How to make the laptop distribute Wi-Fi. Distributing wifi from a laptop using third-party software
Hello. Recently I saw a comment on the site asking how to use a laptop Wi-Fi router. The laptop is connected to the Internet via cable and how to make it distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi to other devices.
Seeing this comment, I remembered that you can actually create a connection “computer-computer” over Wi-Fi, I decided that this was a great topic for a new article. Here's the comment itself:
In general, I want to use the laptop as a Wi-Fi router (the laptop itself is connected via a regular cable). Through a computer-to-computer connection, I want to connect a laptop to it, so that I can use the Internet on the laptop and on the laptop. Is this possible? The problem is that I connected everything and the icon on the taskbar shows on the netbook that there is Internet access, but when I open the browser (I have Explore and Google Chrome) it does not connect to the Internet, and I can’t figure out why problem??
Really good question, which probably interests many. For example, you have a laptop with Wi-Fi, to which the Internet is connected via cable. For example, you got another laptop or netbook. And you want to connect your new device to the Internet via Wi-Fi. You don’t have a Wi-Fi router yet, you haven’t purchased it yet, or you don’t want to install and configure it at all.
In such a situation, you can use a laptop connected to the Internet as a Wi-Fi router (access point). The Wi-Fi adapter that is in the laptop can not only receive, but also distribute a signal. You just need to make some settings, create a computer-to-computer connection, and the laptop will distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi.
Tested and working!
For the experiment and the quality of this article, I have two laptops ASUS K56cm And Toshiba Satellite L300. ASUS Let's connect to the Internet via cable, it will distribute the Internet to us, it will act as a Wi-Fi router. A laptop Toshiba We will connect to ASUS via Wi-Fi and use the Internet on it. Moreover, on a laptop that will work as an access point, the Internet should also work. Let's get down to business.
Attention!
Only other computers (laptops, netbooks) will be able to connect to the Wi-Fi that the laptop will distribute. Phones, tablets and other mobile devices will not be able to connect to Wi-Fi. In order for a laptop to distribute the Internet to mobile devices, you must use Virtual program WiFi Router, etc.
In the next window you can familiarize yourself with the functions of this connection, and click "Further".
If you want your network to be password protected, then I advise you to leave it that way. WPA2-Personal. If you want the network to be open, then select “No authentication”.
Security key - enter the password for Wi-Fi networks. Just choose something more complicated than mine 🙂 I did this as an example.
Next we see information about the network we created, namely the name and password (though it's hidden). But the most important thing we need to do in this window is Click the “Enable Internet Connection Sharing” button. If you do not press this button, then when you connect to the network on this laptop, there will only be the local network, and the Internet will not work on connected devices.
As you see the inscription “Internet connection sharing is enabled”, the window can be closed.
We have set up our laptop that will distribute the Internet. Now let's try to connect another laptop to it, I have a Toshiba Satellite L300.
Connecting a laptop to the created wireless connection
Turn on Wi-Fi on the laptop and click on the Internet connection status in the notification panel. As you can see in the screenshot below, there is our network, which I called "f1comp". Click on it, then click on the button “Connection”.
A window will appear asking for the security key for the network we created above. Enter the password, if you set one, and click "OK".
Attention! At this moment, a window will appear on the computer that distributes the Internet in which you need to select. You can also choose “home network” , but when I selected “Home Network,” my laptop did not connect to the Internet, but this is most likely due to the fact that NOD32 Smart Security 6 blocked the connection.
Then on the laptop that we connect to the Internet, mine is Toshiba, a status should appear that the laptop is connected to the “f1comp” network we created and has access to the Internet.
All friends, this is a victory :)! We just turned a laptop into a Wi-Fi router and connected another laptop to it.
Conclusion
As you probably understand, I wrote this article (like almost everything on this site) and simultaneously carried out settings on two laptops. So all the information has been verified in practice. As you can see, everything worked for me, and I hope that everything worked out for you as well.
As always, you can leave your questions in the comments to this article. Best wishes.
Also on the site:
We use a laptop as an Internet access point (Wi-Fi router). Setting up a computer-to-computer connection via Wi-Fi updated: February 7, 2018 by: admin
Although everyone is already accustomed to seeing a router in the form of a plastic square device on a table with many blinking lights, a laptop can also handle information routing.
For example, you need to distribute the Internet right here and now, but you don’t have a router at hand, and this article will teach you how to set up a laptop as a wifi router with sharing V global network with help third party programs.
This article is also suitable for personal computer, but provided that it is equipped with a Wi-Fi adapter. Also, the following programs are designed to work under Windows control XP, 7 or 8.
Note - in Windows 8.1, installation of third-party programs is not required; the Internet distribution function is Wi-Fi already built into the operating system.
Program one
Let's look at the first way to turn a laptop into wireless point access. You just need to take into account that Wi-Fi must be free, and access to the Internet must be done either via a wired connection or via 3G/4G.
First, download the “VirtualRouter Plus” program. For example, from here: http://opensource.runxiadq.com/index.php/projects/virtual-router-plus.
Website at English language, on home page There is a description of how the program works, which will be discussed further, only in Russian. Click the “Download Latest Release” link and save the archive to your desktop. The program is free and does not require installation. We go into the archive and run the file “VirtualRouterPlus.exe”.
Program window
Next, some simple but necessary settings are required:
- In the SSID field, enter the name of our created Wi-Fi network;
- In the “Password” field we write the password to connect to it (WPA2 standard, at least 8 characters of the English alphabet and numbers);
- In the “Shared Connection” field, select our connection to the Internet (for example, if we are connected via a Beeline 3G modem, then select the “Beeline” item).
Everything is ready, click “Start” Virtual Router Plus", the program will automatically minimize to tray, and any wireless device(smartphone, tablet) you can search for a Wi-Fi network with our name.
The created Wi-Fi network was found
Of course, there will be general Internet access.
Program two
The second program on how to make a router from a laptop will be considered “ Connectify Hotspot" The program, like the previous one, is distributed free of charge, although there are paid option. Download Free version you can from the site:
http://www.connectify.me/hotspot/
After downloading the program and launching it, the first “minus” of the program is immediately revealed - it requires installation; during installation, its own service is created, and a computer reboot is required to start it. After a reboot, it turns out that Connectify Hotspot, without the user’s consent, registers itself in startup, and after launching, it persistently demands registration every time. On the other hand, one can understand that the developer wants to have statistics on the work of his brainchild, everything is quite logical.
So, let's launch the program. The program's welcome window will open first.
Welcome window
For the sake of decency, let’s glance over the text and click “Next”. Next, 2 more windows will be displayed in which registration is requested. We do not enter anything anywhere (if you wish, you can enter it, then the program will be registered), and also click “Next” everywhere. Finally we get to the program settings window.
Program settings window
In this window you will also find out the difference between paid and free version– in the free version there is no way to change Wi-Fi name network, it will always be “Connectify-me”. Nearby you can see a gray “PRO” icon, which means that the pro version is not active (not purchased).
Next, as with the previous program, enter the password in the “Password” field, and indicate Internet connections in the “Internet to share” field. Click “Start Hotspot”, after which a window with advertising will appear once, which we immediately close. That's it, we are looking for a wireless network with the tablet, the connection is configured.
Setup without using third-party programs
Method three
The third way to make a laptop a wifi router does not require installing third-party programs, but will be configured using the built-in Windows tools. This method has been tested to work on Windows 7 and 8, but we don’t know for sure about XP.
So let's go to the list network connections(either through Start-Control Panel, or press “Win + R”, in the window that opens, enter “ncpa.cpl” and press “Enter”).
In the network connections window, click right click via a wireless connection, and select “Properties” from the drop-down menu.
Selecting properties wireless connection
Allow Internet access
Click “OK”.
Continuing setup via the console
Next, you need to launch the command line, but always with administrator rights. To do this, go to the “Start” menu, find the command line in the list, and by right-clicking on it, select the “Run as administrator” menu.
A console window will open, enter the command “ netsh wlan show drivers". There will be many lines of text displayed, but we are interested in the wireless network support line.
Network hosting support
If the answer is yes, then great, everything will work. If the answer is negative, then we try to update wifi driver adapter (preferably from the official website), or the adapter is hopelessly outdated and requires purchasing a newer model.
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=”network name” key=”WiFi123456″. Just instead of “network name” we write ours real name network (also in quotes), in the key field is our password (indicated in the article as an example).
After entering, the console will give a positive result.
Confirmation Wi-Fi settings networks
And finally, all that remains is to launch our created wireless network. There in the command line we write the last command - “netsh wlan start hostednetwork”.
Launching a virtual router
When you see the line “The hosted network is running,” you can take your smartphone and connect to the created wireless network.
