Connectify Hotspot is an easy to use software router for Windows computers that utilizes your PC’s built in Wi-Fi card to wirelessly share any available Internet connection with friends, co-workers, and mobile devices.
Connectify Vision:
Connectify is a cutting-edge software suite that helps users stay connected across their various devices and network connections. The Connectify suite gives users everything they need to stay connected whether at home or on-the-go. From Internet connection sharing, to one-click Wi-Fi boost, and now offering cutting-edge connection aggregation technology, it’s no wonder Connectify is the number one wireless networking software worldwide.
With Connectify, today’s click-of-a-button Internet connection sharing capabilities meet tomorrow’s innovation, letting users draw on the speed of multiple Internet connections in an unprecedented way, while offering a platform to share and collaborate.
And while users carry yet another Wi-Fi capable device and encounter an ever-increasing number of networks in their daily lives, Connectify’s mission is simple: take the Internet, and make it work better.
More about our flagship product, Connectify Hotspot:Connectify Hotspot is easy-to-use hotspot software router (softap) for Windows computers that utilizes your PC’s built-in Wi-Fi card to wirelessly share any available Internet connection with friends, co-workers, and mobile devices. Other Wi-Fi-enabled devices can see and join your hotspot just like any other Wi-Fi access point and are kept safe-and-secure by password-protected WPA2 Encryption.
With Connectify Hotspot users can share 3G connections, 4G Internet connections, and even share a Wi-Fi network that charges per device with all of their other mobile devices, while paying for access on just one laptop.
Connectify Hotspot PRO, which can be purchased by navigating to our store, offers end-users the most feature-rich Wi-Fi networking experience available today. PRO users enjoy customizable SSID naming, one click Wi-Fi boost and repeater functionality, file-sharing between devices over Wi-Fi, and a host of other powerful features, all within the easy-to-use Connectify Hotspot interface. With Connectify Lite, users enjoy a fully-functional, basic hotspot creation capability, and are encouraged throughout the user experience to take advantage of the latest features available in Connectify PRO.
How does Connectify Hotspot work?
Connectify Hotspot turns your computer into a real Wi-Fi router. Thanks to the “Virtual Wi-Fi” technology that is built into Windows 7 and Windows 8, your Windows laptop can create a Wi-Fi hotspot, even while it stays connected to another Wi-Fi network. However, Connectify Hotspot is a lot more than just a wrapper around these command-line tools. Connectify Hotspot is a full suite of powerful routing software (NAT, DNS, and DHCP) to let you share any Internet connection with any device that uses Wi-Fi. Much more powerful, and easier to use than the “Internet Connection Sharing” (ICS) that comes with Windows, Connectify Hotspot is a real router, with features that no one else can offer.
Why Connectify Hotspot is #1 in Wireless Networking:
Today, there are a number of products available to users who wish to create and share Wi-Fi access points. As consumers demand more control over their wireless networks than ever before, both hardware and software solutions have been developed to address their needs. Connectify Hotspot occupies a unique space amongst these various products.
While certain hardware devices like Novatel’s MiFi, offer mobile hotspot functionality, they are increasingly being viewed as another unnecessary device that users must pay a monthly fee for, and carry with them. On the other hand, almost all of the Wi-Fi access point software available today is, at best, difficult-to-use. With complex UIs filled with networking jargon (or in some cases merely a command-line interface), these products are best-suited for IT managers and Linux-gurus. With Connectify Hotspot, users have the best of both worlds: an easy-to-use software router, that gives anyone the power to create and share Wi-Fi access points and much more, all at the click-of-a-button.
Does my PC already have a hotspot feature?
Microsoft built several utilities into Windows 7 that could be used to cobble together a virtual hotspot. Leveraging Internet Connections Sharing (ICS), Hosted Network, and Virtual Wi-Fi, advanced Windows users could turn a PC into a wireless hotspot. However, this is essentially an unfinished proof-of-concept.
The Hosted Network and Virtual Wi-Fi components have no user interfaces, and can only be controlled by an adminstrator via the “netsh” command-line tool. And unlike Connectify Hotspot, these utilities do not tell users when someone has joined their network, cannot tell the name or IP addresses of connected machines, and cease to function if the machine goes into sleep or hibernation mode. Microsoft has made no visible improvements to the ICS component since Windows XP, and the Internet Connection Sharing feature does not support many modern 3G and 4G devices.
These are just a few of the reasons that millions of users around the world have decided to stop messing around with netsh and hostednetwork, download Connectify Hotspot, and get a real, working hotspot up-and-running in 5 minutes or less.
Does Connectify Hotspot require any specific Wi-Fi card or other hardware?
Connectify Hotspot runs in two modes: Ad Hoc Mode and Access Point Mode. Access Point mode allows you to create a hotspot using the same Wi-Fi card that you are using to access the Internet. In contrast, Ad Hoc mode requires the Internet connection to come from a separate card or device such as an Ethernet card, 3G/4G modem, or a second Wi-Fi card in your computer.
Connectify Hotspot can work in Ad-Hoc mode with just about any Wi-Fi device on Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP. However, to run in Access Point mode, you must be running Windows 7 or later, and you must have a Windows 7 or 8-certified network device driver for your Wi-Fi device. You have this device driver if you own any Windows 7 or Windows 8 logo certified Wi-Fi device (laptop, dongle, card, etc.). However, many older devices have also been updated with certified drivers. In order to take advantage of Connectify Hotspot’s Wi-Fi boost / repeater functionality, please ensure that you are running Connectify Hotspot in Access Point mode.
Below is a list of devices that have been tested by Connectify, or reported by multiple users, as fully-functional with Connectify Hotspot:
Atheros AR5xxx/AR9xxx cards, driver version 8.0.0.238
Broadcom 4310-series (in many Dell laptops)
Broadcom 4321AG/4322AG/43224AG WLAN Adapter, driver version 5.60.18.8 (here)
D-link AirPlus G DWL-G510 Wireless PCI Adapter, driver version 3.0.1.0
D-Link DWA-140 RangeBooster N USB Adapter, driver version 3.0.3.0
Dell 1397 Mini-Card (Broadcom), 5.30.21.0 (here)
Dell 1505 Draft N, 5.60.18.8 (here)
Dell 1510 Wireless N adapter (Broadcom) 5.60.18.8, (here)
Dell 1701 Wireless N adapter 6.3.0.7900 (here)
Dell 1702 Wireless N adapter 9.2.0.412 (here)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300AGN, 14.1.1.3 (here)
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200, 13.3.0.24 (here)
Intel Wi-Fi Link 1000, 13.3.0.24
Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100, 13.4.0.9 (here)
Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300, 13.5.0.6
Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Network Adapter(WUSB600N), driver version 3.0.10.0
Netgear 108 Mbit WG311T
Ralink RT2870 (in many 802.11n USB dongles)
Realtek RTL8187B (here)
Realtek RTL8187SE (with the drivers that came with Windows 7)
Realtek RTL8188CE (here)
Realtek RTL8192u with 1370 (Beta)
Sitecom Wireless USB Adapter 54g WL-608, with Ralink RT2870 drivers, version 3.0.9.0
