Often, users who have purchased a laptop or netbook encounter difficulties when turning on and setting up wifi. The procedure itself is quite simple, but in some cases there are various snags and unforeseen difficulties, and sometimes you need to configure the router before you start connecting Wi-Fi to the laptop. In this article we will look at both the standard connection and options for solving such problems.
Usually, to turn on wifi, it is enough to perform 2-3 simple operations. Which ones exactly depend on the model and manufacturer of the laptop. Here are the options for enabling a wifi network on beeches from the most popular manufacturers:
To connect Wi-Fi, laptops of different models and different manufacturers can use their own original key combination. A detailed description for a specific model can be found in the user manual that came with the laptop. The FN button is found on almost all models of modern laptops. With its help, you can connect various functions and connect the beech with other devices. If the laptop does not have an FN button, then a special button or switch is used to turn on the wireless network. As a rule, it is indicated by one of these drawings.
If you don't find it on the keyboard, examine the ends of the laptop; perhaps the switch is on the side. Also, take a close look at the bottom of your laptop. There are models in which the switch is located on the bottom cover. Moreover, manufacturers make this button barely noticeable. It practically merges with the body and may not be visible at first glance. It may be signed Wireles or Wlan. Have you turned on wifi using the required button or combination, but it doesn’t work? You should set up Wi-Fi on your laptop.
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Attention: It is worth saying that such switches can be located in the most unexpected places, even on the back cover of the laptop. So if your WiFi is not working, carefully inspect your laptop for a switch.
And so let's figure out how to set up WiFi in the Windows 10 operating system. By following simple steps you can do this with ease, you just need to exactly repeat the instructions presented below. If they don't help, you can always ask for advice in the comments.
Let's immediately look at how we can connect to a wifi network if everything is in order with the laptop settings. Let's do simple steps, the first thing we need to do is in the lower right corner of the screen on taskbar find the icon in the form of network divisions (Wi-Fi antennas). Don't forget that this icon can be hidden behind the up arrow. Click on it and fields with WiFi networks available for connection will appear. And click on the connect button.
After which, if the network is protected, you will need to enter a password.
If the password is entered correctly, a window will appear asking you whether you want your computer to be visible on the network. I won’t go into details, but if you are connecting to your home Wi-Fi network, then click on the button YES.
After these simple steps, you will successfully connect to the WiFi network.
Now let's look at one of the most common connection problems. So you moved your glance to the lower right corner to find an icon in the form of network divisions (Wi-Fi antennas). But it wasn’t there; instead, there was an icon in the form of a monitor with a red cross on it. This means that your Wi-Fi adapter is disabled and you need to reconnect it. To do this, right-click on the icon in the form of a monitor, and select the item in the pop-up menu Network and Sharing Center. In the window that opens, click on the item in the left menu Changing adapter settings.
After which a window will open Network connections. In it if you enter the icon Wireless network, and under this inscription it is written Disabled. Then you just need to turn it on; to do this, right-click on it and select Turn on. And make a connection.
If, when opening the window Network connections, nothing type icons Wireless network not found, this may mean that your Wi-Fi adapter is disabled by hardware. You need to look for the WiFi power button on the laptop body, as I described above.
Now let's consider the option that we checked our laptop and are 100% sure that the laptop's WiFi adapter is connected to the hardware. And the icons Wireless network no, or everything is there, but where available wifi networks should appear there is nothing, or you see that something strange is happening with the Wi-Fi adapter. Most likely there is a problem with the laptop's wifi adapter drivers. You will need to go to Device Manager and check what is happening with your wifi drivers.
Click anywhere (empty) on the lower taskbar with the right mouse button, and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
On the page that opens, at the very bottom, select device Manager.
Now in the window that opens, expand the tab Network adapters, The driver for the WiFi adapter should be displayed there; usually its name contains the inscription “Wireless”.
So what could be wrong with your wifi adapter drivers? First of all, pay attention to the icon next to the name of your adapter, if there are any extraneous icons on it such as “Exclamation mark” or “Circle with a dot”. This means that the driver is installed but does not work correctly; to fix the problem you need to update or reinstall the driver. Also if in tabs Network adapters, there is no driver in which the words “Wireless” are present, this means that the driver for your adapter is not installed. If so, then in the general list device Manager there will be an inscription “ Unknown device". It will look something like this:
The solution to this problem will also be to install new drivers. If there is no inscription “ Unknown device" and there is no driver in which the words " Wireless". This may mean that your wifi adapter is disabled, faulty, or simply missing.