And, finally, a little video on how to configure a laptop as a router, which discusses in detail the configuration of the first program in this article:
We already talked about it in one of the previous articles, but this issue is so popular that it requires a more detailed study.
Therefore, here we will dwell in more detail on how to distribute Wi-Fi with Windows laptop 7 on your phone, tablet and any other device.
So, in order to distribute wi-fi from a laptop, you need portable device turn into an access point. And this can only be done if this computer supports Wi-Fi distribution function. Therefore, the first thing you should do is make sure that such an option exists - otherwise, you won’t be able to configure it to distribute Wi-Fi.
Is it possible to distribute Wi-Fi from a laptop without a router?
To check whether your laptop is capable of distributing wi fi, you need to use the Windows 7 command line. Run it with administrator rights: Start -> Run -> cmd command-> OK.
The black text console window will greet you with a blinking white cursor. Write down the combination of netsh wlan show drivers instructions at the cursor location.
The entered command displays a list of available properties of the installed wireless adapter. Among the listed characteristics, you should find the hosted network support property, opposite which the value “Yes” should be specified.
If on the contrary of this property the opposite value (“No”) is set, which means that the driver you installed is not .
How to distribute Wi-Fi from a laptop via the command line?
For the next setup step, you will also need the help of the text console. To distribute wifi from a laptop, in the place of the blinking cursor, enter the combination netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=network_name key=login_password.
Instead of the phrases “network_name” and “login_password”, specify the network name and secret word to protect the created laptop wifi networks(these parameters are selected arbitrarily).
“Login_password” is the key that the user of an external device (phone, smartphone or other computer) will need to connect to a secure network.
SSID is a unique network identifier that allows external device and its user will be able to recognize the detected network in order to connect to it. The entire command enables the use of hosted network mode and also changes the SSID and secret keyword this network.
How to enable Wi-Fi distribution from a laptop?
The previous command only enabled the use of hosted network mode, but did not enable it yet. Therefore, your network is not yet accessible to external Wi-Fi devices.
To activate wifi distribution from a laptop in the Windows 7 command line, you need to enter a few words: netsh wlan start hostednetwork.
As you can see, this team has the word start: It is used in run instructions.
With this instruction, you initiate the launch of a special virtual adapter. Now if you open the manager panel Windows devices 7, then a new one will appear in the network adapters section Microsoft driver Virtual Wifi Miniport,
and a new wireless connection will appear in the network connections section.
How to connect to a laptop's wifi network and access the Internet?
Now any external device - a smartphone, tablet or other laptop - can be connected to the configured Wi-Fi access point. However, on at this stage created wifi connection"suitable" only for . But to access the Internet from your phone, you will need additional settings.
So, you have already seen something new in the network connections panel virtual connection. However, the status of this connection for now it is of the nature “Without network access”. This means that it does not have access to the global network, and other gadgets connected to the laptop will not be able to access the Internet via wi-fi from your laptop.
Solving this problem is quite simple. Open the context menu of the connection through which you are accessing world wide web: It can be wireless or cable connection. Here select “Properties” - you will be taken to the properties section of the configured Internet connection.
This window contains a tab called “Access”. In it you will need the Internet connection sharing section. This section contains a drop-down list of available connections - you should select virtual adapter(access point adapter), which must be connected to the Internet.
In addition, you need to check the box next to the function that allows other users to access the Internet: a laptop configured this way will not only be able to distribute the Wi-Fi network, but also transfer Internet traffic to other devices.
Perhaps I will greatly surprise someone, but if you don’t have a router at hand, and you need to distribute the Internet, you can provide communication throughout your entire apartment or small office directly from a laptop or from a stationary PC equipped with a simple wireless adapter. This can be especially useful if you bought a smartphone or tablet and would like to access the Internet from it without buying a router (for example, as an emergency connection test without purchasing additional equipment).
Under such circumstances, you will be able distribute Wi-Fi from a laptop, connected to the network, both conventional wired and wireless connection. The described method is suitable for any Windows versions, starting from seven. If you are a supporter of non-standard approaches, or prefer not to install additional software when installing products, you can immediately proceed to the method where Wi-Fi distribution will be established using the Windows command line. See also:, and.
Distributing Wi-Fi from a laptop using Virtual Router/Virtual Router Plus
Many users interested in distributing the Internet via Wi-Fi from a laptop have probably heard about an application such as Virtual Router Plus, or simply Virtual Router. I'll tell you in more detail about each of them.
