Wi-Fi SoftAP
and
Hosted Network

Wireless Hosted Network

The Wireless Hosted Network is a WLAN feature available since Windows 7. It performs two functions simultaneously. First, Virtual Wi-Fi virtualises a single physical wireless adapter so it appears as more than one virtual adapter. Second, SoftAP uses one of those virtual adapters to create a software-based access point that other devices can join. The two functions are tied together — enabling or disabling the hosted network turns both on or off at once, and Windows does not allow controlling them independently.

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 and their IP addresses, obtaining the network name and password, and managing Proximity Service Discovery information elements.

Limitations

Windows never allows an open, unencrypted network. If your application does not supply an SSID or password, the system generates random credentials instead.

The feature was deprecated starting with Windows 10 version 1703 and is not available on newer Windows 10 or 11 builds. The Wi-Fi Framework still supports it for older Windows versions and on systems where the driver provides a legacy hosted network interface, but on current Windows it will usually fail unless the machine happens to be running an older build.

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 SoftAP

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. You receive real-time notifications when a remote device connects or disconnects. The application can programmatically accept or reject individual connection requests, and can disconnect specific peers. Security is still enforced — no open networks — and if you do not specify an SSID or password, random credentials are generated automatically.

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 two technologies differ in several important ways. Windows support is the first: legacy Hosted Network is available from Windows 7 onwards but was deprecated starting with Windows 10 version 1703, while Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP requires Windows 8 or later and is the recommended approach on current Windows 10 and 11 builds.

Virtual adapter behaviour and peer management are where the gap is most visible. Legacy Hosted Network virtualises the physical adapter through Virtual Wi-Fi, which splits one adapter into several virtual ones — but the legacy API offers no individual peer control. You cannot accept or reject a specific connection, and you cannot force-disconnect a misbehaving client through the API alone. Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP uses a dedicated virtual adapter with its own MAC address and exposes full control: accept, reject, or disconnect by peer.

Open networks are not allowed in either technology. Wi-Fi Direct services — Service Discovery and P2P — are only available through Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP.

Choosing the right method

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 fall back gracefully between the two.

If the application runs on Windows 10 or 11, start with the modern wclWiFiSoftAp class. If initialisation fails — for example, because 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 directly.

This fallback logic is easy to implement with the framework's unified API. The application supports the widest possible range of Windows platforms without writing different code paths for each technology.

Mobile Hotspot

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. Unlike the two SoftAP APIs, the Mobile Hotspot is a full system feature with its own user interface, and it manages Internet Connection Sharing automatically.

The Wi-Fi Framework includes the wclMobileHotspot class, which gives your application programmatic control over this system feature. You can turn the hotspot on or off, configure the SSID and password, query its current state, monitor the number of connected clients, and select the Wi-Fi band — 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or automatic.

This is particularly useful when your application needs to temporarily disable Internet Connection Sharing — for example, before starting a standalone SoftAP that does not require Internet connectivity. The Wi-Fi Framework handles the necessary Windows API calls so you do not 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.

How the framework helps

Writing a virtual Wi-Fi access point application on Windows means dealing with several native APIs, each with its own quirks and asynchronous event model. The Wi-Fi Framework simplifies this through a consistent interface across all three technologies.

Instead of polling for status changes, your application subscribes to events — device connected, device disconnected, state changed. Connected peers are exposed as a managed list, with per-peer operations for disconnection on the modern API. The framework handles the differences between driver implementations, OS versions, and hardware capabilities behind the same class hierarchy, so the calling code stays the same regardless of which underlying technology actually runs.

Built-in fallback logic lets you try the modern SoftAP first and automatically switch to the legacy hosted network if needed. Ready-to-run sample applications for the hosted network, Wi-Fi Direct SoftAP, and Mobile Hotspot ship with the package, so the correct usage patterns are visible from day one.

Wi-Fi band switching

The Wi-Fi Framework also exposes the ability to change the operating band of the WLAN 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 with the target clients.

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.