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User profile for user: Bereniece
Bereniece Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Using iMac WiFi with iPad

I have an iPad, and connect to the internet through my verizon router. I would like to connect through my iMac's WiFi. I'm not sure how to set this up. Can anyone help me? I'm not a computer pro by any stretch of the imagination, so if you could keep it really simple, I would be a happy camper. Thanks in advance.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Aug 15, 2010 11:23 AM

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8 replies
User profile for user: OrangeMarlin
OrangeMarlin
User level: Level 5
5,210 points

Aug 15, 2010 1:35 PM in response to lllaass

lllaass wrote:
To use your iMac as an wifi hot spot you have to:
1. Connect the iMac to the internet via an ethernet cable.
2. Setup internet sharing on your imac. You do this by going to Internet Sharing under the Sharing item in System Preferences, You setup you iMac like setup a wireless router


Seriously? I can use a Mac as a wireless router? I never knew this.

Does this work on a MacBook Pro? Could I go into a hotel, connect my MacBook, create a hotspot, and then use my iPad while lying on the bed? Wow.
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User profile for user: OrangeMarlin
OrangeMarlin
User level: Level 5
5,210 points

Aug 15, 2010 2:30 PM in response to lakeshore

lakeshore wrote:
http://www.macyourself.com/2009/02/23/turn-your-mac-into-a-wifi-hotspot-using-os -xs-internet-sharing/


I just did it. Amazing. And my iPad and iPhone worked perfectly.

If I'm in a hotel, I will always have my MBP, because I need to do real work on Excel and PowerPoint. I've been using the iPad with 3G, unless the hotel has a WiFi connection. I must have missed the capability along the line. There's a guy who posts on these boards whose only answer to questions is to link to the user manual. Apparently, I need to start reading user manuals.
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User profile for user: lakeshore
lakeshore
User level: Level 2
306 points

Aug 15, 2010 2:55 PM in response to OrangeMarlin

I used that method for a few weeks when I first got my iPad. I got a really strong signal too. I could walk 150 ft away in the yard, and I was still connected. But it got to be a pain because every time I went to use my iPad, I had to wake my iMac from sleep. Then I found out that Comcast gives away free wifi routers to its cable/internet customers, and that's turned out to be much more convenient, though the iMac's wifi signal definitely goes further than the Netgear's. I have a lot of security on my Netgear, so if I have visitors who want wifi, instead of going through the trouble of getting their device hooked up to my Netgear wifi, I just turn on the iMac's wifi and they're good to go instantly. It's great as a temporary backup.
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User profile for user: BobTheFisherman
BobTheFisherman
User level: Level 9
79,237 points

Aug 16, 2010 7:30 AM in response to lakeshore

lakeshore wrote:
I used that method for a few weeks when I first got my iPad. I got a really strong signal too. I could walk 150 ft away in the yard, and I was still connected. But it got to be a pain because every time I went to use my iPad, I had to wake my iMac from sleep. Then I found out that Comcast gives away free wifi routers to its cable/internet customers, and that's turned out to be much more convenient, though the iMac's wifi signal definitely goes further than the Netgear's. *I have a lot of security on my Netgear, so if I have visitors who want wifi, instead of going through the trouble of getting their device hooked up to my Netgear wifi, I just turn on the iMac's wifi and they're good to go instantly.* It's great as a temporary backup.


Am I understanding you correctly that you don't use your router's wifi connection because it is secure and you do let others use your Mac's wifi connection because it is insecure? I would want my Mac wifi secure so that others, including neighbours and those in proximity at hotels, airports, etc could not connect using my Mac.

IMHO using the router's wifi is better than using the Mac's wifi for sharing the Internet. The router is specifically designed to do that while the Mac is designed to also include the sharing capability but sharing is not the Mac's main function. And, why use your Mac;s processing power, turn it on, manage it just to share a connection?

You might want to set up a "guest" connection in your router if you want to allow insecure connections to the Internet rather than setting up an insecure connection through your Mac.
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User profile for user: lakeshore
lakeshore
User level: Level 2
306 points

Aug 16, 2010 7:39 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

My wifi router is set up so that it is available only for those devices with MAC addresses that I've registered--my iPad and my bluray player. If I have someone over at the house and they want to check their email on their iPod Touch, for example, rather than go through the trouble of registering their Touch MAC address on my router, I just turn on my iMac wifi with one click so that they can use it. Then I turn it off. It's only temporary, just for the sake of convenience.
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Using iMac WiFi with iPad

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