File sharing between two Windows 10/11 computers using PC-to-PC WiFi or Mobile Hotspot LAN

Last updated on 4 Jun 2025

Summary (Slightly Long)

A) File transfer using PC-to-PC WiFi hosted network

The below procedure may work for for connecting a Window 10/11 computer directly to another Windows 10/11 computer using WiFi and then be able to do file sharing over the connection. I have given summary info about how I am using it with my PC & laptop.

Procedure to set up file sharing between my old Dell Mini Laptop (DML) which is on Windows 10 and desktop PC (DPC) running Windows 11, using direct WiFi connection between the two, is given below.
  1. Check Windows Firewall settings on DML and DPC whether Private profile networks have Enabled status for various 'File and Printer Sharing' (and, optionally I think, 'Network Discovery') Inbound rules. If they are not enabled, set them to enabled. [Windows Firewall settings -> Advanced settings (towards bottom of screen) -> Inbound rules (left pane) -> Locate rules in list]. Do NOT turn off firewall for any profile as that may bring in security issues.
  2. On DPC, turn off Wi-Fi connection to mobile hotspot.
  3. On DML, as administrator run:
    1. As a one-time activity unless deleted/changed: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=MyLocalHotspot key=MyPassword123
    2. netsh wlan start hostednetwork 
  4. On DPC, connect to the Wi-Fi network “MyLocalHotspot” using the password you set.
  5. Check that this Wi-Fi network connection is having 'Private' profile on both DML and DPC.
Now you should be able to ping each computer from the other. To get their IP addresses, use:
ipconfig | findstr /i "IPv4"

On Windows Explorer on DPC or DML, the following will open Users folder in the specified computer for the logged on user (if user has not logged on to remote computer, a login prompt should appear):
\\ip-address

To stop the network file sharing, run as administrator:
netsh wlan stop hostednetwork 

To see the status of this network, run:
netsh wlan show hostednetwork

I created two scripts to easily run some of the above commands. The wifilanhost.ps1 script needed some tweaking (done with ChatGPT's help) for the way I use DML with a normal user username (say normal-user) without admin rights and a separate administrator rights user. I created a shortcut on the normal user desktop as follows:
  • Target: powershell.exe -NoExit -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Users\{normal-user}\{Scripts}\wifilanhost.ps1"
  • Shortcut -> Properties -> Advanced -> Run as Administrator checked
Now double-clicking the shortcut on normal user desktop when logged in as normal-user shows an admin credentials prompt. On specifying admin credentials the script runs with admin rights. Further the script adds the scripts folder of normal-user to the path environment variable (which Powershell sets to administrator user path env. variable setting on starting the script). When the script exits the admin powershell does not close (I think due to -NoExit parameter) and has the path env variable with scripts folder added to it. Now just typing wifilanhost (or an alias wlh which I use and which also the script sets before exiting) in the same admin Powershell instance, restarts the script with admin rights.
The two scripts:
  1. myip4address.ps1 - to get the IP address
  2. wifilanhost.ps1 - To show and then start/stop hostednetwork,  https://gist.github.com/ravisiyer/52a24071ea8fd93a0dd176fd90e22a5e 
Note that for a running hosted network, the status command shows the number of clients connected and the MAC addresses of the clients. The number of clients figure is helpful for my limited use case now, to quickly check whether unauthorized users have logged in to the hosted network.

Small number of files can be transferred effectively by copy-pasting them from one PC's folder to another in Windows Explorer. If the number of files are many then zipping in source folder-computer and then copying the zip file to target folder-computer followed by unzipping in the latter is more efficient than copy-pasting them. I think once I got a speed of around 5 MB/s and so an around 50 MB zip file got copied over in around 10 to 15 seconds. In another case, I think I got around 3 MB/s speed. 3 to 5 MB/s is good enough for quite quickly copying upto 200 MB files.

Data security wise, this option is good as Internet connection does not come into the picture at all.

As per ChatGPT, WiFi hosted network (PC-to-PC) usually can sustain 20–40 Mbps or more, depending on WiFi hardware.

