Does transferring files over same WiFi use bandwidth?

[ref1]

I recently figured out one cool thing that everyone already know that is i can transfer files over wifi network. so here's what i do when i want to transfer files over wifi:
- i disable internet access on my pc and use connectify and create a virtual hotspot,
- then i use my ipad (the device i want to transfer files from my pc to) and connect it to that virtual hotspot
- i use the program Phone Drive on my ipad, it has wifi sharing feature, it gives me the http:// and ftp:// addresses. i know these things, i can either use http:// address in my browser or ftp:// in any ftp clients, then i transfer files easily,
- when i copy files from my ipad, my pc actually downloads the files, not copies the files, likewise when i copy files from my pc to my ipad it actually uploads the files, not copies. and this is why i disable internet access before i create virtual hotspot because i don't want it to use my bandwidth (or data).
- and HERE'S MY QUESTION: does it actually use bandwidth when i upload or download, if it does not, then i wouldn't need to create a virtual hotspot and disable internet, i just need to connect them directly to my real router hotspot and use. and how do i know/how can i check?

another question: the transfer speed is actually very slow, like 2 MB/s, i thought this is normal since when i download files from internet it's about 2 MB/s too, but then i see many people on some websites say their speed is 10MB/s (they say this is slow, i think this is fast), or 80 MB/s, so i wonder why is my speed so low? and this is not a real wifi hotspot, it's virtual, so it should be fast, is there any other software that can make a virtual wifi hotspot that has fast speed? and why are other people's wifi transfer speeds so fast but mine is slow

sorry for asking these long questions and thanks in advance.

 

[Zepher]

technically, files moving from one machine to another is uploading and downloading.
you upload to the other machine and the other machine is downloading.

If you have a modem and router, you can unplug the modem from the router and see if both devices can copy between themselves. this will test to see if normal operations require an internet connection.

 

[chev65]

Moving files around on the LAN should not count towards your data limit. They only monitor data limits coming from the WAN.

There is no need to turn off the internet for this. There is no need to use a shared wireless connection for this, just connect to your regular wireless connection for moving files on the Lan.

If you want faster transfer speeds use WPA2 security with AES encryption then use the 802.11n "Only" setting in the router. This will give you maximum wireless N speeds of up too 300Mb/s This setting can only be used if all the clients can use wireless N.