Before setting up, you need to check the availability and connection of drivers. Checking drivers Checking the driver is to find out whether they are on your device at all and whether it is currently in use. So, in Control panels select an item device Manager, which can be hidden inside the item Equipment and sound.
A window opens in which we find Network adapters. There must be two items: Ethernet and Wi-Fi. One of them should have the word “Wireless” in its name. This is your adapter.
If there is no entry for the wi-fi adapter, or there is an icon with an exclamation mark on a yellow background next to it, this means that you have a problem with the drivers. If there is no entry, it means that the drivers are not installed and you will have to install them from the disk that came with the laptop. Or find it on the manufacturer's website. Without them, wi-fi will not work. If there is an entry, but there is a yellow exclamation mark next to it, right-click on this item. In the window that appears, select “Engage”. The reason for connection difficulties may lie in the fact that the adapter is set to a power saving mode. To disable it, right-click on it, then Properties - Power Management, now you need to uncheck the box “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save energy.”
Now everything is fine with the driver. Enabling the adapterwi— fi . To do this through Control Panel→ Network and Internet go to Network connections. Here we find Wireless network connection. This is the wi-fi adapter. Right-click to open the dialog box and select “Enable”. Connect to an access point. All that remains is to connect the laptop to the access point. Make sure the access point is active. Find the wi-fi icon in the lower right corner of the screen on the taskbar. When clicked, a network management window will open, select the desired network, click “Connection”.
If the network is protected by a password, the system will ask you to enter it (if you have forgotten the password for your network, you can find it out). Only after entering the required password will you be able to use the Internet. If the network is open, the connection will occur automatically. That's all. Enabling and setting up Wifi on a laptop completed. If you have set up Wi-Fi once, you won’t need to do this anymore, since they will automatically be saved in the laptop’s memory. You will only need to turn it on with the appropriate button or key combination. Remember that connecting wirelessly takes a lot of power from your device, so the battery will be used quite intensively. Pleasant and simple connections without incident!
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Almost every laptop has the ability to connect to wireless Wi-Fi.
Using this technology, computers exchange data between themselves and network devices (printers, access points, etc.), and also access the World Wide Web.
There are many laptop models, but they all work according to the same communication standards. Can you imagine what it would be like for their owners if Wi-Fi setup on each laptop was done differently?
The procedure for setting up a wireless network depends only on the operating system.
Some manufacturers equip their laptops with network utilities, but this does not provide anything new, except that it makes the setup process more convenient. Of course, you can use them, but it is more useful to know how to work with OS tools.
If you figure out how to set up WIFI on Windows 7, 8 and XP using the system, you can do this on any laptop, regardless of the model.
Before you connect your laptop to the Wi-Fi network for the first time, you need to do three things:
To turn on the Wi-Fi adapter on the laptop, there may be a button or key combination: Fn+ [one of the F1-F12 keys, where the Wi-Fi icon is shown]. You can tell that the adapter is turned on by the glow of the indicator on the laptop case:
To install the wireless driver, connect the laptop to the Internet using cable access or a USB modem, go to the manufacturer's website and download the wireless driver for your operating system.
Run the downloaded file, wait for the installation to complete and reboot the machine.
To automatically start the WLAN AutoConfig service (if it is not running), open a Command Prompt with administrator rights and run two commands in it:
After this, the Wi-Fi adapter will “see” access points located in the signal reception area.
Quick connection
To connect your laptop to an existing Wi-Fi, click on the “Network” icon in the system tray and select the desired access point from the list.
Click the "Connect" button.
Enter your security key (password) and click OK. The connection will be established.
In addition to this method, you can connect to the selected wireless point by pressing the Wi-Fi button on the modem (router).
Important! Networks marked with a shield icon with an exclamation point do not require a password. They are not protected in any way, and data is transmitted through them in clear text.
To connect to an invisible network whose name is hidden, as well as to create a new wireless access profile, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and enter “Network Center...”.
In the “Change network settings” list in Windows 7, click “Set up a new connection or network”, and in Windows 8 (8.1) click “Create and set up a new connection or network”.
Select "Connect to a wireless network manually." This window, like the following ones, looks the same in Windows 8 and 7, so let’s look at the settings using Windows 8 as an example.
Enter the access point name (SSID), security type, encryption and password. If you are going to use this network constantly, check the “Start connection automatically” checkbox.
The “Connect if the network is not broadcasting” option should be checked when the access point is not visible in the list.
In the next window, you can change the connection parameters by clicking the button of the same name.
Basic parameters - name (SSID), grid type and availability cannot be changed. Security settings can be changed, but they must be the same as those assigned to the access point.
