You can share your laptop or desktop’s Internet connection with other devices via Wi-Fi, and most of the time it’s easy to do. Mac users don’t mind because setting up Internet Sharing in OS X is a few clicks away. However, this process is a bit complicated for Windows users. The built-in options sometimes don’t work due to the complicated setup process and reliability issues
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Internet Sharing on Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
The good thing is that there are many apps available in the market to convert your machine into Wi-Fi hotspot. But before using it, get information about Windows built-in sharing on Microsoft’s website. Hope you have better luck than us. We recommend that you ignore this process and use third-party apps, as the experience will generally be better.
We tested the popular apps Connectify and Virtual Router Plus. The experience with Virtual Router Plus was poor. The installed anti-virus described it as dangerous to the system, and it tried to install many unwanted software during installation. This kind of problem did not occur with Connectify. This is a reliable app to turn your computer into a Wi-Fi hotspot.
You’ll need to use a Windows computer that has a Wi-Fi adapter (or built-in Wi-Fi) for this process. If your computer doesn’t have Wi-Fi, buy one that connects via USB.
Follow these steps to make your Windows machine a Wi-Fi hotspot:
1. Download and install Connectify. Installation is very straightforward and you should restart your computer when it is complete.
2. After restarting the computer, check if it is connected to the Internet. If yes, then run Connectify Hotspot.
3. You will be able to see two tabs in the app – Settings and Clients. In the Settings tab “Create a…” Inside click on Wi-Fi Hotspot.
4. Below Internet to Share, you’ll see a drop-down menu. Expand it and select the connection you want to share. We tested this app with wired and wireless connection, it worked fine in both the conditions.
5. You will be able to see many more options in the menu. Enter the password for Wi-Fi. Click on Start Hotspot.
That’s all you need to do. Your other devices will now be able to detect a Wi-Fi network called Connectify-me. Enter password and use internet without any problem.
Connectify is a paid app, but there is also a free version available with fewer features. You can create a hotspot with the help of the free version, but the biggest drawback is that it will automatically disconnect after every 30 minutes and a pop-up will appear every time asking you to buy the pro version. You have to manually re-enable the hotspot every time.
The Pro version has more features and costs $25 (Rs 1,550) for a one-year license and $40 (Rs 2,450) for a lifetime. Apart from unlimited hotspot uptime, this version comes with features like custom hotspot naming, Internet sharing from 3G and 4G networks (USB internet dongle) and advanced firewall controls.
Internet Sharing on OS X
This process is very easy for Mac users. This is how you can share your Mac’s Internet connection.
1. Open System Preferences. After that go to Sharing. Then check Internet Sharing.
2. On the right side of the Expand drop-down menu next to Share your connection, select the connection to be shared. You can share an Internet connection via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or iPhone USB.
If you’re using a wired Internet connection on an iMac, Mac Pro, or MacBook Pro, you’ll usually want to choose Ethernet. If you’re using an external Ethernet adapter for your MacBook Air, you’ll want to choose USB Ethernet or Thunderbolt Ethernet. However, this will depend on your dongle (usually it’s USB).
3. Below that, there’s a box next to To computers using. Here you have to tickmark the box next to Wi-Fi.
4. Then click on the Wi-Fi options button at the bottom of the box. Select a network, then enter the security type and password in the Password and Verify fields. We would suggest that instead of selecting None in the security option, you enter the password. You can leave the channel at the default value if you don’t know what you’re doing. Click OK.
5. If your connection is active, you will see a green icon. Apart from this, you will be able to see the Internet Sharing text inside System Preferences.
enough! You can start using another device by connecting it to the Internet.
This is how you can turn your PC or Mac into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Is there any other method available to do this, then do let us know through the comment box.