3 Ways to Create Wifi Hotspot in Ubuntu 14.04 (Android Support)

Dear readers, I’ve found a new way to create wireless hotspot in Ubuntu, AP mode with Android devices support, using Unity’s Network Manager.

After this tutorial, I’ve found 3 ways to create wifi hotspot in ap mode:

1. Using Ap-hotspot, an open-source app from github: see this post.
2. Using KDE connection editor, see the post.
3. Using Unity’s Default Network Manager with a little hack. See below

Below I will show you how to use Unity’s default network manager to create a wireless hotspot with Android devices support, tested in 64-bit Ubuntu 1404 with Nexus 4 and Sumsung Galaxy ace3.

1. Disable WIFI and plug in an internet cable to your laptop so that your Ubuntu is connect to a wired internet and wireless is disabled.

2. Go to Network Icon on top panel -> Edit Connections …, then click the Add button in the pop-up window.

3. Choose Wi-Fi from the drop-down menu when you’re asked to choose a connection type:

4. In next window, do:

• Type in a connection name. The name will be used later.
• Type in a SSID
• Select mode: Infrastructure
• Device MAC address: select your wireless card from drop-down menu.

5. Go to Wi-Fi Security tab, select security type WPA & WPA2 Personal and set a password.

6. Go to IPv4 Settings tab, from Method drop-down box select Shared to other computers.

When done, click the save button.

After above steps, a configuration file created under /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections directory. File name is same to the connection name you typed in step 4.

Now press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, paste the commands below and hit enter to edit the configuration file:

gksu gedit /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/wifi-hotspot

Replace wifi-hotspt with the connection name you typed in step 4.

When the file opens, find out the line mode=infrastructure and change it to mode=ap. Finally save the file.

When everything’s done, enable WIFI from Network Manager icon on the panel. It should automatically connect to the hotspot you created. If not, select “Connect to Hidden Wi-Fi Network …” and select it from the drop-down box.

Now you can search and connect the access point from your Android mobile and enjoy!

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