.. _wifi-tethering:

Wi-Fi Tethering
---------------

It may be beneficial to use the gateway as a router for tethering and sharing a cellular or wired internet connection over Wi-Fi. Setting up the gateway to act as a hotspot can be done in a few simple steps.

Prerequisites
""""""""""""""""

The gateway must already be configured with a working cellular or wired internet connection. Additionally, ensure that your gateway's system configuration supports Wi-Fi. Some variants of the gateway do not come pre-installed with a Wi-Fi chipset. In devices with more than one Wi-Fi interface, the desired one should be chosen for sharing; in this example, this interface shall be ``wlan0``.


Steps
""""""

1. Delete any existing connections defined in ``NetworkManager`` that relate to the Wi-Fi (``wlan0``) interface. In some cases, NetworkManager may ship with an automatic connection named *Wireless Connection 1* or similar. To check existing connections related to ``wlan0``, use ``nmcli con show | grep wlan0``. Then, delete any existing connections using ``nmcli con delete "Wireless Connection 1"``. Note that if the name contains a space, it must be enclosed in double-quotes.

2. Set up a new connection for tethering (replace *my_hotspot* with the desired name (SSID) for your wireless hotspot and *wifitether* with any desired connection name):

   .. code:: console

       $ nmcli con add type wifi ifname wlan0 con-name wifitether ssid my_hotspot

3. Set the wireless mode correctly for your connection:

   .. code:: console

       $ nmcli con modify wifitether 802-11-wireless.mode ap ipv4.method shared

4. Set the desired authentication mode:

   .. code:: console

       $ nmcli con modify wifitether wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk

5. Set a password for the new hotspot (replace *my_secure_password* with the desired password for your wireless hotspot):

   .. code:: console

       $ nmcli con modify wifitether wifi-sec.psk my_secure_password

6. Bring up the connection:

   .. code:: console

       $ nmcli con up wifitether

7. Connect to the newly created Wi-Fi network from a compatible device. The gateway will automatically set up the required firewall, IP routing, DHCP, etc., for tethering to work seamlessly.