Virtual Router Plus is a free application that is a slightly modified Virtual Router. This software is available based on GNU licenses GPL, resulting in open product was slightly modified and redesigned, after which we got the Plus version. The product is also completely Russified. Main disadvantage this application– this is the fact that when installing a product, a lot of unnecessary software ends up on the user’s computer, which is not always possible to refuse. At the time of writing clean version Virtual Router Plus, without unnecessary utilities in addition, can be downloaded from the Softonic web resource.
Network distribution technique using of this product quite clear and simple. The only drawback that you will encounter if you try to set up distribution using Virtual Router Plus is that for the connection to work, the laptop must be connected to the network not via Wi-Fi, but via a wire.
The operation of the program and the principle of setting up communication are simple and banal to the point of disgrace. When you launch the application, you will see the main modular window where you will need to set a number of parameters:
- network name (SSID) – the name of the connection that will be displayed in the list of available hotspots;
- password – a corresponding code word or set of characters with which your connection will be protected;
- general connection – here you should select the connection that is yours network adapter used to access the network.
Once all parameters are set, use the button to launch the application at the bottom of the window.
After a few seconds, a notification will appear on the screen indicating that the connection has been successfully created and you can now connect to it using any portable device. As you can see, our connection is now visible in the list of hotspots.
If your laptop is connected to the network in a similar way, that is, via a wireless connection, it will be quite possible to launch the program itself, but establishing a connection to virtual router will no longer be possible - when identifying an IP address, problems will arise. software glitch, which does not allow communication. Under all other circumstances the program will be great free solution for distributing Wi-Fi via a laptop.
Another analogue of the one described above software product– Virtual Router. This utility is based on the same source, from which Virtual Router Plus was compiled, and it works in a very similar way. In addition, by downloading the utility from the official website, you do not risk adding a lot of clutter to your PC, such as an additional Internet browser, search bars and changes home page web browser.
The program has not been translated into Russian, which does not detract from its other advantages: lightness, simplicity and elegance. I recommend downloading this module from the official web resource of the project. Just like in the Plus version, you specify the network name, password for it and select the active one wired connection, providing access to the Internet, then press main button“Start Virtual Router” and voila - you're done.
Using the Windows Command Line
Finally, I came to the last method of organizing distribution over Wi-Fi, without using auxiliary paid or free apps. The described technique works perfectly on both Windows 7 and 8/8.1 or 10.
To begin, press Win+R and enter the command “ncpa.cpl”. As a result, a list of network connections will appear on the display. Right-click on the wireless connection and go to Properties.
Now you need to go to the “Access” tab and check the box next to the option “Allow other users to connect to this PC’s network”
Let's launch. To do this, right-click on the Start button and select the “Command Prompt (Administrator)” option.
When working in Windows 7, click on the “Start” button, find “Command Prompt” in the list, and right-click on it. IN context menu Find the “Administrator” option.
Now it's time to run the command "netsh vlan shou drivers" and see what this command will inform us about hosted network support. If this item is active, everything is in order, you can proceed further. If not, then either yours is too old LAN card on the laptop, or the adapter driver is installed incorrectly. In the latter case, you will have to reinstall it from the official website of the device manufacturer.
The initial command available to enter in order to turn our laptop into a router is as follows: netsh vlan set houstednetvork mode=allou ssid=lap_test key=87654321. You can change the name of the network (ssid) and its password (key) to something more convenient for you.
When the command is entered, you need to get visual confirmation that all the actions caused by the command we entered were performed correctly: wireless access was provided, the network name was accepted, and the key (in other words, the password) was also changed. You can enter the following query at the prompt:
- netsh vlan start houstednetwork
Having entered the last of the commands, an inscription should appear on the screen indicating that the launch of the hosted network was successful.
Finally, there is one last query that can serve you well, and which will certainly be useful for determining the status of your connection, the number of nodes connected to it, or Wi-Fi channel- This netsh vlan show houstednetwork.
If you decide to pause the distribution, you may need a command like this:
- netsh vlan stop houstednetwork
The only significant drawback this method- this is that after each reboot of the PC, the distribution is suspended, and it has to be started again manually. To automate this process and not enter a request to start the network manually each time, you can create a bat file and add it to startup, or launch it manually if necessary.
