Connect All Your Gear From One Wi-Fi Hotspot

Wireless providers typically sell you a connection for one device. Yet your mobile lifestyle requires you to connect all of your devices. Here’s a guide to get your gear connected from a single hotspot.

Though 3G and 4G Internet is all about mobility, most providers try to sell you just a single adapter or service to just one phone. However, you don’t have to tie yourself down to using just one laptop or device. We’re going to discuss a couple of solutions to get that single connection shared among multiple devices and/or users.

You certainly won’t need to buy a 3G/4G subscription for each device. First, we’ll discuss techniques that try to use tools you already have to keep the cost down. Then we’ll look at true mobile routers, specifically designed for this application.

Create a wireless hosted network in Windows 7

If you have a 3G/4G adapter and you or someone else nearby has a laptop loaded with Windows 7, you can make use of a new feature and create what Microsoft calls a wireless hosted network. It’s basically a virtual wireless router. Since the Windows 7 machine must always be on to share the mobile Internet, this technique might be best for just temporary or occasional use.

First, you’ll want to plug in the 3G/4G adapter into the Windows 7 notebook and make sure you can browse the Internet. Then you can setup up a hosted wireless network. You choose a network name and encryption password, and it will look just like a regular Wi-Fi network to other wireless laptops, phones and devices. The best part is that the one hosting the network can share its Internet access, even a 3G or 4G connection.

You can download a third-party GUI, like Connectify, or manually create and manage the wireless hosted network via a Command Prompt.

Read the rest at Practically Networked.