How to make wifi on a windows 7 laptop. We make a wifi access point on our computer without any third-party programs
If you have a laptop or netbook, you will most likely want to connect it to home network without the use of wires - via Wi-Fi. But for this you need to have a router at home. Many users who have only 1 home computer, do not use routers and connect directly to the provider. How to connect the laptop to the network in this case?
The simplest and fast decision– virtual Wifi hotspot on PC or laptop:
- firstly, the Windows 7 operating system provides a standard tool for these purposes;
- secondly, you can create such a point using special programs.
What kind of computer is needed
Unfortunately, not everyone Personal Computer and the laptop allows you to create a point wireless access. First, there is a requirement for the distribution of the operating system. Your Windows version must be at least Home (Home).
The fact is that Windows Starter (Initial) does not support routing. On such an OS, nothing can be done. You need to upgrade the laptop to a more advanced version, or you will need to reinstall the system.
Secondly, you need to install a Wi-Fi adapter on your computer. Most PCs are released without them, so you need to purchase an external device.
This is a small antenna that plugs into USB port computer and allows you to send and receive Wi-Fi signals. If you are working on a laptop, there is nothing to worry about. Every modern laptop has a built-in Wi-Fi module.
First, consider creating a point wireless wifi access using the built-in tools of the operating system. plus this method is, firstly, reliability, secondly, simplicity, thirdly, no need to install an additional software.
The downside for many users is the need to work with the Windows command line and the lack of GUI. However, this is very convenient way. It is recommended to know how to set up a Wifi hotspot using basic tools.
Creation by standard Windows tools
To make a new access point using basic Windows tools, follow the given instructions:
Now you can connect your other laptop, smartphone or even a personal computer with an adapter to the created network. If you restart the distributing Wi-Fi laptop, you will have to restart the connection. If you want the computer to stop distributing the wireless network, use the command "netsh wlan stop hostednetwork».
MyPublicWiFi program
If you do not want to open the command line and enter commands into it, turning on the computer, there is an alternative method. There is a huge amount special utilities, which allows you to create an access point on your laptop.
Very often on the Internet you can find questions about WiFi networks. The network policy of old OS versions is different from the new ones. Also, the design of the dockers is different, and sometimes it is difficult to find familiar old tools. Setting WiFi hotspots access in Windows 7 also changed. So today I will tell you about how to create a wireless connection.
In Windows 7, the developers found it necessary to put protection on the network. Undoubtedly, this can protect your computer from being hacked, but it also brings some inconvenience. Therefore, before setting up, you need to disable this protection in order to have access to folders and files over the network. To do this, click on the network icon on working panel Windows and select Network and Control Center public access».
Figure 1. Network and Sharing Center.
In the network management window, select the settings for sharing settings. And change Extra options general access.
Figure 2. Choose a homegroup and sharing options.
In the window that opens, disable password protection at the very bottom of the settings and save the changes.
Fig 3. Disable password protection.
After that follows WiFi setup access points in Windows 7. We return to the network control center. In the left menu of this center, select: Wireless Network Management and click "Add". A window should open with a choice of two types of network settings. The first is to connect to an access point, the second is to create an access point.
Fig 4. Connecting to wireless network manually.
Therefore, you must select the second one: "Create a computer-to-computer network." Click next and start setting up. Set the name of your network, for example: "MyNetwork". Next, let's talk about the types of security. WEP type - transmits the encryption key to each computer, according to the developers windows type WEP is easy to crack. But if you do not set up a network in a corporate company or office, then there is no point in hacking you. For a normal home network, this type is also suitable. WPA requires user authorization, it is more secure. Last type is Open, which comes without a password. For example, let's choose WEP and set a password. Save network settings.
Fig 5. Network setup.
After that, the working point is ready! Let's check it and try to connect from another device. I used a second laptop to connect. If you have a dedicated button for turning on Wi-Fi then check if it is enabled. We look at the available points and connect to the previously created one.
Fig 6. SettingWi-Fi hotspot inWindows 7.
In the window that opens, enter the password that was set during setup.
