Share Internet from Laptop to Android Phone or iPhone
If for any reason you cannot connect your Android phone or iPhone to the Internet via Wi-Fi or cellular data, don’t give up. You can share Internet from a Windows laptop to the mobile devices via Wi-Fi. This way, any wired Ethernet, restricted Wi-Fi or cellular dongle connection can be shared with your iPhone or your Android smartphone.
Connectify Hotspot is an easy-to-use virtual router program for Windows that lets you share Internet from laptop to phone, media player, game console, e-reader, other laptops and tablets, and even your nearby friends. Whether you’re traveling, at home, or just working from a coffee shop, Connectify Hotspot keeps you connected. Sharing to a phone works in the free edition: download Connectify Hotspot free and follow along below.
Setup · about two minutes
Get Connectify Hotspot running on your Windows PC
Three steps, no command prompt, no netsh commands to remember.
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Install and open Connectify Hotspot
Run the installer and let the install finish. Connectify Hotspot opens on its own.
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Pick what you are sharing
Choose the connection your Windows PC is already using, then set a hotspot name and password.
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Start Hotspot
Your phone, tablet or console now sees the network name you just typed. Connect to that network like any other Wi-Fi.
Available for Windows 10 and 11
How to Tether Your Laptop’s Internet to Your Phone (Reverse Tethering)
All you have to do is use Connectify Hotspot to turn your laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Then, connect your phone to the internet through that hotspot. See the video and instructions below.
Share Internet from Laptop to Phone: Setting Up a Wi-Fi Hotspot on Your Laptop
- Download and install the latest version of Connectify Hotspot on your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC or laptop.
- Open it, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, and pick the connection your laptop is using under Internet to share.
- Set a password. With PRO you can also give the hotspot your own name, emojis included.
- Click Start hotspot. Turn on Block ads to save bandwidth and battery on your phone.
- On your phone, scan the QR code on the Hotspot screen with the camera, or pick the hotspot in your Wi-Fi settings and type the password.
Share Internet from Laptop to Phone and Much More with Connectify Hotspot
Other ways of sharing Internet from laptop to phone can bring their own issues: strict NAT types, Chromecast apps that won’t find your Chromecast, an Apple TV that won’t show up for your Mac to stream to. Connectify Hotspot offers you more:
- See every device on your hotspot, with its traffic and data used, and switch internet access off for any one of them. Free in every edition.
- Block ads for every connected device with the built-in universal ad blocker, including ads inside apps, and choose a DNS service that blocks known malware sites.
- Share any type of Internet connection: existing Wi-Fi networks, LAN, DSL, tethered smartphones and VPN connections, plus 4G and 5G modems with PRO.
- Extend your Wi-Fi range with Wi-Fi repeater mode in your dorm room or office (MAX).
- Put game consoles and smart TVs directly on your home network with Bridged mode (MAX).
Free, PRO or MAX
Which version of Connectify Hotspot you need
Hotspot Lite, the free edition of Connectify Hotspot, covers the setup in this guide. It runs in timed sessions: when one ends, start it again with one click.
Recommended: MAX adds Wi-Fi repeater mode and Bridged mode, for extending your Wi-Fi or putting consoles and casting devices on your home network.
For 64-bit Windows 10 and 11