If you are in a hotel room with only a single Ethernet cable, or you have paid for a premium Wi-Fi connection on your Mac and want to share it with your iPhone and iPad for free, you can turn your MacBook or iMac into a wireless router. macOS includes a built-in feature called “Internet Sharing” that broadcasts a custom Wi-Fi network right from your computer.
How to Enable Internet Sharing (macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and Later)
- Click the Apple menu () and select System Settings.
- In the left sidebar, click on General, then click Sharing on the right side.
- Scroll down the list until you see Internet Sharing.
- Before turning it on, click the small Info (i) button next to the Internet Sharing toggle.
- In the “Share your connection from” dropdown menu, select the source of your internet (for example, Ethernet if you are plugged into the wall).
- In the “To devices using” list below, check the box next to Wi-Fi.
- Click the Wi-Fi Options… button. Here you can name your new network, set the security to WPA3 or WPA2, and create a strong password so strangers cannot join. Click OK.
- Click Done to close the info panel.
- Finally, click the toggle switch next to Internet Sharing to turn it on.
A Warning About Wi-Fi Limitations
Your Mac only has one Wi-Fi antenna inside it. It cannot connect to a Wi-Fi network and broadcast a Wi-Fi hotspot at the exact same time.
- If you want to broadcast a Wi-Fi hotspot, your Mac must be getting its internet from an Ethernet cable or a tethered iPhone.
- If your Mac is connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to share that connection, you must share it via a physical cable (like plugging your iPad into your Mac via USB).