When you connect a Windows 11 laptop to the internet via your smartphone’s mobile hotspot, you might notice your phone’s cellular data disappearing at an alarming rate. This happens because Windows treats all Wi-Fi connections equally. It assumes you are on a fast, unlimited home network and will immediately begin downloading massive gigabyte-sized Windows Updates, syncing large OneDrive files, and refreshing background applications.
If you rely on mobile tethering or have a strict data cap on your home internet plan, you must tell Windows to restrict its bandwidth usage. You can do this by designating the specific Wi-Fi network as a “Metered Connection.” When enabled, Windows will permanently halt all non-essential background data transfers while connected to that specific network.
How to Enable a Metered Connection in Windows 11
You must toggle this setting individually for each Wi-Fi network you want to restrict.
- Ensure your Windows 11 computer is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network or hotspot you want to restrict.
- Click the Start button and select the gear icon to open Settings.
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Network & internet.
- At the top of the main window, click on Wi-Fi.
- Click on the specific Wi-Fi network name (SSID) you are currently connected to, which will open its properties page.
- Scroll down until you see the section labelled Metered connection.
- Click the toggle switch to turn it On.
Windows 11 will instantly apply the data restrictions. It will pause all automatic Windows Updates (except for critical security patches), stop syncing offline files, and reduce the data consumption of live tiles and background apps. This setting is tied permanently to that specific network name; Windows will remember the restriction every time you connect to that hotspot in the future.