Experienced Windows 7 users know that the WiFi adapter that is in every laptop can not only catch wireless network signals, but also serve as an access point for connecting other devices. Moreover, he is able to do it at the same time: as if in a laptop instead of one wireless adapter two installed. What seems to be special about this? But according to the WiFi concept, LAN card not able to work in two modes at once.
To get around this hardware limitation, the developers used virtualization technology, which allows, on the basis of one physical device create multiple virtual ones. And each virtual adapter can connect to different networks and be configured differently.
In Microsoft, WiFi virtualization technology is called “Virtual WiFi” It was introduced into Windows client operating systems only with the release of “seven”. In earlier versions, you had to use third-party software to create an access point.
Why create an access point on your computer?
Today, many devices support technologies wireless communication. By creating a virtual hotspot, you can connect your laptop to a printer, TV, computers, mobile gadgets etc., by combining all these devices into a personal or home network.
In addition to combining, a virtual access point can distribute the Internet to all devices connected to it. To do this, you need to connect your laptop to the World Wide Web in any convenient way (using a 3G modem, cable, WiFi or WiMax) and give permission to other devices to use it in the connection settings. How this is done, we will consider below.
Also, the access point on a laptop can work as a WiFi signal amplifier (repeater) when its source is far away.
Create an access point on a laptop with Windows 7
As mentioned, to create an access point on Windows 7, the capabilities of the operating system itself are enough. We will use the network settings configuration utility for this. netsh.
Prerequisites for starting a virtual network
- Enable WiFi technology by pressing a special button on the laptop case or the Fn + keyboard shortcut. On different models laptops have their own WiFi activation key. You can determine it by the miniature image of the antenna.
- Installing a wireless adapter driver on a laptop. The driver can be downloaded from the laptop manufacturer's website or found on the disc that came with your computer when you bought it. After installing the driver, you need to restart the laptop.
- In order for a virtual access point to distribute the Internet to other devices, any edition of Windows 7 must be installed on the laptop, except for the initial one.
How to create Virtual WiFi
When starting the access point once, you can use the command line (utility netsh does not have a graphical interface), but if you need it all the time, this method will be inconvenient. For this case, you can create batch file, save it in a convenient place and run it as needed. For the point to work, both the console and the batch file must be run as administrator. So…
Open a command prompt and enter the first command into it: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=”moya_virtualnaya_set” key=”moy_parol” keyUsage=persistent
Parameter SSID is the name of the access point to be created, and key- passphrase. The rest should be left as default.
After Windows Runtime will launch a virtual network adapter, which will appear in Device Manager:
It will also appear in the folder “ Network connections”:
To enter this folder on Windows 7, open the "Network and Sharing Center ..." in the control panel, then click "Change adapter settings" in the navigation area on the left side of the window.
If successful, Windows will report back to you that the hosted network is running. The hosted network is our virtual access point.
Now in the network connections window of the laptop, the new wireless connection will be active:
But, as we can see, he still does not have access to the Internet:
How to make it appear, we will analyze below, but for now, to further use this virtual adapter, we need to copy the commands to text file and save it with extension. bat.
To run the file, as already mentioned, it is necessary on behalf of the administrator.
How to distribute the Internet through a virtual access point
It's time to turn the access point created on the laptop into an Internet gateway - a device that transmits traffic from the local network to the global one and vice versa.
The following steps assume that your laptop is already connected to the Internet. In order not to have to adjust the resolution every time, it is desirable that this connection be permanent.
- Enter the network connections folder, click right click by Internet connection and open its properties.
- Expand the "Access" tab and check the box next to "Allow other users to connect to the Internet this computer". From the list of networks, select the one that was previously created. In our example, this is “Wireless Network Connection 4”.
- Save the setting. After reconnecting, the distribution of the Internet to all devices connected to the access point will begin.
Connecting other network devices to the Internet
Now let's talk about the main thing - how other devices can use a virtual hotspot to access the Internet. For example, you have another Windows 7 laptop that urgently needs to be connected to the global network. It will be much easier to set it up, because the access point is already running, which means it is visible in the list of wireless networks.
- Turn on your laptop and boot up Windows.
- Click on the “Network” icon in the system tray and browse through the list available connections. Among them should be the one you recently created.
- Click on it and click "Connect".
