USB tethering is a great way to share your mobile data connection with other devices. It allows your laptop to connect to the Internet when there is no network connection.

Setting up USB tethering in Windows 10 is simple, but it might not always work as intended. If you are facing USB tethering issues in Windows, we recommend you try the steps set out below:

Using Device Manager to fix USB tethering issues

A corrupt Device Driver is the main reason behind USB tethering issues in Windows. You can resolve the issue by installing the latest USB Driver.

1. Go to desktop and click the Start button
2. In the search box, type device manager
3. Click Device Manager in the menu
4. In the Device Manager window, look for Network Adapters
5. Expand Network Adapters
6. Under Network Adapter, right-click Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device
7. Select Properties > Drivers
8. Click Update Drivers
9. Click Browse my computer for driver software
10. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
11. Uncheck the box that says Show compatible hardware
12. Under the Manufacturer section, select Microsoft as manufacturer
13. Click Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device
14. Click Next
15. Wait until the process completes. The Device Manager will install the correct driver from the database
16. Turn Off tethering and switch it On again

Solution for lag or freezing issues in USB tethering

Sometimes the Windows 10 system freezes during USB tethering or there might be a lag in the USB connection.

This issue is caused by RNDIS5 (Remote Network Driver Interface Specification driver version 5), an old device driver for Windows 10.

There is an issue where Windows 10 keeps on reverting back to this driver. The solution to this USB problem is to make Windows 10 use RNDIS 6. Remember, selecting any other driver other than RNDIS 6 will not work to resolve the issue.

If you are experiencing this problem, try the troubleshooting steps below to resolve the issue.

However, first you need to verify Windows 10 is using RNDIS5 by following steps set out below:

1. Go to desktop and click the Start button
2. In the search box, type device manager
3. Click Device Manager in the menu
4. In the Device Manager window, look for Network Adapters
5. Expand Network Adapters
6. Plug in your device and enable USB tethering so that your device is detected as a Remote NDIS based device
7. You will now see a new entry created under Network Adapter that is named as “[Your Device Name] Remote NDIS based [internet Sharing/network] Device.”
8. Right-click [Your Device Name] Remote NDIS based [internet Sharing/network] Device and select Properties
9. Select Driver tab
10. Click Driver details

You can see the driver files now. If the files are named as usb8023x.sys and rndismpx.sys, your system is using the RNDIS 5 driver. If one of the driver files is named as “rndismp6.sys”, you are using the RNDIS 6 driver.

Follow the steps given below if your system is using the RNDIS 5 driver

1. Click “This PC” on the desktop to open Windows Explorer
2. Go to C:\Windows\INF\folder
3. Look for the file wceisvista.inf (RNDIS5.1)

Take ownership of the file and grant yourself permissions to rename the file by performing the steps set out below:

1. Press the Windows key + X on the keyboard
2. Click the Command Prompt (Admin)
3. Click Yes on any Account Control messages that are displayed
4. Type the following commands in the Command Prompt window and press enter after each command
    – takeown /f “C:\Windows\INF\wceisvista.inf”
   – icacls “C:\Windows\INF\wceisvista.inf” /grant (username):F
5. Rename the file to anything
6. Open the Device Manager and go to Network Adapters
7. Expand Network Adapters and select Remote NDIS based internet sharing device or something similar (Note- You need to connect USB tethering device and enable tethering before performing this step)
8. Right-click Remote NDIS based internet sharing device and select Properties
9. Select the driver tab
10. Click Update Driver button
11. Select Browse my computer for driver software
12. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
13. Uncheck the box “show compatible hardware”
14. Select Microsoft then pick USBRNDIS6 Adapter (Note- In Windows 10, NDIS6 is mentioned as USBRNDIS6 Adapter)

Solution for USB ports not working

If you get the error “USB ports not working” follow these steps to fix the problem:

USB ports not working – Fix 1- Disabling and Re-enabling the USB Controller

1. Open Device Manager
2. Go to Universal Serial Bus Controllers and expand the list
3. Right-click on first USB Root Hub
4. Go to Power Management tab
5. Uncheck the option – Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
6. Click OK

USB ports not working – Fix 2 – Updating Driver for USB Controllers

Press Windows Key + R to open Run

Type devmgmt.msc

In the Device Manager window, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers

Right-click on the first USB Controller > Update Driver Software

Select Search automatically for updated driver software

Click Next

Repeat steps 4-6 for all USB Controllers in the list

Restart computer

You can also automatically update your Drivers by using a Driver Update Tool.

Automatic driver update tools offer many benefits, the most important ones being:

• You can update device drivers automatically
• The software scans and updates all outdated or missing drivers at one go
• The tool picks the right drivers for your device and operating system, so you won’t have to worry about installing an incorrect driver by mistake
• Automatic driver updates are 100% safe

Driver Updater is one of the best driver update tools out there. Outbyte Driver Updater will give you access to a database of over 1 million drivers. It will regularly scan your PC, suggesting new driver versions to install. Driver Updater contains drivers for a variety of Windows devices. With just one click, you can update drivers in your system.

Step 1
Click here to Install and launch the app

Step 2
Scan all devices

Step 3
Install or update drivers automatically

 

Start Download