As per ChatGPT, PC-to-PC via WiFi Hosted Network + Windows File Sharing is very suitable for large files like 1 GB. Windows File Sharing (SMB) is stable for large files, especially over LAN. I took a hypothetical example of a 1 GB file transfer using this mechanism and with 2.4 GHz WiFi. Presuming a  speed of 4 MB/sec (32 Mbps which ChatGPT says is normal for 2.4 GHz WiFi), it will take 4 to 5 minutes (around 256 seconds or 4.3 minutes) to get done. ChatGPT was fine with this example ("your approach is practical and efficient"). It also suggested, "Once transfer finishes, verify file size or hash if needed (optional but good for important files)."

One disadvantage with this procedure for my DPC is that its WiFi dongle seems to be able to connect to only one network at a time. So I have to disconnect from 4G mobile Internet. Same may be the case for DML. Another issue which is not a problem for now but could be for future is that "Microsoft has deprecated the netsh wlan hosted network feature in favor of Mobile Hotspot starting with Windows 10 version 1803". But Windows Mobile Hotspot has the problem of needing to be connected to Internet. So long as netsh wlan works on my Win 11 DPC and Win 10 DML, I will go with it. If it stops working then I will explore alternatives at that time.
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B) File transfer using PairDrop website and Mobile Hotspot LAN

Mobile hotspot on phone can be used to connect DPC and DML but if we try to use Windows File Sharing there are security issues that crop up. As the mobile hotspot network is configured as a public network, Windows Firewall rules for public networks for 'File and Printer Sharing' will have to be enabled which I think is a security risk. Changing the profile of the mobile hotspot network to private would introduce other security issues. So Windows File Sharing option over Mobile Hotspot LAN is not preferrable.

Pairdrop.net seems to be a good option for this case. I have tried it out and it seems to working quite OK. An advantage of this procedure over the earlier WiFi hosted network procedure is that mobile 4G Internet connection need not be disconnected. Another advantage is that it can be used to transfer files to/from mobile also. But a disadvantage is that it is somewhat slower than hosted network procedure. Data security wise, this option is weaker than WiFi hosted network procedure as we are using a third-party website (pairdrop.net) even if the website is said to be safe. So for sensitive files transfer, this option should not be used. Steps to follow to use pairdrop.net procedure:
  1. Open https://pairdrop.net in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on both devices (PCs, laptops, Android phones, etc.).
  2. If Internet is accessible then devices automatically discover each other on the same WiFi/LAN network. If Internet is not accessible, even if DPC and DML have been setup as "paired devices" previously, they do not see each other.
  3. Tap on the detected device → choose a file → it transfers directly.
  4. You must keep the tab open during transfer (you can switch tabs or windows).
  5. Once the file transfer starts, Internet connection does not seem to be necessary.
  6. Works reliably with files up to at least 500 MB.
  7. Works great on Android via Chrome — no app install needed.
If all three devices: DPC, Samsung phone and DML, have pairdrop.net open in browser then on both DPC and DML, only the Samsung phone is being shown as a connected machine. But on Samsung phone, both DPC and DML are shown. But if pairdrop.net is open on DPC and DML and not on Samsung phone, DPC could see/connect to DML and DML could see DPC. However, even when Internet connection is good, sometimes it needs a refresh or even Internet access being triggered on another browser tab/window, for DPC and DML to see each other.

I used Pairdrop to transfer a 146 MB zip file from DPC to DML. It took around 65 seconds. That is a speed of 2.26 MB/s (or around 18 Mbps). As per ChatGPT, Mobile hotspot LAN is often limited to 10–20 Mbps, especially if the phone is budget-range or under load.


===========================================

That finishes the slightly long summary. For details, please read on.

Details

I asked ChatGPT:
On my Windows 10 Laptop the mobile hotspot facility is enabled only when it is connected to Internet. Can I have mobile hotspot on it on without it having Internet connection?

