Issues with Microsoft virtual WiFi miniport adapter

I'm trying to turn my laptop into a hotspot. Basically, I've got an Ethernet connection plugged in, and I want to share that internet via a WiFi hotspot so I can get my phone online too. For some reason, I just can't make it work. I've tried setting it up manually through the command prompt, and I even messed around with a few different hotspot apps like Connectify and stuff. Every single attempt hits the same wall: my WirelessAutoConfig service won't stay running. I went into services.msc, found the service, and tried to start it manually, but it just gets extinguished again after a few seconds. I did some digging online, but nothing really clicked. If I'm understanding this correctly—and I might be wrong here—some network cards just don't support the WiFi miniport adapter required to create these hotspots. Can anyone confirm if that's the case so I can stop wasting my time? Or could this actually be a driver issue or something else entirely? I'm using a Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 802.11b/g/n WiFi adapter.

If you're looking to connect your phone to your laptop, I think the term you're actually searching for is "reverse tethering."
Since you mentioned you've already given it a shot—I'm not sure if you happened to come across these specific links yet;
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/pho...connection.htm
http://www.t2lead.in/how-to-make-wi-...topswindows-8/
http://superuser.com/questions/43462...-to-my-android

George Sanders37 said:Regarding connecting your phone to your laptop, the term you're looking for is "reverse tethering."
You mentioned you already tried that, but I'm not sure if you've checked out these links;
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/pho...connection.htm
http://www.t2lead.in/how-to-make-wi-...topswindows-8/
http://superuser.com/questions/43462...-to-my-android

The issue is that I have an iPhone, specifically an Android Phone🙂 There isn't even a reverse tethering option. In fact, standard USB Tethering doesn't exist either; the only way I can share internet from my phone to my laptop is through a WiFi hotspot I set up on the device. But that's beside the point. My main headache is this laptop issue. I've already messed around with every single one of those links you sent me. It always comes back to the same thing: my WirelessAutoconfig service won't start. And I CANNOT get it to run for the life of me. While searching online, I stumbled upon some info suggesting certain network cards don't support that WiFi miniport adapter (which I assume is what the WirelessAutoConfig service is), so that's my only theory right now. I've looked up how to force the service to start, I've even tinkered with the registry because apparently that helps some people, but nothing works for me. There's zero chance; no matter what I do, it just refuses to start. I even downloaded that Virtual router from the link you provided, but even that won't work. Guess What? "The WLAN AutoConfig service is not running." 🙂 The exact same thing happens with Connectify, Virtual router, and some other Megabyte mini-software I can't quite remember the name of. I'm seriously running out of ideas...

Which version of Windows are we talking about here?
Just to clarify—in this context, "tethering" means connecting a laptop to a phone, whereas "reverse tethering" is when you connect the phone to the laptop.

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64. Look, a buddy of mine uses USB Tethering with his Xperia all the time without any issues; he just plugs the phone into his laptop via USB and surfs to his heart's content using mobile data. On my iPhone, I can only share the connection via WiFi, so I can't even use standard USB Tethering, let alone reverse tethering to get internet on the phone from the laptop. That’s why I’m not even bothering with that—instead, I'm trying to figure out this mess with my laptop and the damn WirelessAutoconfig service. It's causing me nothing but headaches.

EDIT: Okay, I think I found the culprit. My WiFi adapter automatically shuts itself down whenever I plug in an Ethernet cable. It won't allow both to be active at once. I tried unplugging the LAN, turning on the WiFi, and then the service worked perfectly fine. The issue is that my WiFi turns itself off automatically as soon as I connect to the internet via LAN, which means the WirelessAutoconfig service can't run because the hardware itself is disabled. Now what?

Maybe try checking your BIOS settings first.
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Wireles...d/td-p/3382887

George Sanders37 said:Try checking your BIOS settings.
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Wireles...d/td-p/3382887

That feeling when you think, "YES, that's gotta be it!" only to go into the BIOS and realize the LAN/WLAN switching is already extinguished.

I'm honestly stumped. That damn switching is extinguished, but it's still doing the exact same thing. If I unplug the cable and turn on the WLAN, both the adapter and the service work fine. But as soon as I plug the LAN cable back in, the service shuts down and the WLAN adapter goes dark. And the switching is turned off. I even tried turning the switching back on, but nothing changed. Is there something else in those options above that shouldn't be enabled?

http://www.mypublicwifi.com/publicwifi/en/index.html

Have you given this program a shot yet?
....I’ve messed around with plenty of different software trying to turn my laptop into a hotspot, but most of them just flopped on me. Then I stumbled upon this one, and it actually works. Of course, your laptop needs to be able to detect wireless networks first—that's usually the telltale sign that your WiFi is functioning properly enough to work its magic......
.....Hmm, have you tried manually toggling the WiFi on your laptop? You know, using the FN key combination—it's F12 on mine. Once I have both the WiFi and the Ethernet connection active on my laptop, this program runs perfectly whenever I need it to.......

Honestly, I'm running out of ideas here—especially since your service is being extinguished. Maybe you could try bridging the connections?
http://www.wikihow.com/Bridge-an-Internet-Connection

Roger Rogers4 said:http://www.mypublicwifi.com/publicwifi/en/index.html

Have you tried this software?
....I've tested plenty of programs that failed when I tried using my laptop as a WiFi hotspot, until I stumbled upon this one. It actually works, provided your laptop can detect wireless networks—which is how you know the WiFi is active......
.....hmm, maybe try manually enabling the WiFi on your laptop? Use the FN key—it’s F12 on mine—and I have both the WiFi and the LAN cable active on my laptop, so this program runs fine whenever I need it.......

Tried that one too, doesn't work. And obviously, I turned the WiFi on. 🤣 Regardless, it's always the same issue: the WiFi gets extinguished the moment the LAN is plugged in.

George Sanders37 said:Honestly, I'm running out of ideas, especially since your connection keeps dropping. Have you experimented with bridging the connections?
http://www.wikihow.com/Bridge-an-Internet-Connection

Yeah, I did; I bridged the connections, but honestly, I don't see how that would help me specifically. I've pretty much given up after seeing that switching in the BIOS is extinguished, yet the WiFi still shuts off anyway. Clearly, something isn't working right here, and that's just that. I doubt there's anything else to be done. Anyway, thanks for the ( attempt at ) helping.🙂

I don't know—there might be a chance you could try a BIOS update, just to see if that actually fixes things. It isn't necessarily a guaranteed fix, but I guess it's just strange how the laptop is acting up like this.

Yeah, I mean, it’s obvious that option was disabled in the BIOS, so I have no idea why this keeps happening... I don't know, if I actually find the time or the motivation, maybe I'll try a BIOS update, assuming there's even a newer version out there.