When using multiple connections, you can prioritize one over the other with the change network priority option. Here’s how to do it.
Having multiple network connections is pretty standard for many Windows users. For example, my laptop has an ethernet port and a WiFi card. Sometimes I even use my mobile phone to connect to the internet via USB tethering or hotspot.
Generally, most only ever use one network connection. However, depending on the use case, you might use two or more network connections.
If you are using multiple network connections simultaneously, Windows takes care of the network priority by default. Network Priority reduces any potential network conflicts. As you can guess, the highest priority network is what you use. Though the automatic network priority is pretty good, what if Windows is not prioritizing the network you want?
You can easily change the network priority in Windows 10 & 11 with just a few clicks. You can prioritize one network over the other by changing the network priority. Simply put, rather than letting Windows decide the network priority, you can set your own so you can use your chosen network. Sounds good, right?
If you ever need it, this how-to guide helps you change the network priority in Windows.
Table of contents:
The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.
Things you should know
Windows provides the appropriate options in the adapter settings tool to change network priority. All we have to do is, change the network adaptor priority, and it sets the priority of the target network.
To make things easier, we will only change the network priority of the connection you want to prioritize.
For instance, when using the internet via USB tethering, I want that connection to be prioritized over the regular ethernet or WiFi connection. That way, I can use mobile data when I have connectivity problems with broadband. I don’t have to disable the ethernet adapter to force the connection.
By default, Windows uses numbers over 15 to set automatic network priority. The higher the number, the lower will be the network connection priority.
So, we will set the network priority to 10 for the connection of our choice. That way, it will be prioritized over all the other network connections.
Steps to Change Network Connection Priority
Here are the steps to change the network priority in Windows.
- Click the Start icon on the taskbar.
- Search and open “Control Panel.”
- Set “View by” to “Large icons.”
- Click on “Network and Sharing Center.”
- Click on the “Change adapter settings” link.
- Find the network adapter.
- Right-click on the network adapter.
- Choose the “Properties” option.
- Select the “Intenet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” option.
- Press the “Properties” button.
- Press the “Advanced” button in the “General” tab.
- Uncheck the “Automatic Metric” checkbox.
- Type “10” in the Interface Metric field.
- Press the “Ok” button.
- CLose the Network Settings window.
- Reboot the computer.
- After rebooting, Windows will prioritize this network connection over others.
Steps with more details:
Open the start menu, search for Control Panel and click the result to open Control Panel. Though Microsoft is slowly let going of the Control Panel, you can still do many things.
In the Control Panel, choose “Large icons” from the “View by” menu. This shows all the available options in the Control Panel. Next, find and click the “Networking and Sharing Center” option.
After opening the “Networking & Sharing Center” page, click the “Change adapter settings” link on the sidebar. As you can guess, this option shows all the network adapters connected to your computer.
The above action will open the Network Adapters page in the Control Panel. Find the adapter you want to change priority, right-click on it, and choose the Properties option.
Select “Intenet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” in the Properties window and click the “Properties” button.
Ensure you are in the General tab. Next, click the Advanced button at the bottom of the window.
Now, uncheck the Automatic Metric checkbox. After that, type “10” in the “Interface Metric” field. Click on the Ok button to save changes.
Click the “Ok” and close the Network Settings window.
Finally, reboot Windows to make the changes apply.
That is it. From now on, the network connection you just modified will be prioritized over the other connections.
–
That is all. It is that simple to change the network priority in Windows.
I hope this simple how-to guide helped you.
If you like this article, check out how to change the network name in Windows and how to change the network from public to private.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