ChatGPT said:
On Windows 10, by default, the Mobile Hotspot feature expects an internet connection to be present on the laptop (like Ethernet or another Wi-Fi network). So yes, you are correct — in many setups, Windows 10 will not allow Mobile Hotspot to be enabled without an internet connection.

However, there are workarounds to create a Wi-Fi network without internet for local file sharing between PCs. Here are your options:

✅ Option 1: Use a Hosted Network via Command Line (No Internet Required)
Windows 10 allows you to create a Wi-Fi network using the command line (older method). Here's how:

🔹 Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator
Search for cmd, right-click, and select Run as administrator.

🔹 Step 2: Set Up the Virtual Network
Run:

...
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=MyLocalHotspot key=MyPassword123
ssid = Name of the Wi-Fi network

key = Password

🔹 Step 3: Start the Hosted Network
...
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
🔹 Step 4: Connect Other PC
Now, on the second PC, connect to the new Wi-Fi network “MyLocalHotspot” using the password you set.

Now both PCs are on the same LAN, and you can share files.

📝 Note: This feature depends on whether your Wi-Fi card supports "hosted network". You can check with:

...
netsh wlan show drivers
Look for:
...
Hosted network supported: Yes
✅ Option 2: Use a Wi-Fi Router (Even Without Internet)
...
✅ Option 3: Use Ethernet Cable (Optional)
If you have a LAN cable, you can connect both PCs directly:

Use a crossover cable, or enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on one end.

Or, connect both to the same switch/router.

✅ Option 4: Use Third-Party Tools
Apps like:

Connectify Hotspot (paid, some features free)

MyPublicWiFi
-----

Me: Is it similar for Windows 11? I ask that as I want to connect a Windows 11 desktop PC with an old Windows 10 Laptop in this manner (using mobile hotspot feature of either PC or laptop)


ChatGPT said:
Yes, Windows 11 behaves similarly to Windows 10 when it comes to the Mobile Hotspot feature — it generally expects an active internet connection to enable it.
==============
=========
From ChatGPT:
Yes, Windows allows only one hosted network at a time — meaning:

You can define only one hosted network configuration (one SSID, one password).

You can only run one hosted network at a time on a given PC.

🔍 Why Only One?
This limitation exists because:

Hosted networks rely on a single virtual Wi-Fi adapter (like Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter), which is a software-based extension of your real Wi-Fi hardware.

Most Wi-Fi cards in laptops and desktops can only host one virtual AP (access point) at a time.

The netsh wlan system only stores and manages one hosted network profile.

🔁 Can You Change the Hosted Network?
Yes! You can redefine the hosted network any time by running:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=NewSSID key=NewPassword
That replaces the old configuration.

Then start it with:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork
----------

How to connect two computers directly via Wi-Fi | Windows 11/10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR6iyaTPwsM , 1 min. 16 secs, Mar. 2024.

