Internet Connection Sharing in macOS

Software
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I’m spending my first night in a new apartment. When I got here, I found that it has one bar of cell service with Verizon. Since I wanted to use my iPad to give my parents a FaceTime tour before the apartment was entirely filled with boxes, this was kind of a problem.

The apartment has Google Fiber, but none of the hardware has arrived yet, just the permanently installed box that turns the fiber connection into Ethernet. However, in addition to my iPad I’ve got a old MacBook Pro, with a Thunderbolt Ethernet dongle. macOS has the ability to take an Ethernet internet connection and share it via WiFi (System Preferences → Sharing, check the Internet Sharing box and tick the box next to WiFi).

The MacBook Pro was able to get gigabit speeds via the dongle. The WiFi connection to the iPad was kind of flaky, especially in the more distant parts of the apartment (a 2012 MacBook Pro is not exactly a state-of-the-art WiFi AP) but it got the job done until I tried to go out on the balcony and put an exterior wall between the iPad and the laptop.

I figure pressing my laptop into service as a wireless access point is a pretty Mac Power Users move. :grin:

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Good times! Las time I did this was around late 2000’s. I forgot that we could do this back then. I agree that it is indeed a Mac Power User move!

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This is a neat solution. Kind of related – WiFi calling on the iPhone is a lifesaver when in a place where the carrier has poor or no service. I use it when visiting relatives in the boonies who have great broadband but zero cell coverage.

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