How to Share a VPN connection over Wi-Fi on Windows 10.
In Windows 10, Microsoft introduced Wi-Fi sharing via hotspot. But they cut features like hosted networking, SoftAP, and IBSS. Simply put, you won’t be able to directly use your Windows VPN over a Wi-Fi hotspot. But there is always a workaround. Luckily, you can still share your VPN over hotspot using the third-party Connectify app. This method works for any Windows laptop regardless of hardware, and here’s how to do it.
Share VPN connection on Windows 10
Connectify has its own VPN service, Speedify. Obviously it’s designed to work flawlessly with Speedify. But if you are using any other VPN service, we need the name of the network adapter in order to configure it with Connectify. In my case, I am using Smart DNS Proxy VPN and finding the network adapter is pretty easy. The method should be the same for whatever VPN service you use.
1. Go to the “Network Connections” section by right-clicking the “Start” menu.
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2. Turn on the VPN now and go back to the network connections windows.
3. You should see an active additional connection besides the Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. Most often, the name starts with Ethernet. Right click on the network connection and select Properties.
4. On the properties tab at the top of the dialog box, you will see the name of the virtual network adapter. In my case, this is “TAP – Windows Adapter V9”. You will have a different and most likely exact name for the VPN service. Make a note of this as we will need it in the next step.
5. Then download and install the Connectify app. It’s free. When done, open it. You will see several options for configuring your hotspot. To share a VPN, we need to change quite a few of them. First, change the “Internet to share” parameter to the name of the network adapter that we learned in the previous step.
In my case, I would change it to “TAP – Windows Adapter V9”. Then change the hotspot name and password accordingly and click the Start hotspot button at the bottom.
If you choose your Wi-Fi or Ethernet name instead of a VPN network adapter, you can still access the Internet, but the VPN will not be shared.
6. Finally, on additional devices, connect to the Connectify hotspot. Once you’re done, your device will appear in the Connectify Clients list.
Check your public IP address and location on the client device to test the VPN service. Note that the free version of Connectify strikes you with subtle ads and a couple of additional restrictions, such as the inability to change the hotspot name, and it doesn’t work for dial-up connections. But for the most part it works flawlessly.
Packaging
Sharing VPN over Wi-Fi is a good way to keep your privacy on all your devices. This could allow devices like Roku TV and chromecast to use a VPN. If you want to set up a VPN hotspot on your Android device instead, here’s a link to a detailed guide.
If you have any further questions or concerns, let me know in the comments below.
Also Read: 5 Best Professional Photo Recovery Software for Android 2021.
How to Share a VPN connection over Wi-Fi on Windows 10