In Windows 10 Microsoft introduced Wi-Fi sharing over a hotspot. But, the level features and specifications like Hosted Network, SoftAP, and IBSS. In other words, you will not be allowed to share your Windows VPN over your Wi-Fi hotspot constitutionally. But, there is always a hack. Fortunately, you can still share your VPN over a hotspot using a third-party application called Connectify. This technique works for every Windows Laptop irrespective of the hardware, and here is how you do it.
Share a VPN connection on Windows 10
Connectify has its VPN service called Speedify. It designed to work smoothly and continuously with Speedify. But, if you operate any other VPN service, we would require the Network Adapter name to configure it with Connectify. In my case, I am using Smart DNS Proxy VPN, and detecting the network adapter is pretty straight-forward and uncomplicated. The procedure should be simple and the same for any other VPN service you are utilizing.
1. Move to the Network Connections by right-clicking on the Start menu.
2. Turn on your VPN now and look back to the Network Connections windows.
3. Now you will see further connections active apart from your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. Mainly, the name would start with Ethernet. Right-click on the network connection after that click on Properties.
4. In the properties tab, you will look at the top of the dialog box, the virtual network adapter name. In my case, it is “TAP-Windows Adapter V9”. It will be a contrast for you and, no doubt, the exact name of the VPN service. Note it down as we would require this in the next step.
5. Next up, download and install the Connectify application. It is free of cost. When it has done, open it. You will see multiple possibilities present to configure your hotspot. To share a VPN, we have to alter some of them. Firstly turn the “Internet to share” option to the network adapter name we found out in the above step.
In my case, I would alter it to “TAP-Windows Adapter V9”. Moreover, change the Hotspot name and password accordingly and click on the Start Hotspot button at the bottom.
If you select your Wi-Fi or Ethernet name instead of the VPN Network adapter, you would still get Internet but VPN wouldn’t be shared.
6. Ultimately on your secondary devices, connect to the Connectify hotspot. Once you have done, your device will show up in the Connectify Clients list.
Confirm your public IP and location on the client device to check the VPN service. Remember that the free version of Connectify hits you with some subtle ads and a couple of additional limitations like the incapability to change Hotspot name, and it does not work for the dial-up connection. But for the most part, it works perfectly.
Wrapping Up:
Sharing VPN over Wi-Fi is the right way of ensuring privacy on all your devices. It might enable devices like Roku TV and Chromecast to use VPN. If you want to do setup a VPN hotspot on your Android instead, here’s the link to the detailed guide.