Edimax provides new drivers for each macOS update, though it can take months-the Catalina updated appeared only in February 2020. The Edimax EW-7822ULC 802.11ac/Wi-Fi 5 adapter ($20) is one we’ve recommended for years for people whose Wi-Fi has failed or who had Macs with older flavors of Wi-Fi. There are a couple of ways around this, though, if it’s a common problem for you:Īdd a second Wi-Fi adapter to your Mac. (This is technically possible: it’s called VLAN for virtual LAN, and it’s used widely in corporate and large-scale public Wi-Fi deployments.) In cases in which only Wi-Fi is available and you’re trying to share that, Apple prevents sharing Wi-Fi over Wi-Fi, because Macs lack the built-in ability to operate two separately named networks on the same hardware. Some hotels and other providers use techniques to block sharing, such as attempting to track certain telltales that multiple machines are accessing the same service, so there is that. This warning one is text heavy, and ends with “Contact your system administrator before turning on Internet sharing”!)Īfter clicking Start, the network service will be shared via Wi-Fi just as if the Mac were a Wi-Fi gateway. (You can sometimes tell when Apple hasn’t updated a dialog box in a long time. Set Wi-Fi controls for sharing access via your Mac. When asked if you want to turn it on click Start. Select the On box next to Internet Sharing. Using the higher-numbered channels allows for better throughput but shorter range, something that’s not an issue over short distances. In the Sharing preference pane, select Internet Sharing.įrom the “Share your connection from” pop-up menu, select your Ethernet adapter.Ĭlick the Wi-Fi Options button in the bottom of the pane.Ĭonfigure options, such as the network name, channel, and password. If so, and you’ve brought an ethernet adapter for your Mac or have ethernet built, you can connect that way. If you’re in a hotel, for instance, they may charge a fee per device for access but often an ethernet connection is offered as one way of plugging in. Internet Sharing lets you take any incoming network connection and share it with one more outgoing ones.
It remains a powerful option, especially when you need to connect multiple devices and cellular isn’t an option-you’ve run out of Personal Hotspot data on your plan, for instance-or it’s a slow or expensive one. Apple built Internet Sharing into macOS years ago, when personal hotspots and ubiquitous high-speed cellular data access was non-existent.