How to organize the simultaneous distribution of the Internet from a laptop via Wi-Fi and LAN (on cable)?

Hi. Thank you for your site – very helpful.

The essence of the problem. Small rural store, internet via modem with external antenna, router is a laptop. Need to connect POS-terminal via LAN. This part works. But need distribution of wi-fi. I installed the program mHotSpot. There is a problem – either LAN network connects to the Internet, or mHotSpot (but then there is no Internet in the network with the trading terminal). In this case, the network access in the phone connection fails, you need to reconnect it. How can I make Wi-Fi distribution work with a wired network connection? I would be very grateful if you can suggest a solution. Thank you.

Answer

Hello. I understand your question and task. Yes, you can distribute Wi-Fi from the laptop and when the laptop is connected to the internet via USB modem, you can connect some device to it via network cable. In your case it is a terminal. I connected a router, which already further distributed the Internet via Wi-Fi and cable. And this is a very good solution in your case.

I am somehow sure that it is impossible to share an Internet connection (in our case via USB modem) simultaneously for two connections (LAN (I understand in bridge mode) and virtual Wi-Fi network). The problem is most likely in IP-addresses. You’ve already seen it yourself, when we share a Wi-Fi network – the LAN connection fails. There may be some tricky solutions, but it is unlikely.

And I think that in your case it is better to connect a Wi-Fi router instead of a terminal. Even if it is a budget router. The laptop will transmit Internet via cable to the router, and from the router by cable to the terminal. And the router will distribute wi-fi. There will be no need to start wi-fi distribution from the laptop. In addition, virtual Wi-Fi network is not always stable.

And even better – buy a router with support for USB 3G/4G modems. Ideally, of course, the router should support the modem you already have. Connect the modem to the USB-port of the router, configure it all and get from the router interne by cable and wi-fi. A simple scheme without unnecessary devices and settings. Article that may be useful to you: wi-fi router for USB 3G/4G modem. How to choose the right one. There are even routers with built-in modems. Just insert the SIM card and get the Internet.

Believe me, it is better to spend 15-30 dollars on a router than to use a laptop to distribute the Internet. You will set up everything and forget. Especially if you have a store. You need everything to work stably. Especially the terminal.