- IN next window enter the security key, the passphrase you set when creating the access point, and click OK.
Other settings such as IP addresses, DNS and default gateway will be automatically received by the laptop. But you can also specify them manually.
To change the settings for this connection, open it context menu and select Status.
In the new window, click "Properties".
In the “General” window, assign an IP connection from the range 192.168.137.2 -192.168.137.255, specify the default gateway, which will be the access point IP - 192.168.137.1 (Windows 7 assigns this address to virtual adapters by default) and DNS addresses. As the main DNS, you can again assign the IP of the access point, and assign one of the public DNS or your provider's DNS as an alternative.
Now your laptop will always connect to the access point with the same IP address.
This completes the wireless network setup. As you can see, nothing complicated.
How to create a WiFi hotspot using Windows 7. Instructions, step by step with illustrations. Although people are mainly interested in the question of how to make a laptop a wifi access point, it really does not matter whether it is a laptop or a regular desktop computer.
Creating a wifi hotspot is the same in both cases. Imagine the situation: you came to visit, and you need fast Internet on your smartphone or tablet, and the hosts only have a laptop connected to the Internet with a cable, but there is no router. It doesn't matter - you can organize wireless Internet distribution from this laptop in a couple of minutes.
What is WiFi
The abbreviation WiFi (wi-fi) stands for: Wireless Fidelity(wireless attachment). WiFi is the transmission of network data over a radio channel.
Most often, WiFi is used to "distribute" the Internet. For these purposes, WiFi is used in various public places - cafes, restaurants, train stations, shopping centers.
But in the last year or two wifi router We began to actively install in apartments. This is due to the fact that today people have a lot of mobile devices from which you can access the Internet - laptops, tablets, smartphones, netbooks.
And often WiFi is not only the most convenient way to connect such a device to the Internet, but also the only possible one. For example, tablets and smartphones do not have wired Ethernet network adapters, so they cannot be connected to the network through a cable.
Although WiFi is most often used to distribute the Internet, nevertheless, nothing prevents you from building a regular local network via WiFi.
And by the way, in some offices they do this, since installing one WiFi router (access point) is cheaper and easier than laying UTP network cables.
A home WiFi network allows you not only to receive Internet via WiFi to all devices, but also to conveniently exchange various information - you can easily copy photos from your smartphone to a computer or laptop. Or music from a computer to a smartphone. No need to mess around with different USB cables.
WiFi specifications are described by the international standard 802.11. There is a division into modes, according to the access speed that 802.11 standard devices can provide:
802.11a
802.11b- speeds from 1 megabit per second to 11 megabits per second.
802.11g— speeds from 6 to 54 megabits per second.
802.11n- speed up to 150 megabits per second over one antenna, and if four antennas are used, then up to 600 megabits per second.
The most common now devices that support WiFi modes 802.11 b and g. In the specifications of such devices, they write this - 802.11b / g.
In the last couple of years, the majority of devices have been released with support for three WiFi modes - 802.11b / g / n. 802.11a mode is rarely used and is not compatible with b and g.
What is an access point
This is the usual network router, which only transmits network packets over an 802.11 radio signal.
It performs the same functions as a simple network router - assign an IP address to the connected device, send it network settings and further ensure the transmission of network packets from this device to other network devices (routing).
Most often, a WiFi router looks exactly like an ADSL modem or ethernet router. Only with antenna.
The incoming connection to this router is RJ-11 (telephone jack) or RJ-45 (network cable jack).
In the first case WiFi router receives Internet through telephone line, using ADSL (xDSL) technology.
In the second case WiFi router receives the Internet through a network cable using PPPoE FTTx technology.
There are also cellular WiFi routers that look a bit like Cell Phones. Such a router receives the Internet through cellular network GSM.
received WiFi internet The router distributes via WiFi adapter.
How to create a WiFi hotspot on Windows 7
We need to create a software wifi router based on Windows 7 that will receive the Internet in some way and be able to distribute this Internet via wifi.
What we need:
1) Windows 7 Basic or older. Windows 7 Starter (initial) will not work. More precisely, on Windows 7 Starter, you will have to solve the routing issue with the help of a third-party program (for Windows 7 Starter, a separate note at the end of the article).
