Windows

[Solution] Mobile Hotspot not working in Windows 10

Sharing your laptop internet connection using a mobile hotspot is a smart option. Through it, you can use internet on your smartphone which is mostly WiFi enabled. Over the years, we’ve attempted to cover and share the ingenious methods of creating hotspot on your laptop using Windows 8 or Windows 10. Some people are facing troubles like WiFi Hotspot not Working when it comes to Windows 10. Today, we’ll share some solutions which might help you solve this problem and your hotspot on the laptop would be working fine again.

Solving Mobile Hotspot not working in Windows 10

Following are the three ways, through which you can proceed to solve your wifi hotspot troubles in Windows 10. We are assuming that you already know how to make a wifi hotspot in Windows 10 using the CMD method.

1. Check your internet connection

We all have been there; extended working hours sometimes just cause us to overlook a few things. One of the basic thing before troubleshooting is to look if the internet is actually working. The best way to test this, is to open your favourite browser and visit Google.com

Google on Chrome in Incognito

If you are able to have a look at the above screen then, congratulations your internet is working on your laptop.

2. Run Network Adapter Troubleshooter

The next thing which you have to do, is to run the Troubleshooting Facility of the Network Adapter which is provided by Windows 10. It’s a built-in feature which checks if there is any trouble with your network adapter.

To open Adapter Troubleshooter for Network, go to Settings>Update and Security and on the left pane click Troubleshoot. Scroll down to find Network Adapter. Click it and Press Run the Troubleshooter.

Network Adapter Troubleshoot Windows 10

Further, you can also run internet connections troubleshooter in Windows 10, which is placed under Settings>Network and Connections; however, the priority should be given to the one mentioned in the above screenshot.

3. Clear any DNS information on your Windows 10 Laptop

In order to save resources, Windows often keep a cache or history of different things. This saves the processor and ram resources. In a similar manner, sometimes the stored DNS information on a Windows 10 running laptop can cause a trouble to the working WiFi hotspot. In order to solve this issue you need to revert to the command line.

In order to open Command Line in Windows 10, click on Start Menu>Windows System>CMD.

Run the following commands:

  • netsh int ip reset
  • ipconfig /release
  • ipconfig /renew
  • ipconfig /flushdns

After that restart your computer.

IP Config Flush DNS

4. Reset your network adapter from Settings

After following the above three steps, your problems with the creation of WiFi hotspot might have been solved. In case the error that WiFi hotspot could not be started still exists, then reset your network adapter.

In order to reset your adapter, open Settings>Network and Internet>Status. Scroll down and in the bottom of the window; click Network Reset button.

Reset Network Adapter Windows 10

This would reset the network adapters being used in your laptop to the factory default. Any tinkering which might have lead to the hotspot creation error should not get resolved.

5. Make sure your network adapter driver is updated

Sometimes, WiFi adapter driver is not latest in the system. An easy way to check for updates is to go to the Device Manager by opening Start Menu>Windows Administrative Tools>Device Manager. In that long tree of devices, look for Network Adapters.

After expanding Network Adapters; right click your every network adapter and press Update Driver, one by one perform this activity on every network adapter being shown in the device manager.

Update Driver in Windows 10

A new window would open. Complete the search process using the internet by following the steps.

Another way to find an update of the driver is to go to your manufacturer website. Suppose you have an HP laptop, go to their driver download section and search for your laptop model. Look for any updates present for the network adapters.

HP Website Driver Download Screen

Similarly, visit Dell or any other manufacturer website to look for an updated version of the driver. Mostly, such websites provide for an updated version if they feel their are errors while creating or joining hotspot.

6. Make sure Firewall is not causing problems to WiFi Hotspot

Sometimes Firewall is blocking the incoming connections just for sake of your network security. In order to make sure that the Firewall is not the real culprit causing Hotspot errors in your laptop, then make sure you turn it off for a while and go check if the WiFi hotspot starts in Windows 10.

In order to check, if Firewall is causing troubles to your hotspot in Windows 10, open Start>Windows Security>Virus and Threat Protection>Manage Settings. Turn off Real-time protection by toggling off the switch.

In order to turn off firewall in Windows 10, go the Windows Security and open Firewall and Network Protection. Click the network connection which is active, and Turn off the Windows Defender Firewall.

Turn off Firewall in Windows 10

Make sure to turn on your Firewall again, once the issue is solved. After that if your hotspot is not working, make sure to allow incoming connections to the hotspot application through the advanced Firewall settings. You will need to add an exception to the Firewall to allow the Hotspot Application accept the incoming internet sharing connections.

Conclusion: Solving Windows 10 Hotspot Errors

After presenting you the six possible solutions which might solve your Hotspot not working error in Windows 10, we believe there are more solutions present, because of the complex nature of the problem. However, following the above solutions, you would be able to solve 80% of the cases.

Further, make sure you tell us in comments if you are not able to solve the WiFi hotspot errors in Windows 10. Further, if you are using Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 for WiFi hotspot, then make sure you read this troubleshoot post: How to solve WiFi hotspot sharing errors in Windows 8.