Guide to Creating a WiFi Hotspot from Your PC

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to share your PC internet connection with a smartphone or another device, but your modem doesn't support Wi-Fi, or your PC doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi capability? No worries! In this article, we'll walk you through the process of creating a WiFi hotspot from your PC using various methods. This guide is designed to be comprehensive, easy to follow, and compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems.

1. Setting Up WiFi Hotspot from Your Laptop

To create a WiFi hotspot on your laptop, follow these simple steps:

OPEN NOTEPAD: Open Notepad and copy the following lines: CONFIGURE YOUR WIRELESS HOSTED NETWORK:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork modeallow ssidWIFI keypassword123netsh wlan start hostednetwork

After pasting the above commands, save the file with a .bat extension, for example, hotspot_

TO ENABLE HOTSPOT: Right-click on the saved file and select Run as Administrator. This will enable your laptop to share its internet connection via a WiFi hotspot.

CHANGES TO MAKE: You can change the SSID and password by modifying the following lines:

ssidnew_wifi_namekeynew_password

ADAPTER SETTINGS: Ensure that your network sharing is enabled. Go to Control Panel Network and Sharing Center Change Adapter Settings. Right-click on the Ethernet or LAN connection you want to share and select Properties. Go to the Sharing tab and turn on File and Printer Sharing.

Your custom WiFi hotspot is now active. To turn it off, follow these steps:

OPEN NOTEPAD AGAIN: Open Notepad and copy the following lines:

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork

Save this file as hotspot_

TO STOP HOTSPOT: Right-click on the saved file and select Run as Administrator. This will turn off your WiFi hotspot.

2. Using Connectify Hotspot Software

Another quick and easy method to share your internet is to use Connectify Hotspot software. This application is available for Windows and allows you to make your PC a WiFi hotspot simply by downloading and running the software.

3. Creating WiFi Hotspot on Windows 8 and Above

If you are using Windows 8 or a newer operating system, you can create a WiFi hotspot using the built-in netsh command. Follow these steps:

OPEN CMD: Search for and open Command Prompt (cmd). ENTER COMMANDS:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork modeallow ssidWIFI_TRIX keypassword123netsh wlan start hostednetwork

To stop the hotspot, run:

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork

4. Setting Up WiFi Hotspot on Linux

Linux users have a straightforward option to create a WiFi hotspot. Here’s how you can do it:

OPEN TERMINAL: Open a terminal window. ENTER COMMANDS:

wpaStencil config

This command will provide a configuration file for setting up a hotspot. Follow the instructions provided in the terminal to complete the setup. Once configured, you can start the hotspot by running:

sudo service hostapd startsudo service dnsmasq start

To stop the hotspot, run:

sudo service hostapd stopsudo service dnsmasq stop

Conclusion

Whether you are a PC user on Windows, Linux, or running an older operating system like Windows 8, you can share your internet by creating a WiFi hotspot. Follow the detailed steps in this guide and you'll have a WiFi hotspot up and running in no time. Using such methods will not only increase your productivity but also enhance your device’s utility in situations where a mobile router isn't available.