2) Not old wifi adapter. For example, for this article I used usb wifi TP-Link TL-WN722NC adapter.
3) Internet connection. For this article, a GSM connection was used through the MTS operator (MTS USB modem). But it can be any connection - PPPoE, VPN, Dail-Up, Ethernet, WiFi.
The first step is to install a wifi adapter, if it is not already installed, and make sure that it is turned on and working.
After that, you need to check if the "WLAN AutoConfig Service" service is running. Usually, its start mode is “Manual”, which means it can be stopped. If you are planning to use created point access all the time, it is better to switch this service to the "Automatic" startup mode.
You also need to check that the "Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)" service also has the "Automatic" startup mode.
You also need to check that the service "Routing and remote access” also had an “Automatic” startup mode. And for this service to work.
There may be situations when the startup type of this service is set to auto, but when Windows 7 starts, it stops and, accordingly, others in this case will not receive the Internet. More about this in another article - "Service Routing and Remote Windows access 7 stops.
These checks are done through the "Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services".
After that, you need to open the Windows console (cmd.exe) with administrator rights. This can be done through the menu "Start - Programs - Accessories - Command Prompt", then the right mouse button and "Run as Administrator".
In the console, type and execute the command:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid="winap" key="123456789" keyusage=persistent.
Instead of winap And 123456789 enter your access point name and password:
Note. Important! The password must be at least 8 characters long, this is a requirement for the WPA2 security type that Windows uses when creating an access point. It is better not to use Cyrillic in the password. Letter case matters - a and A are different characters!
Next, check that the connection for the access point has been created. Open "Start - Run - ncpa.cpl" and after opening the "Network Connections" window, in this window find the wireless connection for which no physical adapter is specified:
Press the right mouse button, then "Properties" and look there - it should be "MicroSoft Virtual Miniport Adapter":
At the same time, you can remove unnecessary connections and protocols for this.
Immediately rename this connection in ncpa.cpl - for example, to "winAP":
Enable ICS and specify the connection to which the Internet will be distributed - on the wifi connection of the access point ("winAP"):
Now you need to connect to the Internet. Or reconnect if the connection was established earlier.
After that, in the console, type and execute the command:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
Everything, the access point should already work. Now you can connect the client to this access point (this illustration is from the client computer):
How to connect wifi client on:
- Laptop (or computer) under Windows - WiFi setup in Windows 7.
- How to enable WiFi on the tablet.
- Laptop (or computer) under Linux - Laptop (or computer) under Ubuntu.
Client connected:
On the computer where the access point is running, you can check its status. To do this, enter the command in the console:
netsh wlan show hostednetwork
It can be seen that one client is connected.
Stopping the access point with the command netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
Complete destruction of the access point with the command netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=disallow
If you want the access point to turn on automatically, when Windows boot, then the start command must be added to autorun.
We are talking about the netsh wlan start hostednetwork command. The command can be written in a cmd script, you must specify "Run as Administrator" in the properties of this script. Then include the script in autorun.
It is necessary that the Internet connection is also established when Windows starts. Otherwise, you will have an access point, but there will be no Internet through it.
Of course, this is a very simple access point. But everything is at hand. Don't need any third party programs. Only Windows 7. And everything is configured in a couple of minutes.
Yes, there are programs like Connectify and Virtual Router. However, you need to understand that they do only the work that is done by two commands in Windows consoles. These are just additions to the functionality of Windows 7. It's easier to write two commands in the console than to download and install some kind of stray.
Someone might say that in this option, there are not many features that an access point should have. Well, yes, it is. Only this is an option when you need to make a wifi router very quickly and without problems. And just like this Windows feature 7 provides - with a minimum of body movements, what is called "on the knee" to create an access point.
And if your needs are wider and deeper, if you need an access point for every day, or in complex configurations, then you don’t need to use Windows, but buy a decent one, or even good wifi router.
A decent WiFi router now costs less than a thousand rubles. And in such a situation, sculpting a structure based on a computer and Windows is somehow absurd.
Another thing is if an access point is needed once a month, for a day or for a couple of days. Or on a business trip. Or on vacation. This is where Windows comes to the rescue. You can quickly distribute the Internet via laptop WiFi to a tablet, smartphone or other laptops.
