How to : Turn your laptop wireless into a WiFi hotspot..?

Karthik Prabhu Thursday, April 1, 2010

Laptops have inbuilt wireless in them.. You can turn your laptop's wireless into a WiFi hotspot and connect your iPod, iPhone, Blackberry etc.. Using this you can connect to the internet through your iPods or other devices..

What do I need to set up a WiFi hotspot..??

Laptop with built in WiFi
Wired Internet Connection

How do I set it up..??

Windows XP users follow these steps :

Go to Control Panel --> Network Connections
Right click on the Wireless connection and then click on Properties
Click on the Wireless Networks Tab
Tick the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings
Under Preferred networks click on Add
In Network Name (SSID) enter the network name you want. Ex: John's WiFi
Under the Network Authentication click on Open (In this tutorial I will teach you to create a connection without password. If you want to set up a password then Instead of Open click on Shared and in the next step instead of Disabled click on WEP)
In the Data Encryption click Disabled
Go to the Connection tab and make sure Connect when this network is in range is ticked
Click on OK
Go to Advanced and tick on Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only and also make sure Automatically connect to non-preferred networks is ticked
Click on OK.. You have set up your wireless hotspot.

Your WiFi hotspot is now set up.. But you still cannot access the internet using your WiFi enabled devices.. To set up Internet connection sharing follow these steps :

Goto Local Area Connection and click on Properties
Go to Advanced tab.
Tick the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection. Click on OK.
If you not using an always on Broadband then there are a few extra steps.
Go to the connection you always connect to the internet through. Ex: Airtel, My Broadband etc.
Right click on it and then click on Properties.
Go to the Advanced tab and tick on Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection
Click on OK.. That's it.. You're done..

Your WiFi hotspot has been established.. Now you can access the internet through your favorite WiFi enabled gadget.. :)

Windows Vista users follow these steps :

Go to Control Panel --> Network and Sharing Centre
Under Tasks chose Setup New Connection
Under Wireless choose Ad-hoc network
Under Network name type in the desired network name. Ex: Joe's WiFi
Choose WEP password to secure your connection.
Choose Internet Connection Sharing.
Done.! :)

Now use your WiFi enabled iPod or BlackBerry to connect to the Internet using your own WiFi hotspot..!

* iPod users who do not know how to connect to a WiFi connection check this tutorial.

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