[GUIDE] Making infrastructure wifi hotspot on ubuntu 12.04/12.10

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ogyct

Member
Jul 21, 2012
32
37
As many of you know, most of our android(not only android) devices can't connect to ad hoc hotspots. There's a solution for win7/8 users to set up infrastructure hotspot on their laptop using software like connectify and so on. Ubuntu also allows to create wifi hotspot to share internet, but it will be ad hoc one.
So here's the guide how to set up infrastructure hotspot on ubuntu 12.04/12.10. Unlike some other methods described on the internet, this one will not break default network manager.

1. First of all you should make sure, that your wifi adapter supports infrastructure hotspots. If you used connectify on your windows system and it worked, skip this step.

open terminal and type: sudo lshw | less

find -network section and make sure that driver is ath5k or ath9k, this solution will only work for those drivers, but should fit the needs for the most laptop users.



2. We now need to install 2 additional tools to make out hotspot, 1st one is hostapd(hotspot server), 2nd one is dnsmasq(dns dhcp server)

in terminal type: sudo apt-get install hostapd dnsmasq

3. stop those services if started already, and prevent them from starting on system start up.

in terminal type:
sudo service hostapd stop
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo update-rc.d hostapd disable
sudo update-rc.d dnsmasq disable


4. Now we need to set up config files.
in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/dnsmasq.conf
or sudo kate /etc/dnsmasq.conf if you use kde

add those lines to the config file
Code:
# Bind to only one interface
bind-interfaces
# Choose interface for binding
interface=wlan0
# Specify range of IP addresses for DHCP leasses
dhcp-range=192.168.150.2,192.168.150.10
5. hostapd config

in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/hostapd.conf

and add those lines

Code:
# Define interface
interface=wlan0
# Select driver
driver=nl80211
# Set access point name
ssid=myhotspot
# Set access point harware mode to 802.11g
hw_mode=g
# Set WIFI channel (can be easily changed)
channel=6
# Enable WPA2 only (1 for WPA, 2 for WPA2, 3 for WPA + WPA2)
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=mypassword

You can change ssid name and password for anything you want here. Current config will create hotspot named myhotspot with mypassword password.

6. Now create anywhere you want a file named start.sh
edit it with any text editor like this:

Code:
#!/bin/bash
# Start
# Configure IP address for WLAN
sudo ifconfig wlan0 192.168.150.1
# Start DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq restart
# Enable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
# Enable NAT
sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Run access point daemon
sudo hostapd /etc/hostapd.conf
# Stop
# Disable NAT
sudo iptables -D POSTROUTING -t nat -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Disable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=0
# Disable DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo service hostapd stop

You will probably need to change ppp0 in this to eth0 (or any other number which refers to your wired connection.

7. Last step. Now you can start your hotspot by starting our script. just run it using sudo sh
for me it looks like this sudo sh /home/ogyct/Desktop/start.sh because I have it on my desktop


I am not sure who is the author of this guide, I only translated it to english. But anyway if this helped, hit the thanks button. Good day :)
 

anandkarthikeyan

New member
Dec 12, 2012
2
1
Android device having issues connecting to AP

I have an eth0 connection running behind an authenticated proxy server.
I followed the steps and managed to create a hotspot which my google nexus 7 detects. However, it seems stuck at "obtaining an ip address" and is not able to connect to the internet.

I initially received the following error message when running your script in the terminal:

dnsmasq: failed to create listening socket for 127.0.0.1: Address already in use [fail]​

I figured it is because of a conflict with the network manager, I commented out the "dns=dnsmasq" line in the nm configuration file. After a network-manager restart, the first error doesn't show up but I get the following:

Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
Failed to create interface mon.wlan0: -23 (Too many open files in system)
Try to remove and re-create mon.wlan0​

In both cases, however, the hotspot is created and is detected by my android device. only that it cannot "obtain an ip address" and connect to it.
Is it because my eth0 connects via a proxy server?
Or could there be something wrong with the dnsmasq config? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:

ogyct

Member
Jul 21, 2012
32
37
I have an eth0 connection running behind an authenticated proxy server.
I followed the steps and managed to create a hotspot which my google nexus 7 detects. However, it seems stuck at "obtaining an ip address" and is not able to connect to the internet.