But if there is a need to make a permanent access point on the computer, then it is better to do it under Linux. As actually it is implemented in WiFi routers. For example, as in this article - Access point on Ubuntu.
hotspot on windows 7 not working
No need to swear at Microsoft, on Windows - in general, look for the guilty on the side. The problem in such cases is always on your own computer (or laptop).
It could be:
- WiFi adapter driver on which you create an access point.
- The WiFi adapter itself.
- You did something wrong.
- Any "left" services or drivers / programs that use the WiFi adapter or USB port (if your adapter is connected via USB).
- You have Windows 7 Starter.
- One of the necessary services has been stopped, for example, see the article "The Windows 7 Routing and Remote Access service is stopping."
For example, in the process Windows startup The WiFi adapter driver can put the adapter into standby mode. And when Windows starts the hostednetwork service the adapter doesn't wake up.
With a normal WiFi adapter and if you have not polluted your Windows with crooked programs and drivers, everything will work fine.
In general, always look for the source of the problem on your computer.
Access point on Windows 7 Starter (initial)
Microsoft messed with her. ICS is blocked on it, and you can make an access point as such. Paradox. Why do we need a hostednetwork mechanism if there is no routing?
Be that as it may, you can make a wifi access point on Windows 7 Starter (initial). You just need to find a program with which to perform routing between the Internet and winAP interfaces.
There are many options here, for example, you can use a proxy server, such as 3proxy.
So, dear readers of our online magazine, in this article we will share four simple and fast ways"share" the laptop's Internet connection via Wi-Fi. In other words, we can easily turn our Windows 7 computer into wifi hotspot.
How it works?
Any Wi-Fi network card can be used to transmit a wired Internet signal using the 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 for accessing 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 just one click. In this article we will offer several ways, but the choice is yours!
Wi-Fi hotspot in standard Windows 7 ways
The most obvious way to turn a laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot is to use standard function creating a new WiFi connection Computer-to-Computer, which allows you to open access to local files and Internet connection to all computers and devices connected via WiFi.
Go to Network and Sharing Center by clicking on the network icon in the system tray at the bottom right and selecting the appropriate item:
The security type is the security type of the connection. The recommended type is WPA2-Personal. It requires a password between 8 and 63 characters long. When, if your external WiFi device(phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) network not found, or connection will be terminated, 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 hotspot 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 the properties of the Wireless network connection. On the "Access" tab, check the box "Allow other network users to use this computer's Internet connection":
Due to the ease of setup and quick activation / deactivation this way best suited for temporary and quick connection with various devices.
Setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot using the Windows Command Prompt
If you are familiar with the Command Windows string, then, I think, it will be easy and simple for you to create WiFi connection with 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. Click on the icon in the search results cmd right click and select " Run as Administrator«:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=YourSSID key=YourPassword keyusage=persistent
Where YourSSID is the name of the network, and YourPassword- password. After that, we turn on the configured network with the following command:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
You can terminate the connection with the following command:
netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
Automatic creation of a Wi-Fi point using a Batch file
All the actions mentioned in the previous subsection can be easily automated by writing a small script. All we need to do is open Notepad (via the Start menu) and type in a few lines:
@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 provide your connection name and password values. Save the file with any name and Necessarily specify the extension ".bat". All you need to do is run the script as Administrator and follow the instructions on the command line screen.
Virtual Wi-Fi hotspot using third-party apps
There are a huge number of applications that allow you to turn your laptop into a virtual WiFi router. We will not consider this innumerable set, but 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 a virtual hotspot as mobile devices different platforms, as well as computers of different operating systems. The program is easy to set up. All you need to specify is Network name(hotspot name), password(Password) and, in fact, network adapter(Internet To Share) from which Internet access will be shared. After starting with the "Start Hotspot" button on the "Clients" tab, you can view connected or recently connected devices.
Conclusion
There are many various applications Wi-Fi access point, except for opening access to the Internet for WiFi devices and computers. However, we hope that any of the methods described by us will help you cope with the task posed in this article. Find the best one for you and don't forget to like it!
