Forget About Buying a Mobile WiFi Device. Use Your Own Windows Laptop

Need to get your devices online on the go? The first thing that comes to mind is a mobile WiFi device from your carrier. It uses cellular data and broadcasts a WiFi hotspot, so your laptop, e-reader, Chromecast and other devices can get online.

But your Windows laptop can do this too. Connectify Hotspot is free hotspot software, a true virtual router, that turns your laptop into a mobile WiFi hotspot. It shares any connection the laptop has, not just a cellular one: WiFi, Ethernet, a VPN, or your phone’s data over a USB cable. Download Connectify Hotspot free and follow the steps below.

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Connectify Hotspot is a true virtual router software app for Windows computers. It lets you share your Internet connection with:

• smartphones, tablets and other portable devices
• media players and game consoles
• e-readers
• other laptops or computers

Here’s how to turn your laptop into a mobile WiFi device:

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.

A Laptop Hotspot Shares More Than a MiFi Does

A portable WiFi device from Amazon, Best Buy or your carrier shares only the cellular data that comes with it. Your laptop can share whatever it is connected to.

Like most hotspot apps, Connectify Hotspot by default gets your devices online without putting them on your real network, so consoles can report NAT problems and a Chromecast or Apple TV on the main network may not show up. Gaming mode handles the NAT side for free, and bridged mode in MAX puts devices on your real network. You also get:

• See every device on your hotspot with the data it uses, switch internet access off for any one of them, and turn on gaming mode for a console. Free in every edition.
• Block ads for every device with the built-in universal ad blocker, including ads inside apps.
• Get your devices online while traveling: sign in to hotel or in-flight Wi-Fi once on the PC and your other devices get online through the hotspot.
• Share almost any connection: 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, and put consoles and smart TVs on your home network with bridged mode. Both are part of MAX.

Connectify Hotspot Lite is free. It shares Wi-Fi, Ethernet, a VPN or a USB-tethered phone, with per-device controls, gaming mode and ad blocking, and it runs in timed sessions. PRO removes the time limit, shares 4G and 5G modems, and adds wired router mode and a custom hotspot name. MAX adds Wi-Fi repeater mode and bridged mode.

Download Connectify Hotspot free and turn your Windows laptop into your mobile WiFi device.