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Is the mobile hotspot option greyed out on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 laptop? There are so many reasons this may happen, and this guide discusses fixes for some.
Causes and Fixes for Greyed Out Mobile Hotspot Option
As I mentioned in my introduction, there are so many reasons the mobile hotspot option is greyed out on Windows 10 or Windows 11.
Here are some of the reasons this may happen and what you can do to fix the problem…
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Flight Mode May be Turned On
If you mistakenly turned on the Flight Mode feature in your Windows 10 or 11, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will be turned off.
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The great news is that it is very easy to see if Flight Mode is turned on. Windows will display an airplane icon on the taskbar.
Click on the airplane icon to disable (or turn off) Flight Mode. Then, click the Flight Mode badge once.
When you click the Flight Mode badge one time, it will turn off, and your laptop’s Wi-Fi will be back on.
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Once you’ve turned off Flight Mode, your laptop’s mobile hotspot option will no longer be greyed out.
However, if this does not solve the problem, try the next suggested fix.
Your Laptop is Not Connected to WiFi or Ethernet Network
The mobile hotspot feature is used to share the existing internet connection on your laptop. However, if your laptop is not even connected to a network in the first instance, how can you share the internet connection?
So, if your laptop is not connected to any network, either via WiFi or an ethernet cable, the mobile hotspot will be disabled. Unfortunately, Windows 10 does not explain why the mobile hotspot is greyed out.
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The good news is that Windows 11 improved on this. If your Windows 11 mobile hotspot is greyed out, it provides reasons for this.
The solution to this is pretty straightforward – connect your laptop to a Wi-Fi network with an internet connection!
Your Laptop is Connected to a WiFi Network That Does Not Have an Internet Connection
This is closely related to the last reason why the mobile hotspot option may be greyed out on your laptop. In the last section, I explained that the problem might be that your laptop is NOT connected to any Wi-Fi at all.
In this section, I am saying that your laptop may be connected to a Wi-Fi router, but the router is not connected to the internet.
The solution to this problem is getting your Wi-Fi router back online. One way to do this is to restart your Wi-Fi router.
However, if restarting the router does not fix the internet problem, resetting it might. If you’re not sure how to reset your Wi-Fi router, consult your internet provider.
Once the internet connection is back on your router, check that your laptop is connected to it and has an internet connection. Then, check the mobile hotspot option again – it should no longer be greyed out.
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However, if the problem is still not resolved, try the next fix…
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Your Wi-Fi or Ethernet Controller Driver May Be Outdated
An outdated Wi-Fi driver may cause all sorts of problems, including your laptop’s mobile hotspot option graying out. If you still cannot turn on the mobile hotspot after doing all I have suggested above, it may be time to update the Wi-Fi driver on your laptop.
For a step-by-step guide, read How to Update Drivers in Windows 10. The steps in the guide can be used for Windows 11 as well.
Your Wi-Fi or Ethernet Controller May be Disabled
If you still cannot enable the mobile hotspot on your laptop at this stage, it is time to go a bit techy! Check if the Wi-Fi or ethernet driver on your laptop is disabled.
Follow this quick step to open Device Manager and navigate to Network adapters:
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Finally, to check if your Wi-Fi adapter is disabled, right-click the device that has “Wireless” in its name. If the Disable device option is available, it means that your Wi-Fi adapter is NOT disabled.
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However, if the Enable device option is available, it means that the adapter is disabled, and you need to re-enable it. To enable the Wi-Fi, click Enable device.
There May be Available Windows Update That Can Help
Windows Updates makes all sorts of updates available to your PC.
Is the mobile hotspot option still greyed out on your laptop? Check Windows Update. If you use a Windows 10 PC, read How to Check for Windows Updates on Windows 10.
On the other hand, for Windows 11 PCs, follow the steps below:
- Right-click Windows 11 Start menu and select Settings.
- Then, on the bottom of the left pane, click Windows Update.
- Finally, click the Check for updates button and wait. If there are any available updates, install them and restart your computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Open the Windows 11 search and type mobile hotspot. Then, click Mobile hotspot.
Finally, toggle the Mobile hotspot switch from off to On.
Forst of all, enable the mobile hotspot on your iPhone and note the name and password. Next, click the Wi-Fi icon on your Windows laptop on the taskbar.
Finally, locate the name of your iPhone’s hotspot and click on it, then enter the password.
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First of all, confirm that you’ve enabled mobile hotspot on your mobile phone. Then, confirm that you can see the name of the mobile hotspot on the list of Wi-Fi networks listed on your laptop.
If you then, you cannot connect to the mobile hotspot from your work laptop, restart both devices.
Specifically, restart your work laptop. Then, restart your mobile phone.
Once you have restarted both devices, try connecting your work laptop to your mobile hotspot, and it should work.
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Open the mobile hotspot settings and turn the mobile hotspot on. Then, toggle the Power saving button On.
This setting is the same in Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Yes, Windows 10 definitely has a mobile hotspot feature. To open the Windows 10 mobile hotspot settings page, search mobile hotspot and open it.
Conclusion
The mobile hotspot feature is supposed to work without trouble. However, in reality, sometimes it may be greyed out, and you cannot turn it on.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsIf this happens, you can use the steps in this guide to fix the problem.
I hope you were able to fix your mobile hotspot problem with the steps in this guide. If you found this article helpful, kindly leave a comment or provide feedback using the comments form at the bottom of this page.
You could also use the “Was this page helpful?” buttons below to give us your feedback.
Finally, for more Windows 11 guides, visit our Windows 11 How-To page. You may likewise find our Windows 10 How-To guides valuable.
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