How To Turn Your PC Into a Virtual Router

To check out Part 1 of this post explaining what a Virtual Router does, click here.
Now, we’ll show you the easiest way to set up a virtual router on your PC with Connectify Hotspot. Using Connectify Hotspot Lite, our free PC app that lets you transform your computer into a real WiFi hotspot, you’ll be running a virtual router and sharing Internet with just a few clicks. Lite runs in timed sessions; PRO and MAX have no time limit.

How to Set Up Your Connectify Hotspot Virtual Router in 5 Steps

  1. Download and install Connectify Hotspot on your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC.
  2. Open it and choose Wi-Fi hotspot.
  3. Under Internet to share, pick the connection you want to share: Wi-Fi, Ethernet, a VPN or a phone plugged in with USB.
  4. Set a password. Turn on Block ads if you want lighter pages on every device.
  5. Click Start hotspot. Devices join by scanning the QR code on the Hotspot screen, or with the network name and password, like any other Wi-Fi network.

Connectify Hotspot 27 runs on 64-bit Windows 10 (version 1703 or later) and Windows 11. On a Windows 7 or 8 PC, use Connectify Hotspot 2021 instead: see our Windows 7 and Windows 8 guides.

Setup · about two minutes

Get Connectify Hotspot running on your Windows PC

Three steps, no command prompt, no netsh commands to remember.

  1. Install and open Connectify Hotspot

    Run the installer and let the install finish. Connectify Hotspot opens on its own.

  2. Pick what you are sharing

    Choose the connection your Windows PC is already using, then set a hotspot name and password.

  3. Start Hotspot

    Your phone, tablet or console now sees the network name you just typed. Connect to that network like any other Wi-Fi.

Download Connectify Hotspot

Available for Windows 10 and 11

Free, PRO or MAX

Which version of Connectify Hotspot you need

FREE Hotspot Lite. Share Wi-Fi, Ethernet, a VPN or a USB-tethered phone, with gaming mode and ad blocking. Runs in timed sessions. Download → PRO No time limit. Share 4G and 5G USB modems, share through your PC's Ethernet port, and give your network any name. Buy PRO → MAX Everything in PRO, plus Wi-Fi repeater mode and Bridged mode. Recommended Buy MAX →

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.

Download Connectify Hotspot

For 64-bit Windows 10 and 11