SoftAP (software-enabled access point) is a technology that turns a standard computer into a wireless access point, even if the machine was never designed to be a router. On Windows it is often called a virtual router and is available in two distinct forms: the legacy Wireless Hosted Network (introduced in Windows 7) and the modern Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP. The Wi-Fi Framework supports both types, giving developers a unified way to create and manage virtual access points. In addition, starting with Windows 10, the framework also gives you control over the built-in Mobile Hotspot feature.

The Wireless Hosted Network is a WLAN feature that has been available since Windows 7. It performs two functions simultaneously:

1. Virtual Wi-Fi - virtualises a single physical wireless adapter so that it appears as more than one virtual adapter.
2. SoftAP - uses one of those virtual adapters to create a software-based access point that other devices can join.

Both functions are tied together; enabling or disabling the hosted network turns both on or off at once. It is not possible to control them independently through Windows.

The Wi-Fi Framework exposes this legacy feature through the wclWiFiHostedNetwork class. It provides complete control over creating the hosted network SoftAP, retrieving the list of connected peers (including their IP addresses), obtaining the network name and password, and managing Proximity Service Discovery (PSD) information elements.

Important limitations of the legacy Hosted Network

• Windows never allows an open (unencrypted) network. If your application does not supply an SSID or password, the system will generate random ones.
• The feature was deprecated starting with Windows 10 version 1703 and is not available on newer Windows 10/11 builds. However, the Wi-Fi Framework still supports it for older Windows versions and on systems where the driver provides a legacy hosted network interface.
• Peer management is limited. You cannot individually accept or reject connections; once the SoftAP is started, any device with the correct credentials can connect, and you cannot force-disconnect a specific peer through the legacy API alone.

To see the hosted network in action, refer to the HostedNetwork sample application included in the Wi-Fi Framework package.

Wi-Fi Direct is a standard that lets devices connect directly to each other without a traditional access point or router. Unlike ad-hoc Wi-Fi, which can support multi-hop communication, Wi-Fi Direct is strictly a single radio hop. The Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP role allows a Windows machine to act as a group owner, appearing as a software access point to other Wi-Fi Direct clients as well as to legacy Wi-Fi devices.

The Wi-Fi Framework provides the wclWiFiSoftAp class to work with this modern SoftAP technology. Compared to the legacy hosted network, Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP gives your application significantly more control:

• Fine-grained peer management - you receive real-time notifications when a remote device connects or disconnects. The application can programmatically accept or reject individual connection requests and disconnect specific peers.
• Modern security - still no open networks are allowed; if you do not specify an SSID or password, random credentials are generated automatically.
• Better driver support - Wi-Fi Direct is the recommended approach on current Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems, where legacy hosted network support may be absent.

Despite its name, Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP works with regular Wi-Fi clients as well, not just Wi-Fi Direct peers. Any device that supports standard WPA2-PSK can join the network.

Full usage details are provided in the WiFiDirectSoftAP sample application that ships with the Wi-Fi Framework.

The capability actually available depends on your Wi-Fi hardware and driver. It may support only the legacy hosted network, only Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP, or both. The Wi-Fi Framework lets your application gracefully fall back:

• If your application runs on Windows 10 or Windows 11, start with the modern wclWiFiSoftAp class.
• If initialisation fails (e.g. the driver does not support Wi-Fi Direct), switch to wclWiFiHostedNetwork, provided the legacy hosted network is still available on that system.
• For older Windows versions (7, 8, or early Windows 10 builds), rely on wclWiFiHostedNetwork.

This fallback logic is easily implemented with the Wi-Fi Framework's unified API, so you can support the widest possible range of Windows platforms without writing different code paths for each technology.

Windows 10 introduced a built-in Mobile Hotspot feature (also present in Windows 11) that transforms the PC into a Wi-Fi access point while sharing its Internet connection with connected devices. The Internet source can be Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or a cellular data connection.

The Wi-Fi Framework includes the wclMobileHotspot class, which gives your application programmatic control over this system feature. You can:

• Turn the mobile hotspot on or off
• Configure the SSID and password
• Query its current state
• Monitor the number of connected clients
• Choose the Wi-Fi band (2.4 GHz, 5GHz, Both, etc)

This is especially useful when your application needs to temporarily disable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) - for example, before starting a standalone SoftAP that does not require internet connectivity. The framework handles the necessary Windows API calls, so you don't have to manage the underlying ICS and network stack directly.

A fully working example is available in the MobileHotspot sample application of the Wi-Fi Framework package.

Writing a virtual Wi-Fi access point application on Windows involves dealing with complex native APIs, each with its own quirks and asynchronous event models. The Wi-Fi Framework simplifies this dramatically:

• Unified object model - classes like wclWiFiHostedNetwork, wclWiFiSoftAp, and wclMobileHotspot hide the underlying API differences and provide a consistent interface.
• Event-driven design - you subscribe to events (e.g., device connected, device disconnected, state changed) instead of polling, making your code cleaner and more responsive.
• Peer management - the framework exposes connected peers as a managed list, with methods to disconnect individual clients on Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP.
• Error handling and fallback - built-in logic lets you easily try the modern SoftAP first and automatically fall back to the legacy hosted network if needed.
• Samples and documentation - the package includes ready-to-run sample applications for hosted network, Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP, and mobile hotspot, so you can quickly understand the correct usage patterns.

Using the Wi-Fi Framework, you can implement a full-featured virtual access point application on Windows with just a few lines of code.

The Wi-Fi Framework now exposes the ability to change the operating band of the Wi-Fi adapter programmatically, a capability that is particularly useful when creating a SoftAP. For example, you can switch the adapter from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz before starting a Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP, ensuring better performance or compatibility. This feature is documented in detail on the Wi-Fi Interface Advanced Parameters page. Refer to that page for information about the API, supported adapters, and usage guidelines.

If you have further questions about implementing virtual access point functionality with the Wi-Fi Framework, feel free to contact us.