What do Connectify Hotspot's start errors mean?

When you click Start hotspot, Connectify Hotspot first checks your settings and your PC's network adapters. If something stops the hotspot from starting, it shows an error in a red banner at the top of the window. The banner has a Dismiss button and, for some errors, a Launch Help button that opens the support article for that error.

Before Connectify Hotspot 2017, the built-in Troubleshooter could report "NAT errors" such as "The NAT is not running". Current versions don't show these. If your hotspot won't start, Connectify Hotspot 27 tells you why in the banner, and here is what each message means, grouped by the title at the end of the banner.

Network adapter problem

These errors start with "Could not start the hotspot because of a problem with this PC's network adapters:". Your settings are fine, but something about your PC's network adapters has to change first.

• "A Wi-Fi hotspot or Wi-Fi repeater needs a Wi-Fi adapter that supports AP mode. Please enable your Wi-Fi adapter or add a USB Wi-Fi adapter. Turn off Airplane mode if it's on."

  Connectify Hotspot can't find a Wi-Fi adapter to create a Wi-Fi hotspot or Wi-Fi repeater with. See Connectify Hotspot does not detect a Wi-Fi Adapter.

• "Your Wi-Fi adapter does not support AP mode. Please try updating the drivers for your Wi-Fi adapter"

  Your Wi-Fi adapter's driver can't host a hotspot. See Your Wi-Fi adapter does not support AP mode.

• "The Connectify LightWeight Filter driver is disabled on adapter. Go to Help and account > Network connections, click Open, and turn it on in adapter's Properties."

  The driver Connectify Hotspot uses to share your internet is turned off on that adapter. See Connectify Filter Driver Is Disabled.

• "A wired router needs an Ethernet port to share over. Please enable your wired adapter or add a USB Ethernet adapter."

  Wired router needs an Ethernet port to share over, and Connectify Hotspot can't find one. See How to share your internet via Ethernet using Connectify Hotspot.

Invalid settings

These errors start with "Could not stop/start Hotspot because of invalid settings:". Change the setting the error names, then click Start hotspot again.

• "Please pick a name for your Wi-Fi network (up to 32 bytes)"

  The Hotspot name is empty. Type a name for your hotspot. (A name longer than 32 bytes is shortened to fit, and emoji and accented letters take more than one byte each.)

• "An 8-63 character password is required.", "The password must have at least 8 characters." or "Password contains invalid character: 'character'"

  Your hotspot's Password must be 8 to 63 characters long, using letters, numbers and common symbols.

• "No Internet connection selected"

  Choose a connection under Internet to share. See What should I choose for 'Internet to Share'?

• "The Internet connection you chose is not on this computer right now. It will be used again when it comes back, or you can choose another one."

  The connection saved under Internet to share isn't on your PC at the moment, for example a phone or USB dongle that is unplugged. Reconnect it, or choose another one.

• "While Speedify is connected, sharing connection cannot work: its name lookups only answer inside the Speedify tunnel. Choose Speedify or Automatic as the Internet to share, or disconnect Speedify."

  Do what the message says: choose Speedify or Automatic under Internet to share, or disconnect Speedify first.

• "No Device Selected" or "Wired router mode does not support sharing Internet from the 'Share over' device"

  In Wired router mode, choose the Ethernet port your devices plug into under Share over. It can't be the same connection as Internet to share. See The 'Share over' adapter you selected is connected to the internet.

• "Bridged mode needs one connection to share, not Automatic. Choose one under Internet to share, or choose Routed.", "Bridged mode needs a connection to share. Choose one under Internet to share, or choose Routed.", "Bridging is not available with Speedify", "Bridging is not available because the selected adapter is disconnected/disabled/not working" or "Bridging is not available on 3G/4G/Dialup connections"

  Bridged network access can't be used with that Internet to share. Choose a different connection, or set Network access to Routed. See What is the Difference Between Routed and Bridged Network Access?

• "Connectify can only repeat WPA or WPA2 encrypted Wi-Fi networks that Windows has connected to." or "You must select a network to repeat"

  In Wi-Fi repeater mode, choose a network under Wi-Fi network to repeat. Only WPA or WPA2 networks your PC has connected to before are listed. See How do I use Wi-Fi Repeater Mode?

• A description of a mode followed by "(PRO/MAX feature)" or "(MAX feature)"

  Your edition doesn't include that mode. Wired router needs Hotspot PRO or MAX, and Wi-Fi repeater and Bridged network access need Hotspot MAX. See What is the difference between Hotspot PRO and MAX.

Connectify blocked

• "Connectify is not able to function correctly, because another piece of software is blocking Connectify. It is most likely a third party security software. Please remove the software, or have it unblock Connectify to continue."

  Security software is stopping Connectify Hotspot from seeing your network adapters. See How do I configure my firewall to work with Connectify Hotspot?

Error configuring hotspot

These errors come after the checks above have passed, when Windows or your network can't do what the hotspot needs.

• "Wi-Fi Direct could not be started. …" or "Microsoft Hosted Network could not be started. Please try again"

  Windows couldn't start the hotspot on your Wi-Fi adapter. See I get 'Wi-Fi Direct could not be started' or 'Microsoft Hosted Network could not be started'.

• "A Wi-Fi driver bug prevented the hotspot from starting. Please restart your computer and try again."

  Restart your PC. If it happens again, update your Wi-Fi driver: see How to Update Your Wireless (Wi-Fi) Driver.

• "You're sharing over Ethernet, but your Ethernet is connected to an existing network that already has a router. If you're trying to make a Wi-Fi hotspot, choose Wi-Fi hotspot instead of Wired router." or "The 'Share over' device could not be detected. Please make sure that the device is connected to your PC and enabled."

  Something is wrong with the Share over port in Wired router mode. See The 'Share over' adapter you selected is connected to the internet.

If Connectify isn't running

If the Hotspot screen says Connectify isn't running, and the bottom of the left-hand menu says Connectify service not running, the Connectify service that runs your hotspot has stopped. Clicking Start hotspot then opens the Service Helper window, which can restart it. If the service keeps stopping:

• Restart your computer.

• Check that Connectify Hotspot is not being blocked by antivirus or security software. Make sure that Connectifyd.exe and ConnectifyService.exe, in C:\Program Files (x86)\Connectify, are not blocked from running. As an alternative, try temporarily disabling any antivirus or security software to check if it is interfering with Connectify.

  Learn more about configuring Connectify Hotspot to work with firewall and security software at How do I configure my firewall to work with Connectify Hotspot?

• In worst case scenarios, you may have to uninstall your antivirus or security software suite. We recognize this step leaves your computer unprotected. However, it quickly confirms or rules out a conflict between the security software and Connectify Hotspot.