How to Connect to a Wireless Network
Get online and share files without wires. These step-by-step directions will help you set up your Windows or Mac laptop to connect to a Wi-Fi network in a few easy steps.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:
- Find the wireless network icon on your computer (on Windows, you'll find an icon that looks like 2 computers or a set of bars in your taskbar on the bottom right of your screen; Macs will have a wireless symbol in the top right of the screen).
- View available Wi-Fi networks by either right-clicking the icon and selecting "View Available Wireless Networks" (Windows XP) or by clicking the icon and selecting to "Connect or disconnect..." (Windows Vista). On Mac OS X and Windows 7 and 8, all you have to do is click on the Wi-Fi icon to see the list of available networks.
- Choose the network to connect to by clicking the "Connect" button (or just selecting it on Win7/Mac).
- Enter the security key. If the wireless network is encrypted (with WEP, WPA or WPA2), you'll be prompted to enter the network password or passphrase. This will be stored for you for next time, so you'll only have to enter it once.
- On Windows, select the type of network this is. Windows automatically sets up security for different network location types (Home, Work, or Public).
- Start browsing or sharing! You should now be connected to the Wi-Fi network. Open your browser and visit a website to confirm the internet connection.