As you can see, setting up Wi-Fi distribution on a laptop is absolutely not difficult. The whole process is described quite clearly and informatively, so you are unlikely to do anything wrong if you read the instructions presented above in full before setting up the distribution.
So, dear readers of our online magazine, in this article we will share four simple and quick ways“share” the laptop’s Internet connection via Wi-Fi. In other words, we can easily turn our Windows 7 computer into Wi-Fi hotspot.
How it works?
Any Wi-Fi network the card can be used to transmit signal wired internet By Wi-Fi protocol. To implement this task, you need some kind of virtual bridge or router connecting network devices. operating room Windows system 7 contains built-in capabilities to access a wired Internet connection through devices connected via a wireless protocol. However, now there is also software, with which you can literally set up a real Wi-Fi point in your own computer. In this article we will offer several methods, but the choice is yours!
Wi-Fi access point using standard Windows 7 methods
The most obvious way to turn a laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot is to use standard function creation new WiFi Computer-Computer connection, which allows you to open access to local files and the Internet connection to everyone connected via WiFi computers and devices.
Go to Network Control Center and shared access by clicking on the network icon in the system tray at the bottom right and selecting the appropriate item:
The security type is the type of connection security. The recommended type is WPA2-Personal. It requires entering a password between 8 and 63 characters long. When, if your external WiFi device (phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) the network will not be found, or the connection will be interrupted, You can change the security type to WEP(requires 5-digit password), or open ("No authentication"), that is, without encryption and password.
Click Next and your access point will be created. You may also need to enable access to your computer's Internet connection over the network. To do this, go to the Network and Sharing Center, then in the menu on the left “Change adapter settings” and call up the Wireless properties network connection. On the “Access” tab, check the “Allow other network users to use this computer’s Internet connection” checkbox:
Due to the ease of setup and quick activation/deactivation this method best suited for temporary and fast connection with various devices.
Setting up a Wi-Fi access point using the Windows Command Line
If you are familiar with the Windows Command Line, then I think it will be easy and simple for you to create WiFi connection using two simple console commands.
First of all, you need to run Command line on behalf of the Administrator. To do this, open Start and type “cmd” in the search. In the search results, click on the icon cmd right click and select " Run as Administrator«:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=YourSSID key=YourPassword keyusage=persistent
Where YourSSID— Network name, and YourPassword- password. After that next command we enable the configured network:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
You can break the connection with the following command:
netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
Automatic creation of a Wi-Fi point using a Batch file
All the actions specified in the previous subsection can be easily automated by writing a small script. All we need is to open Notepad (via the Start menu) and enter a few lines there:
@echo off
CLS
:MENU
ECHO.
ECHO —————————————————
ECHO.
ECHO Press 1, 2, or 3 to select your task, or 4 to Exit.
ECHO —————————————————
ECHO.
ECHO 1 - Set Wifi Sharing Attributes
ECHO 2 - Start WiFi Sharing
ECHO 3 - Stop WiFi Sharing
ECHO 4 - Exit
ECHO.
SET /P M=Type 1, 2, 3, or 4, then press ENTER:
IF %M%==1 GOTO SET
IF %M%==2 GOTO START
IF %M%==3 GOTO STOP
IF %M%==4 GOTO EOF
:SET
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=YourSSID key=YourPassword keyusage=persistent
GOTO MENU
:START
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
GOTO MENU
:STOP
netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
GOTO MENU
Again, instead of values YourSSID And YourPassword enter your connection name and password values. Save the file under any name and Necessarily specify extension ".bat". All you have to do is run the script as Administrator and follow the instructions on the command line screen.
Virtual Wi-Fi hotspot using third-party applications
Exists great amount applications that allow you to turn your laptop into a virtual one WiFi router. We will not consider this countless number, but will dwell a little on a wonderful program called Connectify Hot Spot PRO. The application is distributed on a paid basis.
Connectify Hot Spot allows you to connect to virtual point access as mobile devices various platforms, and computers of various operating systems. The program is easy to set up. All you need to indicate is Network name(Hotspot Name) password(Password) and, in fact, network adapter(Internet To Share), from which Internet access will be opened. After starting with the “Start Hotspot” button on the “Clients” tab, you can view connected or recently connected devices.
Conclusion
There are many different uses Wi-Fi points access, except for opening access to the Internet for Wi-Fi devices and computers. However, we hope that any of the methods we described will help you cope with the task posed in this article. Find the best one for yourself and don't forget to like!