How to connect Macs wirelessly

Have you ever wanted to connect two Macs wirelessly so that you could share files among them and more importantly share the internet connection? We discuss the simple steps you need to follow to achieve the task with ease. So lets begin.

Step 1 : Turn on Airport feature

Firstly, you need to turn on the Airport feature on both the Macs that you wish to connect. This can be done by clicking on the Airport icon found on the Apple menu bar at the right hand corner.

Step 2 : Create a host

A host needs to be defined which will broadcast the network, so that other Mac can connect to that network. If you wish to share internet between them, then you need to define the host as the one which has direct internet connectivity. Once you have chosen the host, click on Airport icon and select “Create a network..” from the drop-down options.

Step 3 : Define host network

Enter any name of the network which will be used as SSID which is the network name that is broadcasted. You will notice that there is a checkbox for password. Tick the box if you wish to password protect your wireless network that you will be broadcasting.

Step 4 : Choose a password

If you ticked the require password in the last step, then you need to enter the password for the network. the length of the password depends on the security level you choose. For a 40-bit encryption, you need to enter 5-character long password while for a 128-bit one, the length is 13-characters. If you will be connecting other devices also to this network then make sure all of them support the chosen encryption level. After defining a password, click OK.

Step 5 : Connect to the network

After completing the last step, you would notice a change in the appearance of the Airport icon which indicates that that it is now broadcasting your network successfully. Now click on Airport icon on the other Mac and you would notice the network name listed. Click on it to connect to the network. You have now successfully connected both the Macs.

Step 6 : Turn File Sharing On

In your Mac system preferences, under the Sharing tab, you will find the “File Sharing” option. Enable File Sharing to share your files across the network. You would now be able to share file seamlessly across both computers.