere.
Where to Next
Open Settings, Network and internet, Mobile hotspot and just look at it once.
Set the name and password before you ever turn it on, so you are not changing them under pressure.
Choose 2.4GHz if the device you want to connect is more than a few years old.
Check which connection you are sharing if there is any chance of it being cellular.
And if your adapter refused to share Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi and you had to use Bluetooth, tell me in the comments. That list of adapters does not exist anywhere.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.