How to use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor in Windows 11

This post shows how to use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor on Windows 11 PC. This is a native feature of Windows 11 that can be helpful in case your cellular data connection is faster than the Wi-Fi network in an area, or you are connected with a Wi-Fi connection that is slower. If your Windows 11 device supports a SIM card, then you can use this built-in feature of Windows 11.

It’s a useful feature indeed, but do note that enabling this feature may incur charges depending on the data plan. Also, as for now, this feature is available in the Dev/Beta preview builds of Windows 11 but will soon be available for all soon.

How to use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor in Windows 11

There are two ways to enable and use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor in Windows 11:

Use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor using the Settings app
Use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor using the Registry Editor.

Let’s check both options in detail.

1] Use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor using the Settings app

There’s a dedicated option in the Settings app of Windows 11 to use cellular when Wi-Fi connectivity is slow or poor. So, you need to use that option. The steps to turn on this option are as follows:

Right-click on the Start button
Select the Settings option to open the Settings app
In the Settings app window, click on the Network & internet category
Access the Cellular section from the right side
Turn on the Use cellular whenever Wi-Fi is poor button to enable this setting.

Later, when you don’t want to use this feature, then you can disable or turn off the Use cellular whenever Wi-Fi is poor button.

2] Use Cellular when Wi-Fi is poor using the Registry Editor

Before you use this option, backup Windows Registry. If anything unexpected happens, you will be able to restore Windows Registry. After that, follow these steps to use cellular when WiFi is poor using the Registry Editor on your Windows 11 computer:

Use the Win+R shortcut key to open the Run Command box. Type regedit in the text field, and press OK. The Registry Editor window will open
Access the WcmSvc Registry entry and expand it. The path to that Registry entry is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WcmSvc

Select the CellularFailover Registry key. This Registry key includes the value to turn on/off Use cellular whenever Wi-Fi is poor option in the Settings app of Windows 11. If you don’t see this key, then create it by right-clicking on the WcmSvc key, selecting New, and clicking on the Key option. Rename the new key with CellularFailover
On the right section, create a DWORD (32-bit) value, and name it AllowFailover
Double-click on that value and you will see a small box (like visible in the screenshot above)
Edit the AllowFailover DWORD value by changing its Value data in that box. If you will add 2 in the Value data and press the OK button, then it will turn on the Use cellular whenever Wi-Fi is poor option in the Settings app
On the other hand, if you will add 0 in the Value data field of AllowFailover DWORD value and press the OK button, then it will turn off that setting.

Alternatively, if you need to turn off the Use cellular whenever Wi-Fi is poor setting using the Registry Editor, then you can delete the AllowFailover DWORD value directly.

That’s it!

Does Windows 11 have cellular data?

Windows 11 doesn’t come with any cellular data plan. Instead, there are some Windows 11 devices that support an embedded eSIM or have a SIM card in them. If you have such a Windows 11 device and a data plan with a supported mobile operator, then you can use a cellular data connection.

How do I connect my SIM card to Windows 11?

To connect your SIM card to Windows 11, insert the SIM card into your system. Make sure that you have already installed an eSIM profile. If not, you have to install it first. Click on the Network icon present in the system tray to open Quick Settings. Select > icon (or Manage Cellular connections icon) available for the Cellular option. Now the name of your mobile network operator will visible. Click on the Connect option. After that, you may need to provide the APN, username, and password to connect your SIM card.