How To Set Up A Wi
The Internet is a really powerful tool. It gives us access to all kinds of information at a moment’s noticethink email, Google search, and Wikipedia. So there’s something a little counterintuitive about only being able to use the Internet when you sit down at a desktop computer. What if you could use the Internet from anywhere in your home or office?
If you already have high-speed Internet service at your house, it’s pretty easy to create your own home wireless network. Commonly known as Wi-Fi, a wireless network allows you to connect laptops, smartphones, and other mobile devices to your home Internet service without an Ethernet cable.
Purchase a wireless router
To create your own Wi-Fi network, you’ll need a wireless router. This is the device that will broadcast the Wi-Fi signal from your Internet modem throughout your house. Your Internet service provider may offer you a wireless router for a small monthly fee. If you’ve never set up a Wi-Fi network before, this may be the easiest option.
If you want to buy your own router, we’d recommend spending a little more time researching different options. CNET offers a comprehensive guide on How to Buy a Router.
Some Internet modems may already have a built-in wireless router, which means you won’t need to purchase a separate one.
Connect the cables
Once you’ve acquired a wireless router, you’ll need to connect it to your existing Internet modem.
Connect an Ethernet cable from your modem to the wireless router .
Connect!
Can I Use My Laptop As A Wireless Router
Yes, you can! To set up a Mac or Windows laptop as a wireless router, you can use an app that will do it all for you or set it up manually within the operating system. To make your laptop a hotspot, it needs to use your Wi-Fi adapter. Therefore, you cannot access the Internet using the same device. However, you can use a USB Wi-Fi adapter so that you have two Regardless, ethernet is the best option to use if you can, mainly because its faster and more reliable as a source.
Securing Your Wireless Network
Security is always important with a wireless network, it’s even more important because your network’s signal could be broadcast outside your home. If you don’t help secure your network, people with PCs nearby could access info stored on your network PCs and use your Internet connection.
To help make your network more secure:
Change the default user name and password. This helps protect your router. Most router manufacturers have a default user name and password on the router and a default network name . Someone could use this info to access your router without you knowing it. To help avoid that, change the default user name and password for your router. See the documentation for your device for instructions.
Set up a security key for your network. Wireless networks have a network security key to help protect them from unauthorized access. We recommend using Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 security if your router and PC support it. See the documentation for your router for more detailed info, including what type of security is supported and how to set it up.
Some routers support Wi-Fi Protected Setup . If your router supports WPS and its connected to the network, follow these steps to set up a network security key:
Do one of the following, depending on which version of Windows is running on your PC:
In Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, select Start, start typing Network and Sharing Center, and then choose it in the list.
Select Set up a new connection or network.
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Creating A Mobile Hotspot Using A Smartphone Or Tablet
As Windows ad-hoc mode shows, creating a temporary wireless network can be a good way to connect two computers wirelessly for a short period of time, but that relies on you having a Windows PC around to do so.
An easier method is to use your smartphone or tablet to create a temporary wireless network instead. This turns your tablet or smartphone into a wireless router, allowing other types of devices to connect through it to share files or an internet connection.
The benefit of this method is that, by setting up a mobile hotspot, your mobile data connection will be shared with all devices that connect to it. Android devices running Android 2.2 and later, as well as iPhones or iPads running iOS 4.2.5 and later , are capable of becoming a mobile hotspot.
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Fix : Reinstall The Wireless Network Adapter Driver
Reinstalling the network driver will clear the registry and reset all existing wireless configurations, which could help you laptop access the internet over WiFi once more. Here is how to reinstall your wirelessnetwork adapter driver.To do this, you will need to use Windows Device Manager to uninstall the wireless adapter first before installing the driver.1. Click Start, then type in Device Manager in the search box.2. Double click on Device Manager to select it.3. Double click on Network Adapters4. If you have several adapters, a drop-down will appear listing them all. Right-click your WiFi Adapter and select uninstall.5. The Confirm Device Uninstall screen will appear. Click OK. Wait for the uninstallation to complete. Make sure the name of the wireless adapter no longer displays in the list of Network Adapters.6. On the Device Manager window, click on Action. You can find the Action tab at the top between the Fileand View tabs. Select Scan For Hardware Changes from the drop-down.7. Your computer will reinstall the WiFi adapter and you will be able to see its name once again.8. Close all windows and restart the computer.9. Try reconnecting to your WiFi. If the problem persists, read on.
Try Disabling Your Firewall
Your firewall is designed to prevent unauthorized access to your computer, but sometimes it can conflict with your Wi-Fi network. Try disabling the Windows firewall to see whether the Wi-Fi works with it turned off. If you have more than one firewall installed, open the management software for the other firewall and turn it off there.
- Press Windows key + X.
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How To Fix Laptop Not Connecting To Wi
This issue applies to laptops running Windows, Mac, or Linux. These fixes may also work for other devices like smartphones or tablets.
Does your laptop not connect to Wi-Fi when other devices will? If this is the case, you can step the first step below. You should only restart your modem and router if no device can connect to the network. Otherwise, you’ll need to troubleshoot the laptop itself.
Restart your modem and router. When left running for long periods, a modem and router can fail and either drop its internet connection or drop the Wi-Fi network. A reset will often repair this issue. If all your devices still can’t connect to Wi-Fi, you may need to do a hard reset of your router or reconfigure your router.
Ensure Wi-Fi is turned on. If your laptop has a hardware switch to control Wi-Fi, make sure this is on.
How Do I Connect My Router To My Computer
Most modern devices connect wirelesslyeven desktops now ship with Wi-Fi connectivity. Just connect to the routers 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band, and youre good to go.
