Use your Windows Phone 8 device as a WiFi Hotspot

Edited by Batkingnz, Lynn, estrella sacragon, sheryl hernandez and 6 others

5 Parts:
Instructions
Tips Tricks & Warnings
How to Protect Your WiFi Hotspot
Questions and Answers
Comments
Checking out their new Windows Phone 7 Devices.jpg

As with many Smartphones today; Windows Phone 8 devices are able to create a WiFi hotspot to share your mobile data connection.

In many cases when traveling, this will be a feature that you will want to use often. It's convenient and it's actually not that expensive. In addition, this can be helpful when you're away from your home or office and you want to get online with your Laptop, Tablet or other device.

Follow the instructions below to get up and running in just a few swipes and button presses.

Instructions

  1. 1
    From the menu, select "Settings", and then "Cellular" and ensure that your data connection is set to on.
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  2. 2
    Go back to the settings menu and choose internet sharing
    .
    Set internet sharing to on. You will see here a broadcast name and a password. These are unique and are generated on your initial phone setup. It's a good idea to change these to something more familiar. You can do this by pressing "Setup".
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  3. 3
    Once you have chosen a name and password you're done
    !
    Confirm the settings by ticking in the tick box, and you can now enjoy your data connection through your own WiFi hotspot. Remember that you will need to know the broadcast name and password to connect from another device.
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Julian WP8InternetSharing 01.png

Tips Tricks & Warnings

  • "Connection not shared". If you see this message, just follow Step 1 to ensure that your data connection is on.
  • Compatibility. Without getting too technical, internet sharing uses a type of "ad-hoc" WiFi network. Some devices will not be able to connect to this type of network.

How to Protect Your WiFi Hotspot

  1. 1
    Create a strong password
    .
    This is especially the case if you intend to use your WiFi hotspot in public places such as cafes, airports, hotel lobbies, malls, and the like. If you are using very generic passwords, the people around you can easily guess and they can immediately hook up into your hotspot. Not only will this slow down your connection, it may also pose some threat to your security, especially if hackers manage to invade into your network.
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  • 2
    Check regularly who are hooked up into your network
    .
    There are ways to check as well who are actually using your network without any permission. It is also possible to kick them out. You have to do this to ensure that you are not sharing your network to potential threats. This is especially the case when you are accessing sensitive information through your phone, such as banks or when you an online purchase through your credit card.
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  • 3
    Share only to those you trust
    .
    WiFi hotspots are ideally used on a personal basis, such as when you would like your other devices to have internet connection as well. It is ideally not shared, and especially not to people that you don't know well enough. Do not just give out your WiFi hotspot password to anyone around you.
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  • 4
    Turn it off when you don't use it
    .
    Not only will turning it off save your battery, it will also avoid random people from connecting to your network. Also, it will avoid unnecessary remote communications with other devices that may not be safe.
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  • 5
    Limit the number of devices attached to it to the ones that are only necessary
    .
    If you allow too many device to connect to your WiFi hotspot, you will notice that it will significantly slow down your internet connection. Make sure that you carefully consider what to allow access to and that they are at your topmost priority.
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  • 6
    Regularly change your password
    .
    If you use only one password for a long period of time, the chances of someone else getting to figure it out will be high. Change your password at least every month in order to keep it as random as possible.
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    • Questions and Answers

    I am using Windows 8 on my laptop and can not create a hotspot?

    A week ago my hotspot was working just fine, and now I can not make it. I think I somehow switched those drivers off and now I can not figure it out. Please help me out.

    Update or enable your WiFi drivers.

    1. 1
      Go to the web site of the manufacturer of your laptop
      .
      Find the support section and download WiFi drivers for your specific laptop model. You may need to unpack the drivers to a folder.
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    2. 2
      Press the Windows key and type "device manager"
      .
      Press "Enter".
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    3. 3
      Locate your WiFi device on the list by expanding menu items
      .
      It can be in "Network adapters".
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    4. 4
      Right-click the device.
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    5. 5
      Select "Enable" if the device was disabled.
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    6. 6
      Select "Update Driver Software".
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    7. 7
      Click "Search automatically for updated driver software" if you did not download any drivers
      .
      Otherwise, click "Browse my computer for driver software" and indicate the folder where you have unpacked drivers from step 1.
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    Enable the Internet sharing, if available.

    1. 1
      Press the Windows key.
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    2. 2
      Type "view network connections"
      .
      Press "Enter'.
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    3. 3
      Right-click the network that provides the Internet to your computer.
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    4. 4
      Click "Properties".
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    5. 5
      Click the "Sharing" tab.
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    6. 6
      Enable "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection".
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    Start the network.

    1. 1
      Press the Windows key.
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    2. 2
      Type "cmd"
      .
      Press "Enter".
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    3. 3
      In Command Prompt, type "netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=VisiHow1 key=VisiHow".
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    4. 4
      Type "netsh wlan start hostednetwork".
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    5. 5
      The other method of steps 1-4 is to download Virtual Router
      .
      Launch it. Enter the name of the network and its password. Select the shared correction network with the Internet connection from the drop-down menu. Start the router by clicking the "Start Virtual Router" button.
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    If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

    Comments

    Article Info

    Categories : Hardware

    Recent edits by: sahildeepbanga, Alma, Christine dela Cruz

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