======================

3 Jun 2025

The above procedure for file sharing between DML and DPC is working well. But I can set up the file sharing only if DPC is not connected to 4G mobile Internet. The DPC WiFi dongle seems to not have the ability to connect to both 4G mobile Internet and WiFi hosted network on DML at the same time. Today I had another chat with ChatGPT titled "Connect to Multiple Networks" to explore any easy solutions for this, which expanded to related topics later on. Key points of that chat are provided below:
  1. Most USB WiFi dongles (and even built-in WiFi adapters) can only connect to one network at a time. When you try to connect to another network, Windows disconnects the current WiFi connection. The TP-Link TL-WN725N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano USB Adapter (my adapter) can only connect to one WiFi network at a time. It does not support simultaneous connections to two networks.
  2. If you want to be connected to:
    1. 4G mobile internet (via WiFi hotspot from your phone or dongle)
    2. Hosted WiFi network (from your Windows 10 laptop)
    3. at the same time, then you need to use a Second WiFi Adapter. Buy a second USB WiFi adapter, such as:
      1. TP-Link Archer T2U Nano (Dual-band, compact, good for modern use)
      2. TP-Link TL-WN722N (Older, larger, but with good Linux/Windows support)
    4. Use one adapter for Internet and the other for the local WiFi network.
  3. Standalone WiFi-enabled storage devices (often called WiFi disks, wireless drives, or wireless file hubs) are available but the wifi disks are quite expensive (Rs.6000 as per ChatGPT) and wifi usb file hubs are around Rs.2000. I presume one can connect a usb flash drive to a wifi usb file hub which will make it a WiFi storage device.
  4. You can reliably transfer 200 MB files between your Windows 11 PC and Windows 10 laptop using your mobile hotspot network (i.e., both devices are on the same local network), without needing to go through your phone. Here are simple and reliable options that work over the same WiFi network:
    1. Use a Cross-Platform App: "Feem". Feem is a free and easy local file transfer app that works over WiFi/hotspot LAN. [Feem Android app can also be installed on Samsung phone. Then, if it works out, I should be able to transfer files between DPC, Laptop and Samsung phone over Samsung phone mobile hotspot LAN network. I plan to spend some time to explore this.]
    2. Use Shared Folder (Windows File Sharing) [I pointed out that I think I had tried this in the past. I think the issue I ran into is that the mobile hotspot network is a public profile network. So there were lot of security settings and related issues that I had to deal with on Win 11 PC. I did not want to make the mobile hotspot network Private (which brings in some other security issues). So I dropped this approach. ChatGPT agreed with the points I raised. So this approach is not really suitable for me.]
    3. ChatGPT first suggested Snapdrop which did not work out as when I tried it out, it uploaded my file to some LimeWire site. On checking with ChatGPT, it suggested using Pairdrop instead (given below).
      1. Pairdrop (Web-based, No Install Needed): A browser-based alternative to AirDrop (fork of Snapdrop), ideal for fast file transfers over local WiFi:
        1. ✅ Steps to Use:
          1. Open https://pairdrop.net in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on both devices (PCs, laptops, Android phones, etc.).
          2. Devices automatically discover each other on the same WiFi/LAN network.
          3. Tap on the detected device → choose a file → it transfers directly.
          4. You must keep the tab open during transfer (you can switch tabs or windows).
          5. Works reliably with files up to at least 500 MB.
          6. Works great on Android via Chrome — no app install needed.
        2. 🌟 Advantages:
          1. No installation required (unlike Feem or KDE Connect).
          2. Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Mac).
          3. Uses only your local network — doesn’t consume mobile data for file transfers.
          4. Open source — GitHub repo available if you want to self-host for maximum privacy.
          5. In case of sensitive files, you can always switch to a more controlled setup (like WiFi hosted network + Windows file sharing or USB transfer).
        3. ⚙️ How It Works (Technically):
          1. Uses WebRTC to establish peer-to-peer (P2P) encrypted connections.
          2. The website (pairdrop.net) functions as a signaling server — just to help devices find each other.
          3. Once connected, the actual file data is sent directly over your WiFi LAN, not through the internet.
          4. If WebRTC fails to establish a P2P link (due to firewall/NAT issues), the connection may fall back to a relay (depending on the server setup — pairdrop.net generally avoids this).
          5. You can confirm it's using local network: start a transfer, then disable mobile data on your phone — if it continues, it’s working locally.
        4. 🔐 Security Note:
          1. Pairdrop is generally safe for casual use, especially on a personal hotspot or home LAN.
