What am I seeing?

Recent Intel® Wireless Adapters don't support the following wireless hosted network and the ad-hoc features on Windows® 10:

Wireless Hosted Network Also known as Soft AP Introduced in Windows 7* Implements a software-based, wireless access point or hotspot-like function with supported wireless adapters Command line interface only

Ad-hoc networks Also known as Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) Allow two or more Wi-Fi clients to connect to each other directly, without a wireless access point



Why am I seeing it?

Newer adapters no longer support these features due to Windows® 10 requirements.

Microsoft has introduced a new driver model for Windows® 10. This model no longer supports Soft AP and IBSS.

All new Wi-Fi devices are required to use this new driver model on machines running Windows® 10.

The following Intel® Wireless Adapters (including future products) must implement this new driver model, and as such can no longer support soft AP and ad-hoc features. They do support the new Windows 10 mobile hotspot feature instead via Wi-Fi Direct:

Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201

Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX200

Intel® Wireless-AC 9560

Intel® Wireless-AC 9462

Intel® Wireless-AC 9461

Intel® Wireless-AC 9260

Intel® Tri-Band Wireless-AC 18265

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168

Intel® Tri-Band Wireless-AC 18260

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260

Intel® Tri-Band Wireless-AC 17265

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-N 7265

Intel® Wireless-N 7265

Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165

Note Older generation Intel® Wireless Adapters that don't implement the new Windows 10 driver model can continue to use the hosted network feature or the new Windows 10 mobile hotspot. For example, the Intel® Wireless 7260 Family and earlier.

How to fix it

Customers who wish to use the deprecated hosted network (Soft AP) feature to share Internet connection may consider using: