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How to Setup a Wi-Fi HotSpot in Windows 8

[October 31, 2012]

How to Setup a Wi-Fi HotSpot in Windows 8

Originally posted on VoIP & Gadgets Blog, here: http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/microsoft/how-to-setup-a-wi-fi-hotspot-in-windows-8.asp.

Have you've always wanted to share your wired-only connection and turn it into a Wi-Fi hotspot How about turn your wireless EVDO, 3G, or 4G wireless Internet connection into a Wi-Fi hotspot Well, with Windows 8 you can! Actually, Windows 7 supports this too, though not many people know about it. You can follow my how-to tutorial below for Windows 8 and it will work for Windows 7 as well.

It's a good thing I can share my 4G connection, since Hurricane Sandy took out 5 trees in my yard, ripped the power line AND the phone line (my DSL Internet) from the pole leaving me with just Verizon 4G (via a 4G USB stick) for access to the Internet. Before we get to the step-by-step Windows 8 mobile broadband to Wi-Fi hotspot tutorial, here's some pictures of Hurricane Sandy's aftermath in my yard - starting first with me standing under a tree in my driveway:

Here you can see arrows pointing to a tree, power, and phone line dangling just above or on the ground:

Sure my 4G Verizon USB stick gives my laptop Internet, but after lending my laptop to my wife for the umpteenth time so she could check Facebook and her Labs4Rescue dog adoption site she volunteers for, it was time to find a way to share my mobile broadband Verizon 4G connection!

So here's a step-by-step tutorial that will show you how to share your wired Internet connection or your mobile broadband (EVDO, 3G, 4G) Internet connection:

1. Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings

2. Open Command Prompt in Administrator mode (From Windows 8 Modern UI / Metro, search for 'command' and instead of hitting the Enter key, use Ctrl+Shift+Enter or right-click the 'Command Prompt' icon and then click 'Run as Administrator')