You can share your laptop or desktop’s Internet connection with other devices via Wi-Fi, and most of the time it’s pretty easy to do so. Mac users have no problem because setting up Internet sharing in OS X is a matter of a few clicks. For Windows users, however, the process can be a little tricky. Even the built-in options sometimes fail to work due to a complicated setup process and reliability issues.
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Internet Sharing on Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
Fortunately, there are several apps available in the market that can turn your machine into a Wi-Fi hotspot. But before you use them, check out the Windows built-in sharing feature on Microsoft’s website. Hopefully you’ll have better luck than us. We’d recommend that you skip this process and use a third-party app, as the experience will usually be better.
We tested the popular apps Connectify and Virtual Router Plus. The experience with Virtual Router Plus was bad. The installed antivirus flagged it as a threat to the system, and during installation it tried to install several unwanted software. No such problem occurred with Connectify. It is a reliable app for turning your computer into a Wi-Fi hotspot.
For this process, you will need to use a Windows computer that has a Wi-Fi adapter (or built-in Wi-Fi). If your computer does not have Wi-Fi, purchase one that connects via USB.
Follow these steps to make your Windows machine a Wi-Fi hotspot:
1. Download and install Connectify. Installation is fairly straightforward, and once it’s complete, restart your computer.
2. After restarting the computer, check if it is connected to the Internet. If yes, then run Connectify Hotspot.
3. You will see two tabs in the app – Settings and Clients. In the Settings tab, click on Wi-Fi Hotspot under “Create a…”.
4. Under Internet to Share you will see a drop-down menu. Expand it and select the connection you want to share. We tested this app with wired and wireless connections, it worked fine in both situations.
5. You will be able to see many more options in the menu. Enter the password for the Wi-Fi. Click on Start Hotspot.
That’s all you need to do. Now your other devices will start detecting a Wi-Fi network named Connectify-me. Enter the password and use the internet without any hassle.
Connectify is a paid app, but its free version is also available with some less 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 every time a pop-up will appear, in which you will be asked to buy the pro version. You will have to re-enable the hotspot manually 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 has 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. In this way, you can share the internet connection of Mac.
1. Open System Preferences. Then go to Sharing. Then check Internet Sharing.
2. Expand the drop-down menu next to Share Your Connection on the right and select the connection you want to share. You can share your 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 USB).
3. Below that, there is a box next to To use computers. Here you have to tick the box next to Wi-Fi.
4. Then click on the Wi-Fi Options button below the box. Select the network, then enter the password in the Security Type and Password and Verify fields. We suggest you enter a password instead of selecting None in the Security option. 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 see the Internet Sharing text inside System Preferences.
That’s it! You can connect the other device to the Internet and start using it.
This is how you can turn your PC or Mac into a Wi-Fi hotspot. If there is any other way to do this, let us know in the comment box.