How to Enable IP Routing on Windows 10

A quick guide to allow IP routing for connecting 2 devices on different networks

Last Updated: December 2, 2024 Fact Checked

Are you looking to enable IP routing on your Windows 10 machine? IP routing, sometimes also known as forwarding, is disabled by default. This wikiHow will teach you how to enable IP routing in Windows 10 by editing the registry. Be careful when editing the registry because, if done incorrectly, you can seriously damage or cause issues with your entire computer system.

Enabling IP Routing on Windows 10: Quick Steps

Search Regedit in the Start Menu to open the Registry Editor.
Open the Parameters folder.
Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters.
Right-click IP Enable Router and select Modify .
In the Value Data field, change the 0 to a 1.
Click OK to close the Registry Editor, then restart your computer.

Steps

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Open the Registry Editor. You can do this by clicking the Start Menu icon or pressing the Win key to open your Start Menu. Then search "Regedit" in the search bar and click the executable app result. ^{[1]
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- Click Yes when prompted. Before the app runs, you'll get a pop-up asking if the program "Registry Editor" can make changes to your device. You'll need to allow this by pressing Yes to continue.
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Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters. " Do this by clicking the downwards-pointing arrow next to each location to see more options. ^{[2]
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- Click the "Parameters" folder to see the files listed inside it.
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When you right-click the file, a menu will pop up at your cursor. When you select Modify , a window will appear. ^{[3]
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" The 1 will enable your IP routing capabilities in Windows 10. ^{[4]
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Click Ok , close the Registry Editor, and restart your computer. You'll need to restart your computer to apply the changes you've made.
- Once your computer restarts, open Command Prompt and enter netsh interface ipv4 show interface <id> to verify if IP forwarding is enabled. Replace the bracketed information with your computer's ID and don't include the brackets. ^{[5]
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