Connect to available wireless networks. To connect your laptop to existing Wi-Fi networks, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and open “View available wireless networks.”
Select the desired access point from the list and click “Connect”.
Enter the password (security key) and its confirmation. After clicking on the “Connect” button, the connection will be established.
I will describe all the ways I know to turn on a Wi-Fi network on a laptop (after all, everything that can be turned off can be turned on?!) I’ll start with the simpler and more common methods, then I’ll move on to more complex methods that only a few will need.
So if you see on taskbar icon Wi-Fi is turned off (or you don’t see the icon at all), then this article is for you.
On many laptop models, to turn on Wi-Fi, you need to use the slider or a separate button to turn on Wi-Fi. Often this switch is located on the front end of the laptop.
The switch looks different, but has one function - turning the wireless network on and off.
To turn on Wi-Fi, simply move the slider to the On position.
If your laptop does not have sliders or separate buttons for turning on Wi-Fi, take a closer look at the keyboard; on it you can find a Wi-Fi icon on one of the function keys (F1-F12).
It can be located on different buttons, it all depends on the manufacturer and model of the laptop.
In order to turn on Wi-Fi, you need to press this key or use a keyboard shortcut
Let's look at the key combinations that are most often used in laptops from different manufacturers:
If the above procedures did not help and you are still wondering How to enable Wi-Fi on a laptop? You need to check whether the Wireless network connection is enabled in Windows settings. To do this, you need to go to the Network and Sharing Center. One way is to right-click on network icon in the lower right corner of the screen and select "Network and Sharing Center".
Another way to use hotkeys
It doesn’t matter which method you used, the result will be the same - the Network Connections window will appear on the monitor. Next, you need to find a wireless connection, right-click on it and select “Enable” (if the Enable option is not available, then the Wi-Fi network is enabled).
If your Wi-Fi adapter is still not enabled, you need to check whether it is enabled in the task manager. To do this, click the Start button, right-click Computer, and select Manage. From the left menu, select Device Manager.
Or press the keyboard shortcut
If the adapter icon is marked with a down arrow, it means it is turned off; to turn it on, right-click on it and select “Enable”.
Another reason for Wi-Fi not working may be an inappropriate driver or its absence. In order to install the required driver, go to the laptop manufacturer’s website, find your model (on some sites this will be difficult, you can write the laptop model in the comments, I will try to help you) and download the driver for the Wi-Fi network card for your operating system systems. After this, it will be enough to install the drivers; after rebooting the laptop, Wi-Fi should work.
No matter how you turned on the wireless network, you should eventually see a Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar. When you click on it, you will see the Wi-Fi networks available for connection.
Almost every laptop has the ability to connect to wireless.
Using this technology, computers exchange data between themselves and network devices (printers, access points, etc.), and also access the World Wide Web.
There are many laptop models, but they all work according to the same communication standards. Can you imagine what their owners would have to do if each laptop did it differently?
The procedure for setting up a wireless network depends only on the operating system.
Some manufacturers equip their laptops with network utilities, but this does not provide anything new, except that it makes the setup process more convenient.
Of course, you can use them, but it is more useful to know how to work with OS tools.
If you figure out how to set up WIFI on Windows 7, 8 and XP using the system, you can do this on any laptop, regardless of the model.
Before you connect your laptop to the Wi-Fi network for the first time, you need to do three things:
To turn on the Wi-Fi adapter on the laptop, there may be a button or key combination: Fn +[one of the keys F1 -F12, where the Wi-Fi icon is shown].
You can tell that the adapter is turned on by the glow of the indicator on the laptop case:
Important! Networks marked with a shield icon with an exclamation point do not require a password. They are not protected in any way, and data is transmitted through them in clear text.
To connect to an invisible network whose name is hidden, as well as to create a new wireless access profile, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and enter “Network Center...”.
In the “Change network settings” list in Windows 7, click “Set up a new connection or network”, and in Windows 8 (8.1) click “Create and set up a new connection or network”.
Select "Connect to a wireless network manually." This window, like the following ones, looks the same in Windows 8 and 7, so let’s look at the settings using Windows 8 as an example.
Enter the access point name (SSID), security type, encryption and password. If you are going to use this network constantly, check the “Start connection automatically” checkbox.
The “Connect if the network is not broadcasting” option should be checked when the access point is not visible in the list.
In the next window, you can change the connection parameters by clicking the button of the same name.
Basic parameters - name (SSID), grid type and availability cannot be changed. Security settings can be changed, but they must be the same as those assigned to the access point.
To connect your laptop to existing Wi-Fi networks, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and open “View available wireless networks.”
