Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
2

The problem is that here is a router (at a cottage), which only allows 2 connections. but we need wi-fi for 8 devices. so the plan is to create another wi-fi spot to share our connection. is there a tool or tutorial for that?

share|improve this question

3 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

In order for a Mac to create a local Wi-Fi network, it needs to have a wired Internet source. So what you need to do is:

  1. Connect an Ethernet cable from the router (the wired source) to a Mac.
  2. On that Mac, choose System Preferences > Sharing.
  3. Select Internet Sharing.
  4. Choose Ethernet from the “Share your connection from” pop-up menu.
  5. Select AirPort in the “To computers using” list, then click AirPort Options and give your network a name and password.
  6. Connect the other computers to the new Wi-Fi network you just created.

If needed, there are more details on this Apple help page: Sharing your Internet connection.

share|improve this answer
up vote 2 down vote

You could do it with the built-in Sharing feature (System Preferences->Sharing), but it would require two wifi cards in the device acting as the bridge. More broadly, to my knowledge, it isn't possible to share a connection in the way you are proposing with a single wifi card (though you could extend the signal, it would still be limited to the same number of connections as that is bring managed by the original access point).

share|improve this answer
You don't need two adapters. Internet sharing works fine with a singke adapter. – Stephen Oct 16 '10 at 18:38
2  
But not from the same wi-fi you're trying to share from! Put another way - your wifi card can either be acting as a base station (which is what you do when you share through it) or it can act as a client adapter - it can't do both at the same time. – rjstreet Oct 16 '10 at 18:39
up vote 0 down vote

Yes you can use Internet sharing with a single WiFi connection. Just enable it from the System Preferences. (The previous poster is wrong. I did this at my Mom's house to allow iPad and iPhone use and it worked fine.)

share|improve this answer
At least on my machine, if you choose System Preferences > Sharing > Internet Sharing and then select "Share your connection from AirPort," the only options are Bluetooth and Ethernet. So no, an incoming Wi-Fi connection cannot be turned into an outgoing Wi-Fi connection. – Dori Oct 16 '10 at 23:42
1  
I'm afraid I'm pretty skeptical. What were your selection is the "Share your connections from" and "to computers using" fields? – rjstreet Oct 17 '10 at 19:49
One possibility: my Mom's still using Tiger, so maybe that's something that changed in Leopard or Snow Leopard. It is true that when I enabled the sharing over WiFi, OS X showed a warning that I might be violating the terms of service of my ISP. Sounds like the ISPs have successfully lobbied Apple to remove the option. – Stephen Nov 8 '10 at 15:43

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.