Description
Thanks to modern wireless technologies, private home groups, which are created to combine several PCs, smartphones, tablets, and other equipment, are very widespread. This allows you to exchange data, as well as control household appliances and office equipment remotely without the use of cables. Through this, the article will be guiding you on how to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 for free.
As a rule, wireless routers are used to organize such networks. But what if the router is not at hand? How to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 Laptop?
It’s quite real. What’s more, it’s easy to do so. You just need to know a few rules. In this article, we will look at how to create a virtual hotspot on a laptop running Windows 8.1.Windows
How to create a private group using a laptop
I would like to note right away that a private virtual network can be organized using any laptop that has a WiFi adapter. Moreover, if the laptop is connected to the Internet (using a cable or any other connection), then the members of the virtual group will be able to access it. You will learn how to do this by reading this post.
Overview
So, there are several ways how to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 using a virtual network:
- Using the built-in tools of Windows 8.1.
- With the help of programs from third-party developers.
Let’s see how both methods work.
How to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 for free using the built-in tools, First you need to run a command prompt with administrator rights. To do this, move the mouse cursor to the upper right corner. After that, a pop-up menu will open in which you need to find and start the search. Type “Command Prompt” in the search bar, right-click on the result, and select “Run as administrator”.
In the window that appears, you just need to type the command to create a virtual access point. After that, the system will detect a new device, and a new LAN connection will appear in Connections 3.
To manage a virtual network, there is a set of commands that must also be written on the command line:
- Create a virtual hotspot – netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=My_virtual_WiFi key=12345678 keyUsage=persistent. Here SSID is the name of the network, it can be anything (only in Latin letters), and Key is the group key that will be required to connect.
- Starting the created network – netsh wlan start hosted network.
- Stopping the network – netsh wlan stopped hosted network.
Create a WiFi hotspot on a Windows 8.1 laptop using the commanWindowsd line
If everything is done correctly, then your WiFi hotspot on a Windows 8.1 laptop has been created. It remains to provide general access for network users. In addition, if the laptop is connected to the Internet, then it can also be distributed via WiFi.
This is done in the following way. Launch the Network and Sharing Center. This is done in the same way as we started the command line. In the window that appears, go to the “Change advanced sharing settings” item and turn on network discovery, as well as other services. Here you need to turn off password-protected sharing. We save the settings and return to the network control center.
Now we are interested in the “Change adapter settings” menu. We start the service and in the window that appears, look for a connection that provides the computer with Internet access – it can be a local connection, a USB modem, as well as a wireless network connection. Click on the connection with the right mouse button and go to the properties of the connection.
Here we need the “Access” tab, in which we should check the boxes, and in the “homegroup connection” line, select the created network (LAN connection 3). Click OK and close all windows. That’s it, your WiFi hotspot on your Windows 8.1 laptop is now set up and ready to use.
Organizing a home network using third-party programs
There is the easiest way how to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 that does not require any knowledge from the user, the only thing you need to know is which program to install. There are a lot of such applications in the vastness of the virtual world. Moreover, you can download them for free.
Despite this diversity, they all work on the same principle, so they have almost the same set of settings. It all comes down to a few points:
- The name of the access point to be created.
- Security key and encryption type.
- Selecting an Internet connection for distribution.
Of course, in addition to this, there may be additional settings, however, this is the basis of all programs for creating virtual access points. As a rule, there is an instruction for the program, so there should be no difficulties.
How to Share WiFi with Connectify Hotspot
once you know how to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 Laptop it ensures that a laptop as a WiFi hotspot in Windows 8.1 is possible, and quite doable. Which method to use is up to you. One has only to clarify that the first method allows you to receive and distribute the Internet via WiFi, which cannot be done about the second option. In addition, it is worth understanding that built-in tools always work more stable than third-party programs and that is how to make Hotspot in Windows 8.1 becomes easy.
