Can my Macbook serve as a wifi router or "Share an internet connection" that doesn't exist?

Question

Level 1

75 points

Can my Macbook serve as a wifi router or "Share an internet connection" that doesn't exist?

On jobsites I need to have a wifi network to view and communicate with a wifi camera. I used to be able to just set the Macbook to Share an Ethernet internet connection via wifi until I updated to Lion (10.7) a week or so ago. Now I can't get it to work. I can setup an AdHoc network but these devices can't connect to an Adhoc network, they need the network setting that AdHoc doesn't supply. Any ideas how I can trick my Macbook into doing what I need without buying, carting around and having to find power for a separate wifi router?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Nov 10, 2011 4:26 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,829 points

Nov 10, 2011 7:09 PM in response to LanceGH

The Internet Sharing option is still available with Lion. You access this option from System Preferences > Sharing > Internet Sharing

Reply

Answer 2

LanceGH Author

Level 1

75 points

Nov 10, 2011 7:48 PM in response to Tesserax

Yes it is, but it won't share if you don't actually have a real connection to the internet. Before it would. When I'm on job I can't plug into someones ethernet and get a connection to share. Just to be clear, I don't need to get to the internet, I need to run a network so that other wifi devices can connect and communicate.

Reply

Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

148,829 points

Nov 10, 2011 7:56 PM in response to LanceGH

Yes it is, but it won't share if you don't actually have a real connection to the internet.

That is how Internet Sharing is supposed to work. That is, your Mac would need to have an active Internet connection, either by wire or wireless, before it can share it out. The other option, an Ad-hoc network is the one that doesn't.

Reply

Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

141,460 points

Nov 10, 2011 8:32 PM in response to LanceGH

I used to be able to just set the Macbook to Share an Ethernet internet connection via wifi until I updated to Lion (10.7) a week or so ago.

I don't have the answer but how did sharing help you connect to your camera? To my knowledge Internet Sharing is meant to share an Internet connection, which you didn't have...?

What "network setting" do the other devices need, that is preventing them from connecting to your ad-hoc network? It seems to me an ad-hoc network is what you need, so perhaps that's something that can be fixed.

Reply

Answer 5

LanceGH Author

Level 1

75 points

Nov 10, 2011 9:54 PM in response to John Galt

When I setup an Ad Hoc network it takes forever and a day to give out addresses to connected devices and then only the first 2, not the router address. The camera also refuses to use the subnet address for the Ad Hoc network which it considers illegal.

Similarly my iPhone 4S can't connect to the Ad Hoc network, it starts to but never finishes. I can only imagine that only certain devices are equiped to use such a network, those that normally need to.

Reply