How to Set a Wired Ethernet Connection as Metered in Windows 10

How to Set a Wired Ethernet Connection as Metered in Windows 10

Windows 10

Setting up our internet connection as Metered in Windows 10 is very helpful feature to reduce the bandwidth usage if we have a limited internet connection.
When we talk about to set our Wi-Fi or Mobile Data as Metered in Windows 10, then we can easily do that in Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced options > Metered connection.
But there is always a confusion when we talk about setting up our “Wired Internet Connection” as Metered.

For some reasons, Windows 10 did not include this option in Settings to set Ethernet as Metered connection, but don’t worry, you can still do this by following a few steps.

Note: If you have upgraded your Windows 10 to “Creators Update” then you don’t need to do these steps because Windows 10 “Creators Update” already have this option in interface as we get this option in Wi-Fi interface.

So, let’s see that how can we set Wired Ethernet Connection as Metered in Windows 10:

Set an Ethernet as Metered Connection in Windows 10 by Editing the Registry File

We have to make some little change to the Registry file of Windows to set our Ethernet Connection as a Metered Connection.
Keep in mind that this Windows’ Registry file is very sensitive, any mistake or incorrect change may lead to the system errors and application failures so follow every instruction very carefully.

First of all, open the Registry Editor by typing “regedit” in the Windows’ Search Bar
Click or Tap on “regedit”
In the opened Registry Editor, go to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ NetworkList \ DefaultMediaCost

Set the permissions for DefaultMediaCost if it requires first time to open.

Double click on “Ethernet” to edit it.

Double click on “Ethernet”
In the opened Ethernet’s properties window, change the number from “1” to “2” in the “Value data” box and then click OK.
Enter value “2” instead of “1”

All Done! Close the Registry Editor and your Ethernet Connection is Metered Now. You can change it back to unmetered by doing the same, just put the value back to “1” instead of “2” to get back the unmetered Ethernet Connection.

Did you know?

You can also set your Wired Ethernet as Metered Connection in Windows 8 too with the same procedure.

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