          2. For sensitive files, prefer trusted local setups like:
            1. WiFi Hosted Network with Windows File Sharing
            2. USB File Transfer
            3. Self-hosted Pairdrop (no outside server involved)
        5. One small issue I faced is that when I had pairdrop.net open in DPC, Samsung phone and DML, on both DPC and DML, only the Samsung phone was being shown as a connected machine. But on Samsung phone, both DPC and DML were shown. I should add that when I had pairdrop.net open on DPC and DML but not on Samsung phone, DPC could see/connect to DML and DML could see DPC. ChatGPT gave some explanation for this issue (in mobile hotspot mode, the phone behaves like a WiFi router, and many phones block traffic between connected devices for safety — called client isolation or AP isolation). For my needs, I need to further test the workaround solution of not having pairdrop.net open in phone, when I want to do DPC to/from DML transfer. If that works then I am OK.
        6. I checked out the Pairdrop GitHub repo, https://github.com/schlagmichdoch/PairDrop , README and also this post by what seems to be the author of Pairdrop (forked from Snapdrop), https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/10zm6e7/pairdrop_is_a_free_open_source_cross_platform/ . I had a little bit of a security concern but I think this looks OK. Further, whenever I want to transfer sensitive stuff, I will go for the wifi hostednetwork approach even if that will need a little bit of setup time.
        7. I used Pairdrop to transfer a 146 MB zip file from DPC to DML.
          1.  It took around 65 seconds. That is a speed of 2.26 MB/s. This is slightly lower than what I think I would get if I had used direct WiFi LAN link between DPC and DML using WiFi hostednetwork on DML. As we are going through mobile there is an additional hop for the data transfer. ChatGPT added that it "adds latency and may limit speed due to the phone’s routing performance or WiFi hardware constraints." But from ease of use, and reduced setup time point of view, Pairdrop is better. Note that I ensured that mobile phone did not have Pairdrop open in its Chrome browser. I also stopped mobile data on the phone a little after half of the transfer was done. The transfer continued without any issues and got completed. I restarted mobile data on phone only after the file had got transferred.
          2. On performance difference, ChatGPT said:
            1. WiFi hosted network (PC-to-PC): Usually can sustain 20–40 Mbps or more, depending on WiFi hardware.
            2. Mobile hotspot LAN: Often limited to 10–20 Mbps, especially if the phone is budget-range or under load.
          3. One small issue that I am seeing is that at times, the other computer icon is not shown in the Pair drop window of both DPC and DML and some Connecting message is shown. I think this is related to poor Internet connection. If Internet connection is turned off, say by turning off mobile data on phone, within a few seconds the other computer icon is not shown in the Pairdrop window. I had wondered whether the other computer icon sometimes not being shown in Pairdrop window (due to poor Internet connection) would be an issue for the transfer. At least in this test, the transfer did not complain (surely, after I had turned off mobile data on phone, the other computer icon would not have been shown in both DPC and DML though I did not specifically check that).
          4. I used the feature of pairing DPC and DML devices 'permanently' that pairdrop provides. But even with that, if Internet is not accessible, they do not see each other.
      2. Use a Portable HTTP File Server (Like HFS or WinFSP). You can run a temporary HTTP or FTP server on one PC:
        1. Example: HFS (HTTP File Server)
          1. Tiny (under 1MB), no install needed
          2. Drag and drop files to share
          3. Other PC opens browser and downloads the file
        2. 🔗 https://rejetto.com/hfs/
    Additional Notes
    1. Explanation of 2.4 GHz WiFi theoretical and real-world speeds
      1. 2.4 GHz WiFi has a "150 Mbps" raw signaling speed at Physical layer.
      2. After WiFi overhead, it comes down to ~90 Mbps (max usable). 
      3. After protocol, error handling, it comes down to ~40–70 Mbps (real-world one-way throughput)
      4. Windows file transfer (with SMB overhead) gives ~3–8 MB/s (24–64 Mbps) in actual copy window
    2. 5 GHz WiFi could be advertised as having 433–866 Mbps but the realistic speed it will give is 100–300 Mbps (12–30 MB/s). In my case, Samsung phone supports 5 GHz but DPC WiFi dongle is 2.4GHz and DML too is 2.4 GHz (wi-fi 802.11 b/g/n). So I will need 5 GHz upgrade on DPC and DML.
    3. Why USB file transfer feels much faster
      1. USB 3.0 can handle hundreds of MB/s
      2. No WiFi protocol overhead
      3. Full duplex and direct connection
      4. Reliable, low-latency channel
      5. So even if you’re copying a 60 MB APK, over USB 3.0 it might complete in 1–2 seconds, while over 2.4 GHz WiFi, it might take 15–30 seconds or more.

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