But there will be times when you need a wired connection, like testing your internet speed or improving your video stream quality. Tethering your computer to a router is easy, and well show you how in two steps. Well also explain why a wired connection is best for specific uses.
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Can I Access My Internet Without A Router And Modem
This depends on what you mean by router and modem, but yes, you can. The word router has become synonymous with Internet access, yet strictly speaking, routers are not necessary for connectivity per se. Their purpose is to share the connection with several devices, which means you can get online without them by plugging the cable into your laptop directly, for instance.
Now, the modem is a different story. Technically, this piece of hardware is what enables your laptops connection in the first place. Today, they come inmany shapes and sizes, from a large and expensive satellite modem to a portable USB modem. However, the modulation and demodulation usually happens outside your laptop anyway, so, unless you are looking for a specific piece of hardware like theUSB wireless modem for travel, you wont need one.
What App Connects Cellphone To Pc
AirDroid
AirDroid is the preferred app for connecting Android to a PC or Mac. The reason is its way more than a file sharing or a display mirroring app, in contrast to many apps on this checklist. AirDroid permits you to surprisingly mirror or obtain calls, messages, and app notifications in your giant display of the PC or Mac.
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Reconnecting To An Existing Network
note:If some security condition, such as the password has changed, you will be prompted to enter the new password. See Managing your wireless network connection.
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Select the first option and click on the View Devices and Printers under the Hardware and Sound option. Selecting View Devices and Printers under the Hardware and Sound option. Check to see if the webcam is listed there. If it is, rightclick on the webcam and select Set this device as Default.
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Using A Portable Wifi Router
While a smartphone or tablet can create a quick, temporary mobile network, a better solution for a wider number of devices is to use a portable WiFi router. These have been designed for establishing simple temporary networks while youre away from home, but can also be used in day-to-day usage for two PCs or laptops to connect.
Devices like the TP-Link WR902AC create a network that any WiFi-capable device can connect to. More advanced routers, like the Huawei E5577Cs-321, also include built-in 4G connectivity, offering a dedicated mobile internet connection for devices that connect to it.
Most portable routers dont require any setupsimply plug-in and connect. Others come packaged with a mobile app that can allow for quick configuration and device monitoring.
Stage : Change The Default Printer
Now, you need to set up a printer on Windows 10. Usually, Windows will attempt to set the default printer by selecting the one used most recently on the connected network.
If you dont have any printer installed, the default printer in Windows is the one who saves into PDF files. If you had a printer earlier, youd better change the default printer to the new one. Follow steps as below:
Step 1: Go to Printers & scanners as stage 2 tells you.
Step 2: Uncheck the box Let Windows manage my default printer.
Tip:
Step 3: Choose the printer you want to set as default and click Manage.
Step 4: Click Set as default.
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Get The Right Equipment
Before you can set up your wireless network, heres what youll need:
Broadband Internet connection and modem. A broadband Internet connection is a high-speed Internet connection. Digital Subscriber Line and cable are two of the most common broadband connections. You can get a broadband connection by contacting an Internet service provider . Typically, ISPs that provide DSL are telephone companies and ISPs that provide cable are cable TV companies. ISPs frequently offer broadband modems. Some ISPs also offer combination modem/wireless routers. You can also find these at computer or electronics stores, and online.
Wireless router. A router sends info between your network and the Internet. With a wireless router, you can connect PCs to your network using radio signals instead of wires. There are several different kinds of wireless network technologies, whichinclude 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax.
Wireless network adapter. A wireless network adapter is a device that connects your PC to a wireless network. To connect your portable or desktop PC to your wireless network, the PC must have a wireless network adapter. Most laptops and tabletsand some desktop PCscome with a wireless network adapter already installed.
To check whether your PC has a wireless network adapter:
Select Start , type device manager in the search box, and then select Device Manager.
Expand Network adapters.
Look for a network adapter that might have wireless in the name.
Check If Your Router Works On 5ghz Wi
As you know, some routers and wireless adapters can only work on 2.4GHz. So, you need to check if your router can be able to work on 5GHz Wi-Fi firstly. You should make sure the router is a dual-band model and has a 5GHz Wi-Fi adapter, heres how to check that on your Windows 10 laptop.
Step 1. Take a look at your routers model and search it on the manufacturers website.
Step 2. In the official web page, you should look for its supported frequencies or supported radio bands. If your router can work on 5GHz Wi-Fi, you can see its specifications stated on the web page.
In addition to checking the router, you need to check if your network adapters can be able to work on 5GHz Wi-Fi. Lets keep going on.
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Enable Wifi With A Function Key
Another way to enable WiFi is by pressing the “Fn” key and one of the function keys at the same time to toggle wireless on and off. The specific key to use will vary by computer. Look for a small wireless icon as shown in the below example image of an F12 key. This key sometimes also has an orange LED on it that will turn on when WiFi is enabled.
How Do I Connect My Tablet To My Home Network
To connect your Android phone or tablet to your wireless home network, just follow these steps:
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Using Wifi Direct To Send Files Wirelessly
If youre struggling with an ad-hoc WiFi or Bluetooth connection, you could use WiFi Direct to share files instead. Windows fully supports the WiFi Direct standard, but to make things easier, youll need to use a third-party app called Feem to share files and establish connectivity instead.
If you plan on establishing a WiFi Direct connection on Windows, youll need to make sure that your WiFi adapter or device on at least one device supports the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter. If this isnt available, you wont be able to create a WiFi Direct-capable network for another PC to connect to.