Windows 8 and 8.1 has a default feature to share a WiFi connection without using any third party apps. a few little tweaks in command prompt will make your Windows machine work as a WiFi Hotspot Easily.All you need is a working internet connection on your Windows machine. Either wired, USB or wireless connection can be used. Make sure you’ve a WiFi adapter on your device, especially desktop users.
Since most of the desktops only use ethernet connectivity, they won’t have WiFi adapter. So, if you don’t have WiFi connectivity on your machine, you cannot share WiFi with other devices. Lets have a look at the steps to convert your Windows machine into a WiFi hotspot.
So in this tutorial I will show 2 easy ways to share internet connection not just to create a wireless ad hoc connection in Windows 8. One is By Using Third Party Tool and another one is without using any tool.
2 Methods to Turn Windows PC into Wifi Hotspot
Method 1. Using Connectify:
This is an Easy method so i will recommend you to first try this method. Simply follow the below simple steps.
Step 1: Download Connectify Hotspot for Free First of all. Step 2: Install it and Restart your PC.
Step 3: If a Windows Security Alert of Windows Firewall appears, then you need to click Allow access button to add Connectify Hotspot to the list of allowed apps.
Step 4: On Next screens, you should click to choose Connectify Hotspot Lite to use it for free.
Step 5: Hotspot Name: enter your desired hotspot name (SSID) after the "Connectify-" prefix. Only Hotspot PRO lets you choose any SSID you want. Input your desired network security key. Choose your available internet connection (Wi-Fi, LAN) that you want to share.
Then Choose Wi-Fi to create a Wi-Fi hotspot. Choose Ethernet to share over a wired connection (only available in Pro version)
Step 6: Almost Done now all you have to do is Click on Start Hotspot Button.
Method 2: Without Any Tool
Step 1: First you need to open “Command Prompt”. There will be two modes, one is normal mode and another one is Administrator mode. For this process, you need to open the Command Prompt in “Administrator Mode”.
Step 2: After you open the Window, type the following command in your Command Prompt.
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=Hotspot key=Password123
The “ssid” represents your “WiFi Hot Spot’s name” and the “Key” represents your “WiFi Password”. You can change them, incase you need.
Step 3: Next, enter the following command and press enter to start your virtual WiFi hotspot. It should show a message that “The hosted network started”.
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
Step 4: Now, go to Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Network Connections. There you will see the newly listed “Virtual Local Area Connection”.
Step 5: Get back to the “Network and Sharing Center” and click the “Ethernet” or whatever shows in the “Connections” section. A new window will pop-up, in that select “Properties” and go to “Sharing” tab on the top.
Step 6: Enable “Allow other users to connect through this computer’s Internet Connection” option on the top. In the drop down list below, select the newly listed “Virtual Local Area Connection”. Click “Ok” and you are good to go.
Now your Windows machine will act as a virtual router, to connect all your devices. This option will be very helpful when you have an ethernet connection or a USB Connection, you can easily share WiFi and connect your other devices using this method. Try this on your Windows 8 machine and share your experience with us.
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