I initially received the following error message when running your script in the terminal:

dnsmasq: failed to create listening socket for 127.0.0.1: Address already in use [fail]​

I figured it is because of a conflict with the network manager, I uncommented "dns=dnsmasq" line in the nm configuration file. After a network-manager restart, the first error doesn't show up but I get the following:

Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
Failed to create interface mon.wlan0: -23 (Too many open files in system)
Try to remove and re-create mon.wlan0​

In both cases, however, the hotspot is created and is detected by my android device. only that it cannot "obtain an ip address" and connect to it.
Is it because my eth0 connects via a proxy server?
Or could there be something wrong with the dnsmasq config? Any help would be appreciated.

I've never worked with a proxy server, but from what I see, it seems like your problem has nothing to do with a proxy server. Something's wrong with configuration on wifi side. Try to disable network manager first, if it doesn't help, try to completely clean dnsmaq and hostapd configs and paste code from this thread again. Unfortunately I can not provide any further help, since I have a different configuration on my side.
 
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gio182

New member
Dec 17, 2012
1
0
My galaxy s2 is able to see the "myhotspot" network created following this guide. I set a static ip and gateway to make it obtain an ip address.
Now it seems to be connected, but I have no internet access on my phone...
Could anyone help me?
 

anandkarthikeyan

New member
Dec 12, 2012
2
1
My galaxy s2 is able to see the "myhotspot" network created following this guide. I set a static ip and gateway to make it obtain an ip address.
Now it seems to be connected, but I have no internet access on my phone...
Could anyone help me?

I am using ubuntu 12.04 and I just figured out the instructions on ".../questions/180733/how-to-setup-a-wi-fi-hotspot-access-point-mode/" (askubuntu) thread worked like a charm for me. It uses the isc-dhcp-server instead of dnsmasq and a different dhcp range I guess. I really don't know enough to tell the difference but it worked. Maybe ogyct can explain it to us.
 
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ogyct

Member
Jul 21, 2012
32
37
My galaxy s2 is able to see the "myhotspot" network created following this guide. I set a static ip and gateway to make it obtain an ip address.
Now it seems to be connected, but I have no internet access on my phone...
Could anyone help me?

If everything's made right, there'll be no need for setting static ip adress, dhcp will do it for you.
Try to check if your devices are called wlan0 and eth0, if not, change configs accordingly. Simply type in console iwconfig to see the names. Remember, you may have a different configuration of your system, so be aware of that
 
Last edited:

bad_asteroid

Member
Aug 15, 2012
11
0
HI ogyct,

This is the error i received.

Code:
wlan0: ERROR while getting interface flags: No such device
 * Restarting DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                             
dnsmasq: unknown interface wlan0
                                                                                                                                         [fail]
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
Could not read interface wlan0 flags: No such device
Could not read interface wlan0 flags: No such device
nl80211 driver initialization failed.
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0
 * Stopping DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                                * (not running)

And my wifi config reads this

Code:
*-network
                description: Wireless interface
                product: BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller
                vendor: Broadcom Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
                logical name: eth1
                version: 01
                serial: cc:af:78:78:44:03
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
                configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=5.100.82.112 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
                resources: irq:17 memory:f1500000-f1503fff


I guess I need to update the interfaces file in /etc/network....??
Any suggestions?
 
Last edited:

hunters100

New member
Feb 20, 2013
2
0
BCM4313 doesn't support AP

You wireless card doesn't support the AP operation mode. You can look up on the hostapd support website and there is a list of suppored devices. The BCM 4313 is part of brcmsmac which is in the NO section for AP. You would need to get a new card or purchase an external wifi card. Hope this helps.

HI ogyct,

This is the error i received.

Code:
wlan0: ERROR while getting interface flags: No such device
 * Restarting DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                             
dnsmasq: unknown interface wlan0
                                                                                                                                         [fail]
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
Could not read interface wlan0 flags: No such device
Could not read interface wlan0 flags: No such device
nl80211 driver initialization failed.
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0
 * Stopping DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                                * (not running)

And my wifi config reads this

Code:
*-network
                description: Wireless interface
                product: BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller
                vendor: Broadcom Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
                logical name: eth1
                version: 01
                serial: cc:af:78:78:44:03
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
                configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=5.100.82.112 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
                resources: irq:17 memory:f1500000-f1503fff


I guess I need to update the interfaces file in /etc/network....??
Any suggestions?
 

