Enable Ad Hoc Wireless Internet Connection in Windows 8

Introduction

Windows 8 comes with many new features, such as the Metro Start Screen, Windows Explorer, a new Task Manager and also the Windows Store. But if you are a power user, you might have noticed that there is not an option to create an Ad-Hoc connection in Windows 8. Windows 7 did have an option to set up Wireless Ad-Hoc connections but that is missing in Windows 8. Although there is no direct option in network settings, you can still enable and use an Ad-Hoc connection in Windows 8.

In this article we are explaining how to create a wireless Ad-Hoc connection to Internet Connection Sharing in Windows 8. An Ad-Hoc network is a Local Area Network you can build spontaneously in a pinch. It allows computers and devices to communicate directly with each other within a small radius. The ability to create an Ad-Hoc network has been possible since XP and is a way to quickly share data and an Internet connection to other wireless devices.

How to create a wireless Ad-Hoc connection in Windows 8

Step 1

Open a command prompt window as Administrator and type in the following command and press Enter. In the following command you can create your own value for the SSID and key.

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=AdHoc key=password

Step 2

Now start the network. Type the following command and press Enter:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Step 3

After starting the network go to the search box and type "ncpa.cpl" and click on the application that appears in the result window.

Step 4

Now right-click on the existing Wi-Fi network connection and select "Properties".

Step 5

Go to the sharing tab and select "Allow other network user to connect through this computer's internet connection" and click on "OK".

Step 5

Now you will see wireless Ad-Hoc connection.

Step 6

If you want to stop a wireless Ad-Hoc connection then open the command prompt as administrator and type the following command and press Enter:

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork