Connectify Hotspot can work in Ad-Hoc mode with just about any Wi-Fi device on Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP. However, to run in Access Point mode, you must be running Windows 8 or Windows 7, and you must have a Windows 8 or Windows 7 certified network device driver for your Wi-Fi device. You have this device driver if you own any Windows 8 or Windows 7 logo certified Wi-Fi device (laptop, dongle, card, etc.). However, many older devices have also been updated with Windows 7 certified drivers.

Below is the list of devices that have been tested by Connectify, or reported by multiple users, as fully functional with Connectify Hotspot. New drivers will probably still work fine, but we do not recommend updating your drivers for Connectify Hotspot's sake if you are currently happy with Connectify Hotspot's performance, even though the chance is very small that updating a working driver will cause a problem. The following devices are known to be compatible:

• Atheros AR5xxx/AR9xxx cards, driver version 8.0.0.238
• Broadcom 4310-series (in many Dell laptops)
• Broadcom 4321AG/4322AG/43224AG WLAN Adapter, driver version 5.60.18.8 (here)
• D-link AirPlus G DWL-G510 Wireless PCI Adapter, driver version 3.0.1.0
• D-Link DWA-140 RangeBooster N USB Adapter, driver version 3.0.3.0
• Dell 1397 Mini-Card (Broadcom), 5.30.21.0 (here)
• Dell 1505 Draft N, 5.60.18.8 (here)
• Dell 1510 Wireless N adapter (Broadcom) 5.60.18.8, (here)
• Dell 1701 Wireless N adapter 6.3.0.7900 (here)
• Dell 1702 Wireless N adapter 9.2.0.412 (here)
• Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300AGN, 14.1.1.3 (here)
• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200, 13.3.0.24 (here)
• Intel Wi-Fi Link 1000, 13.3.0.24
• Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100, 13.4.0.9 (here)
• Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300, 13.5.0.6 (here)
• Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Network Adapter(WUSB600N), driver version 3.0.10.0
• Netgear 108 Mbit WG311T
• Ralink RT2870 (in many 802.11n USB dongles)
• Realtek RTL8187B  (here)
• Realtek RTL8187SE (with the drivers that came with Windows 7)
• Realtek RTL8188CE (here)
• Realtek RTL8192u with 1370 (Beta)
• Sitecom Wireless USB Adapter 54g WL-608, with Ralink RT2870 drivers, version 3.0.9.0

The following are known "abandoned" devices, believed  to lack certified Windows 7 drivers from their manufacturers. They could of course be updated at any time.

• Belkin F5D7050UK
• Belkin Wireless G MIMO devices (as of version 3.1.2.0)
• D-Link AirPlus G DWL-G122
• Gigabyte GA-WPKG 802.11g
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (support from Intel)
• Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN (support from Intel)
• Mac Book Builtin Broadcom devices
• Realtek RTL8187 (commonly found in older 802.11bg USB dongles)
• Zydas ZD1211 (also common in older 802.11bg USB dongles)

Have we missed your compatible Wi-Fi card? Would you like to report a potential compatibility issue? Please let us know. There's nothing specific for any of these cards within Connectify Hotspot -- we don't have to "add support" for your card to make Connectify Hotspot work with it. That's the purpose of the network device driver, the bit of software for your specific card that makes it work with everything else in Windows. Connectify Hotspot will fully function with a properly working Windows 7 or 8 certified driver.

Many of the compatibility problems with Connectify Hotspot are due to older drivers. If you're running Windows 7, you can still have a driver from Vista or even XP. These will handle normal Wi-Fi tasks, but they won't support an Access Point mode hotspot, only a hotspot in Ad-Hoc mode. Older Windows 7 drivers commonly contain bugs that cause your Hotspot to drop out after awhile, requiring the hotspot or even the PC to be restarted before it will work again. The fix in both cases is to ensure that Windows is fully up to date and get the very latest network drivers from your PC or Wi-Fi card company.

If you can't find new drivers, either from our links above or from your hardware vendor, you can try one of the "driver update" programs for Windows. If you have an Intel card, you can get the Intel utility for updates, which will find the latest driver for any Intel wireless device. For most others, we recommend DriverMax, a utility that is good at finding updates and not otherwise very bothersome.

While Connectify would love to support all of these older devices, it is simply not in our power to release device driver updates. Every bit of wireless hardware has internal details known only to their manufacturers. The purpose of the network device driver is to provide a standard interface to that hardware, so that programs like Connectify Hotspot do not have to be written specifically to support dozens or hundreds of different devices. If there is no Windows 7 or 8 driver for your device, only your device's provider or chip manufacturer can provide the update.