sharrana

New member
Sep 6, 2010
3
0
a little help

I made the hotspot successfully but its not sharing the internet connection
im using linuxmint 14 and HUAWEI EC1261-2 (EVDO)
 

adamkhanmian

Member
Aug 8, 2009
47
2
Charsadda, NWFP
unkown interface error

it says unknown interface wlan1 [fail]

.....phone detects the network but gets stuck during authentication, and then disabled, and keeps on trying...
 

sayV

Member
May 28, 2012
37
5
Mumbai
getting an error

here's the error i'm getting

Code:
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not possible due to RF-kill
 * Restarting DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                                    
dnsmasq: failed to create listening socket for 127.0.0.1: Address already in use
                                                                                                                                                [fail]
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
Could not set interface wlan0 flags: Operation not possible due to RF-kill
nl80211: Failed to set interface wlan0 into AP mode
nl80211 driver initialization failed.
ELOOP: remaining socket: sock=4 eloop_data=0x8e20908 user_data=0x8e20e88 handler=0x807c5e0
ELOOP: remaining socket: sock=6 eloop_data=0x8e22ca0 user_data=(nil) handler=0x8086770
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0
 * Stopping DNS forwarder and DHCP server dnsmasq                                                                                                       * (not running)

:( :(:( :confused: :confused:
 

sarkar1990

Senior Member
Dec 7, 2012
951
528
New Delhi
As many of you know, most of our android(not only android) devices can't connect to ad hoc hotspots. There's a solution for win7/8 users to set up infrastructure hotspot on their laptop using software like connectify and so on. Ubuntu also allows to create wifi hotspot to share internet, but it will be ad hoc one.
So here's the guide how to set up infrastructure hotspot on ubuntu 12.04/12.10. Unlike some other methods described on the internet, this one will not break default network manager.

1. First of all you should make sure, that your wifi adapter supports infrastructure hotspots. If you used connectify on your windows system and it worked, skip this step.

open terminal and type: sudo lshw | less

find -network section and make sure that driver is ath5k or ath9k, this solution will only work for those drivers, but should fit the needs for the most laptop users.



2. We now need to install 2 additional tools to make out hotspot, 1st one is hostapd(hotspot server), 2nd one is dnsmasq(dns dhcp server)

in terminal type: sudo apt-get install hostapd dnsmasq

3. stop those services if started already, and prevent them from starting on system start up.

in terminal type:
sudo service hostapd stop
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo update-rc.d hostapd disable
sudo update-rc.d dnsmasq disable


4. Now we need to set up config files.
in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/dnsmasq.conf
or sudo kate /etc/dnsmasq.conf if you use kde

add those lines to the config file
Code:
# Bind to only one interface
bind-interfaces
# Choose interface for binding
interface=wlan0
# Specify range of IP addresses for DHCP leasses
dhcp-range=192.168.150.2,192.168.150.10
5. hostapd config

in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/hostapd.conf

and add those lines

Code:
# Define interface
interface=wlan0
# Select driver
driver=nl80211
# Set access point name
ssid=myhotspot
# Set access point harware mode to 802.11g
hw_mode=g
# Set WIFI channel (can be easily changed)
channel=6
# Enable WPA2 only (1 for WPA, 2 for WPA2, 3 for WPA + WPA2)
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=mypassword

You can change ssid name and password for anything you want here. Current config will create hotspot named myhotspot with mypassword password.

6. Now create anywhere you want a file named start.sh
edit it with any text editor like this:

Code:
#!/bin/bash
# Start
# Configure IP address for WLAN
sudo ifconfig wlan0 192.168.150.1
# Start DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq restart
# Enable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
# Enable NAT
sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Run access point daemon
sudo hostapd /etc/hostapd.conf
# Stop
# Disable NAT
sudo iptables -D POSTROUTING -t nat -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Disable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=0
# Disable DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo service hostapd stop

You will probably need to change ppp0 in this to eth0 (or any other number which refers to your wired connection.

7. Last step. Now you can start your hotspot by starting our script. just run it using sudo sh
for me it looks like this sudo sh /home/ogyct/Desktop/start.sh because I have it on my desktop


I am not sure who is the author of this guide, I only translated it to english. But anyway if this helped, hit the thanks button. Good day :)
This is running awesome. Just one question. How do I stop the script?

I find disabling and enabling wifi works. But is there any other way?
 

thorax_

New member
Jun 20, 2012
2
0
Hi, this script works perfectly. I was having issues with ubuntu shared wifi not being visible with android.

Now the hard question. I have a box that is already acting as a router sharing ip with dnsmasq over eth1
i added a wifi card wlan0 and i want to share not only internet but also the services running on my box

the problem is this script uses a different ip range and i cannot access my nfs shares.

my network is 192.168.128.x and i have set up this script in other range.

Setting it up in 192.168.128.10x for instance will not work

Is it possible to make this wifi share part of my network?

regards.
 

raja.genupula

New member
May 23, 2013
1
0
worked !!!

As many of you know, most of our android(not only android) devices can't connect to ad hoc hotspots. There's a solution for win7/8 users to set up infrastructure hotspot on their laptop using software like connectify and so on. Ubuntu also allows to create wifi hotspot to share internet, but it will be ad hoc one.
So here's the guide how to set up infrastructure hotspot on ubuntu 12.04/12.10. Unlike some other methods described on the internet, this one will not break default network manager.

1. First of all you should make sure, that your wifi adapter supports infrastructure hotspots. If you used connectify on your windows system and it worked, skip this step.

open terminal and type: sudo lshw | less

find -network section and make sure that driver is ath5k or ath9k, this solution will only work for those drivers, but should fit the needs for the most laptop users.



2. We now need to install 2 additional tools to make out hotspot, 1st one is hostapd(hotspot server), 2nd one is dnsmasq(dns dhcp server)

in terminal type: sudo apt-get install hostapd dnsmasq

3. stop those services if started already, and prevent them from starting on system start up.

in terminal type:
sudo service hostapd stop
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo update-rc.d hostapd disable
sudo update-rc.d dnsmasq disable


4. Now we need to set up config files.
in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/dnsmasq.conf
or sudo kate /etc/dnsmasq.conf if you use kde

add those lines to the config file
Code:
# Bind to only one interface
bind-interfaces
# Choose interface for binding
interface=wlan0
# Specify range of IP addresses for DHCP leasses
dhcp-range=192.168.150.2,192.168.150.10
5. hostapd config

in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/hostapd.conf

and add those lines

Code:
# Define interface
interface=wlan0
# Select driver
driver=nl80211
# Set access point name
ssid=myhotspot
# Set access point harware mode to 802.11g
hw_mode=g
# Set WIFI channel (can be easily changed)
channel=6
# Enable WPA2 only (1 for WPA, 2 for WPA2, 3 for WPA + WPA2)
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=mypassword

You can change ssid name and password for anything you want here. Current config will create hotspot named myhotspot with mypassword password.

6. Now create anywhere you want a file named start.sh
edit it with any text editor like this:

Code:
#!/bin/bash
# Start
# Configure IP address for WLAN
sudo ifconfig wlan0 192.168.150.1
# Start DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq restart
# Enable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
# Enable NAT
sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Run access point daemon
sudo hostapd /etc/hostapd.conf
# Stop
# Disable NAT
sudo iptables -D POSTROUTING -t nat -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
# Disable routing
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=0
# Disable DHCP/DNS server
sudo service dnsmasq stop
sudo service hostapd stop

You will probably need to change ppp0 in this to eth0 (or any other number which refers to your wired connection.

7. Last step. Now you can start your hotspot by starting our script. just run it using sudo sh
for me it looks like this sudo sh /home/ogyct/Desktop/start.sh because I have it on my desktop


I am not sure who is the author of this guide, I only translated it to english. But anyway if this helped, hit the thanks button. Good day :)


Thank you.
Its worked successfully in Xperia J.
 

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  • 29
    As many of you know, most of our android(not only android) devices can't connect to ad hoc hotspots. There's a solution for win7/8 users to set up infrastructure hotspot on their laptop using software like connectify and so on. Ubuntu also allows to create wifi hotspot to share internet, but it will be ad hoc one.
    So here's the guide how to set up infrastructure hotspot on ubuntu 12.04/12.10. Unlike some other methods described on the internet, this one will not break default network manager.

    1. First of all you should make sure, that your wifi adapter supports infrastructure hotspots. If you used connectify on your windows system and it worked, skip this step.

    open terminal and type: sudo lshw | less

    find -network section and make sure that driver is ath5k or ath9k, this solution will only work for those drivers, but should fit the needs for the most laptop users.



