From time to time you might run into a situation where you have a computer connected to the internet (maybe via Ethernet), and you have a device you want to connect to the internet as well, except there is no WiFi hotspot to connect to. I was in a situation like this today, so I simply created a hotspot using a nifty app called Connectify.
As long as your computer is running Windows 7 and connected to the internet via some form, whether that is via WiFi, Ethernet or even a 3G/4G dongle, you can use Connectify to share that same connection through a new WiFi hotspot. It’s really simple to set-up and allows any device to connect via secure WPA2-PSK.
All you need to do is download the application here, install it while making sure your antivirus software doesn’t prohibit the installation (ESET Smart Security, for example, prohibited the service from starting), then run the app. From here you simply need to choose a hotspot name and password, choose the incoming network you want to share and through which WiFi card you have in your computer, then click start hotspot.
It’s even possible to share incoming WiFi out through the same WiFi card, which is awesome for increasing range for when your computer can connect to a WiFi network, but your phone may be out of range. The Pro version of Connectify also allows you to do more things than just create a hotspot, such as repeat the exact same network through your WiFi card rather than having to create a new SSID and password to use.
Performance using the software is also very good. I was able to almost max out my connection’s speeds on my phone, connected through Connectify, with only a slightly longer ping time; I could even watch YouTube on both my computer and phone at the same time if I wanted. It was certainly much faster than through 3G and without a small data cap.
Connectify is a very handy app, and it’s available for free with enough functionality to create instant WiFi hotspots whenever you might need to. Try it out whenever you find yourself annoyingly without WiFi.