Select the desired access point from the list and click “Connect”.
Enter the password (security key) and its confirmation. After clicking on the “Connect” button, the connection will be established.
To reconfigure existing Wi-Fi settings, go to Control Panel and open the Network Connections section.
Right-click “Wireless Connection” and expand its properties.
In the new window, check “Use Windows to set up the network”, then in the “Preferred networks” section, click “Add”.
Here you can change the type of security (authenticity) of the connection, the type of data encryption, and also check the “Connect if the network is not broadcasting” checkbox.
The last option must be checked when your access point is not visible in the list.
How to set up a wireless WiFi adapter is a fairly frequently asked question. This is due to the fact that this technology for transmitting data over the air is very widespread throughout the world. This spread is explained by the extremely simple setup and easy use of WiFi networks anywhere, for example, in a cafe, at home, at work, in a shopping center, and so on.
Typically, to connect to the network, the user simply needs to turn on the wireless adapter on their laptop or smartphone. After this, the device will begin searching for available connections and offer a list. All you have to do is select the desired network and connect to it. But before the adapter starts working normally, it must be configured. And this is where many may encounter certain difficulties.
Preliminary configuration of a wireless WiFi adapter involves installing software. In other words, installing drivers and necessary utilities for working with networks and equipment.
So, if we are talking about a laptop, then all the necessary drivers are available on the disk that was included with the computer when purchased. If this disk is lost and you cannot find it, then you can download everything you need on the manufacturer’s official website, indicating the full name of the laptop model.
If you bought a WiFi adapter separately, then a disk must be included with it. Also, knowing the exact name of the module, you can easily find the necessary software on the Internet. After installing the drivers, new hardware will appear in Device Manager. The computer will determine its name and exact model.
After installing drivers and utilities for working with the device, it is recommended to restart the computer. After this, you can proceed with further settings. Everything is just as simple here. All available settings that you can change are located in the Network and Sharing Center. It is this service that should be launched first to configure network adapters. You can open the service by simply right-clicking on the network icon in the tray (the area in the lower right corner of the desktop).
So, how to set up a wireless network WiFi adapter? In the Network and Sharing Center, select “Change adapter settings.” Here you will find the wireless shortcut. Depending on the version of the operating system, it may be called differently. In seven there is a wireless network connection, in eight there is a wireless network. If you right-click on this shortcut, a preliminary menu will appear. Here you can disable the adapter, run troubleshooting, and also enter its properties.
Diagnostics allows you to automatically find problems and fix them. Users only need to pay close attention to the on-screen prompts. As a result of the diagnostics, the system will provide a report on the work performed, from which you can find out what errors were detected and what was corrected.
How to configure a Wi-Fi network adapter at a deeper level? To do this, you should enter its properties. Here you can select the components and protocols that will be used by the device. In addition, there are cases when to configure the network you need to enter the connection IP address manually. To do this, you need to select Internet Protocol version 4 (TCPIPv4) and enter its properties. Here you should move the marker to the “Use the following IP address” item and enter the network data manually. You will find this information in your agreement with the provider. You can also simply call your provider’s customer support service and find out all the data.
The first tab displays information about the device. If an error occurs, its code and general information will be displayed here. If no errors are found, you will see the message “The device is working normally.” In the second tab you will see all the available functions and properties of your WiFi adapter. Here you can turn on and off certain functions, as well as set their values.
In the vast majority of cases, there is no need to configure anything in this menu, since all parameters are specified when installing the driver. However, if necessary, here you can change the MAC address of the adapter, assigning absolutely any values. This is done only in extreme cases, when a change of physical address is necessary to connect to the network.
The Driver tab displays all information about the software and its version. Here you can remove or update the driver. The next tab “Information” allows you to find out detailed information about the device. It is worth noting that here you can find out absolutely all the information regarding your WiFi adapter. In the “Property” line, you select the function or service you want to learn about. Below, in the “Value” line, detailed information about the support of the function and its properties will be displayed.
The last tab, “Power Management,” is where you configure the power supply for the Wi-Fi adapter. Here you can enable or disable automatic shutdown of the device to save energy.
We return to the adapter properties again. Now go to the “Access” tab. Here we can allow or deny sharing of the internet connection with other users connected to the network. This option is used when you are creating a virtual network using a laptop or computer as an access point or server.
We figured out the settings of the wireless module on the laptop. But what if it is a USB module that is used in a desktop computer? How to set up a wireless USB WiFi adapter? Here you should understand that it works exactly the same as the built-in models in laptops. Therefore, it supports the same properties and protocols and has similar settings.
I work as a specialist at the Techno-Master company.