    2. We now need to install 2 additional tools to make out hotspot, 1st one is hostapd(hotspot server), 2nd one is dnsmasq(dns dhcp server)

    in terminal type: sudo apt-get install hostapd dnsmasq

    3. stop those services if started already, and prevent them from starting on system start up.

    in terminal type:
    sudo service hostapd stop
    sudo service dnsmasq stop
    sudo update-rc.d hostapd disable
    sudo update-rc.d dnsmasq disable


    4. Now we need to set up config files.
    in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/dnsmasq.conf
    or sudo kate /etc/dnsmasq.conf if you use kde

    add those lines to the config file
    Code:
    # Bind to only one interface
    bind-interfaces
    # Choose interface for binding
    interface=wlan0
    # Specify range of IP addresses for DHCP leasses
    dhcp-range=192.168.150.2,192.168.150.10
    5. hostapd config

    in terminal type: sudo gedit /etc/hostapd.conf

    and add those lines

    Code:
    # Define interface
    interface=wlan0
    # Select driver
    driver=nl80211
    # Set access point name
    ssid=myhotspot
    # Set access point harware mode to 802.11g
    hw_mode=g
    # Set WIFI channel (can be easily changed)
    channel=6
    # Enable WPA2 only (1 for WPA, 2 for WPA2, 3 for WPA + WPA2)
    wpa=2
    wpa_passphrase=mypassword

    You can change ssid name and password for anything you want here. Current config will create hotspot named myhotspot with mypassword password.

    6. Now create anywhere you want a file named start.sh
    edit it with any text editor like this:

    Code:
    #!/bin/bash
    # Start
    # Configure IP address for WLAN
    sudo ifconfig wlan0 192.168.150.1
    # Start DHCP/DNS server
    sudo service dnsmasq restart
    # Enable routing
    sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
    # Enable NAT
    sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
    # Run access point daemon
    sudo hostapd /etc/hostapd.conf
    # Stop
    # Disable NAT
    sudo iptables -D POSTROUTING -t nat -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
    # Disable routing
    sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=0
    # Disable DHCP/DNS server
    sudo service dnsmasq stop
    sudo service hostapd stop

    You will probably need to change ppp0 in this to eth0 (or any other number which refers to your wired connection.

    7. Last step. Now you can start your hotspot by starting our script. just run it using sudo sh
    for me it looks like this sudo sh /home/ogyct/Desktop/start.sh because I have it on my desktop


    I am not sure who is the author of this guide, I only translated it to english. But anyway if this helped, hit the thanks button. Good day :)
    1
    I have an eth0 connection running behind an authenticated proxy server.
    I followed the steps and managed to create a hotspot which my google nexus 7 detects. However, it seems stuck at "obtaining an ip address" and is not able to connect to the internet.

    I initially received the following error message when running your script in the terminal:

    dnsmasq: failed to create listening socket for 127.0.0.1: Address already in use [fail]​

    I figured it is because of a conflict with the network manager, I uncommented "dns=dnsmasq" line in the nm configuration file. After a network-manager restart, the first error doesn't show up but I get the following:

    Configuration file: /etc/hostapd.conf
    Failed to create interface mon.wlan0: -23 (Too many open files in system)
    Try to remove and re-create mon.wlan0​

    In both cases, however, the hotspot is created and is detected by my android device. only that it cannot "obtain an ip address" and connect to it.
    Is it because my eth0 connects via a proxy server?
    Or could there be something wrong with the dnsmasq config? Any help would be appreciated.

    I've never worked with a proxy server, but from what I see, it seems like your problem has nothing to do with a proxy server. Something's wrong with configuration on wifi side. Try to disable network manager first, if it doesn't help, try to completely clean dnsmaq and hostapd configs and paste code from this thread again. Unfortunately I can not provide any further help, since I have a different configuration on my side.
    1
    My galaxy s2 is able to see the "myhotspot" network created following this guide. I set a static ip and gateway to make it obtain an ip address.
    Now it seems to be connected, but I have no internet access on my phone...
    Could anyone help me?

    I am using ubuntu 12.04 and I just figured out the instructions on ".../questions/180733/how-to-setup-a-wi-fi-hotspot-access-point-mode/" (askubuntu) thread worked like a charm for me. It uses the isc-dhcp-server instead of dnsmasq and a different dhcp range I guess. I really don't know enough to tell the difference but it worked. Maybe ogyct can explain it to us.