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I have demo that I want to conduct and it requires two computers, the place where I am doing the demo will not have a router available for said demo.

Is it possible to configure two MacBook Pro's to communicate with each other directly over wifi without having a router involved?

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Do you need an internet connection too? – duci9y Nov 28 '12 at 17:12
I don't need an internet connection, just the computer to be connected with each other for the demo. – ams Nov 28 '12 at 21:11

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

On one - click the Wi-Fi symbol in the menu bar and create a network.

On the other - join that network.

This is covered in detail in the Mac help under "Create a computer-to-computer network". You can also just connect them with Ethernet, FireWire but Wi-Fi is faster to set up and tear down.

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If you connect them together via Ethernet make sure you have a crossover cable. A regular Ethernet cable will not work. – HairOfTheDog Nov 28 '12 at 18:32
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@HairoftheDog You don't need a crossover cable, but it won't hurt either. Mac ethernet ports all support auto-crossover since about 15 years ago... – Mark Cohen Nov 28 '12 at 20:24
up vote 1 down vote

Not sure about wifi but with mountain lion you can network using bluetooth, from apple

"Bluetooth lets you make short-range wireless connections between desktop and portable computers, mobile phones, headsets, printers, digital cameras, keyboards, and even a computer mouse."

"You can wirelessly transfer files between computers—even Mac to PC—using the Bluetooth File Exchange utility. You can even browse selected devices and retrieve files remotely. For extra security, you can stipulate that only trusted devices be allowed to connect to your Mac, and 128-bit over-the-air encryption is also available."

Link to the full article found below.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10560

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This is true, but it's much easier to create a computer-to-computer WiFi network by clicking in the menu bar on the Airport symbol and entering a name/channel/security info for the new network. – bmike♦ Nov 28 '12 at 17:54
Bluetooth is also very simple if you have the bluetooth icon in the menu bar (I used this for years with dumb and simi smart phones) one click to share files or browse devises, including other computers, then four digit code to accept connection on other device. I – rclyde Dec 2 '12 at 8:04
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I've been using Mac's since os6.xx sadly I can't remember when I started using wifi or bluetooth, but I did use bluetooth early on because I had no need for a wifi network can you remember 14.4 dial-up. Old habits hard to forget. Not sure but wifi should be much faster but easier not so sure. – rclyde Dec 2 '12 at 8:22
I perhaps should have said that WiFi benefits from one click to get to the settings (and better one click to join on the joining Mac), no pairing and longer range / seriously faster speeds over bluetooth. BT has it's uses - but wouldn't be my first choice even if it gets the job done admirably. +1 for since it works and sometimes you don't want WiFi or long range. – bmike♦ Dec 2 '12 at 13:40
up vote 0 down vote

You can simply use an ethernet cable between two macbooks. The ethernet port supports auto-crossover.

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