Imagine sitting on the couch in your living room browsing the web, or chatting with friends online while relaxing in bed at night, or sending documents from the computer in the kitchen to the printer in your home office. A wireless network provides the ultimate in networking flexibility, and setting one up is easier than you might think. This article walks you through the steps to set up your wireless network and start using it.
Getting the right equipment
Before you can set up your wireless network, you'll need the following items:
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Broadband Internet connection and modem
A broadband Internet connection is a high-speed Internet connection—in contrast to a dial-up connection, which is slower and not powerful enough to support a wireless network. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and cable are two of the most common broadband connections. You can get a broadband connection by contacting an Internet service provider (ISP). Typically, ISPs that provide DSL are telephone companies and ISPs that provide cable are cable TV companies. ISPs often offer broadband modems and might even install it for you. Some ISPs also offer combination modem/wireless routers. You can also find these at computer or electronics stores.
Illustration of a cable and DSL modemTypical cable modem (left) and DSL modem (right)
Wireless router
A router sends information between your network and the Internet. With a wireless router, you can connect computers to your network using radio signals instead of wires. There are a few different types of wireless network technologies, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. We recommend using a router that supports 802.11g or 802.11n because they are fast and provide a strong wireless signal. For more information about wireless network technologies, see Wireless networking: frequently asked questions.
Illustration of a wireless routerTypical wireless router
Wireless network adapters
A network adapter is a device that connects your computer to a network. To connect your laptop or desktop computer to your wireless network, the computer must have a wireless network adapter. Most laptops—and many desktop computers—come with a wireless network adapter already installed. To check if your computer has a wireless network adapter, follow these steps:
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Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then, under System, clicking Device Manager. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
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Double-click Network adapters.
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Look for a network adapter that includes "wireless" in the name.
Picture of Device Manager with a wireless network adapterDevice Manager showing a wireless network adapter
If your computer needs a wireless network adapter, you can purchase one from a computer or electronics store and install it yourself. The universal serial bus (USB) type are a nice choice because they are small, easy to install, and they can be moved around to different computers. Make sure you get the same type of adapters as your wireless router. The type of adapter is usually marked on the package, typically with a letter, such as G or A.
Illustration of USB wireless network adaptersTypical USB wireless network adapters
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Setting up the modem and Internet connection
Once you have all of the equipment, you'll need to set up your modem and Internet connection. If your modem wasn't set up for you by your Internet service provider (ISP), follow the instructions that came with your modem to connect it to your computer and the Internet. If you're using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), connect your modem to a phone jack. If you are using cable, connect your modem to a cable jack. For more information, see Set up a broadband (DSL or cable) connection.
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Positioning the wireless router
Put your wireless router somewhere where it will receive the strongest signal with the least amount of interference. For the best results, follow these tips:
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Position your wireless router in a central location. Place the router as close to the center of your home as possible to increase the strength of the wireless signal throughout your home.
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Position the wireless router off of the floor and away from walls and metal objects, such as metal file cabinets. The fewer physical obstructions between your computer and the router's signal, the more likely that you'll be using the router's full signal strength.
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Reduce interference. 802.11g networking equipment uses a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) radio frequency. This is the same frequency as most microwaves and many cordless phones. If you turn on the microwave or get a call on a cordless phone, your wireless signal might be temporarily interrupted. You can avoid most of these issues by using a cordless phone with a higher frequency, such as 5.8 GHz.
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Securing your wireless network
Security is always important; with a wireless network, it's even more important because your network's signal could go beyond the boundaries of your home. If you don't secure your network, people with computers nearby might be able to access the information stored on your network computers and use your Internet connection to get onto the web. To help secure your network, do the following:
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Protect your router by changing the default user name and password. Most router manufacturers have a default user name and password on the router as well as a default network name. Someone could use this information to access your router without you knowing it. To avoid that risk, change the default user name and password for your router. Check the information that came with your device for instructions.
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Set up a security key for your network. Just as file cabinets have keys and safes have combinations, wireless networks have a network security key to help protect them from unauthorized access. To set up a network security key, follow these steps:
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Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then click Network and Sharing Center.
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Click Set up a new connection or network.
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Click Set up a new network, and then click Next.
The wizard will walk you through creating a network name and a security key. If your router will support it, the wizard will default to Wi‑Fi Protected Access (WPA or WPA2) security. We recommend that you use WPA2, if possible, because it offers better security than WPA or Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) security. With WPA2 or WPA you can also use a passphrase, so you don’t have to remember a cryptic sequence of letters and numbers. For more information, see What are the different wireless network security methods?
Picture of Set up a router or access point wizardCreate a network security key
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Write down your security key and keep it in a safe place. You can also save your security key on a USB flash drive by following the instructions in the wizard.
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Use a firewall. A firewall is hardware or software that can help protect your computer from hackers or malicious software. Running a firewall on each computer on your network can help control the spread of malicious software on your network, as well as help to protect your computers when you're accessing the Internet. Windows Firewall is included with this version of Windows. For more information, see Firewall: frequently asked questions.
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Adding computers to your network
To connect your laptop or desktop computer to your wireless network, follow these steps:
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Open Connect to a Network by right-clicking the network icon (Picture of the wireless network icon or Picture of the wired network icon) in the notification area.
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In the list of networks, click the network that you want to connect to, and then click Connect.
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Enter the security key. You can either type in the key or insert a USB flash drive that contains the security key into a USB port on the computer.
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Sharing files and printers
Most people have a wireless network so they can access the Internet from any room in the house, but they also want the freedom of accessing files and printers wirelessly.
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Sharing files
The easiest way to share files on your network is to set up sharing with a homegroup. If you don't have a homegroup, you can share files by placing them in one of the Public folders. Any file or folder you put in a Public folder is automatically shared with the people connected to your network. To turn on Public folder sharing, follow these steps:
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Open Advanced sharing settings by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, click Network and Sharing Center, and then, in the left pane, click Change advanced sharing settings.
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Click the chevron Picture of the chevron icon to expand the current network profile.
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Under Public folder sharing, click one of the following options:
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Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders
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Turn off Public folder sharing (people logged on to this computer can still access these folders)
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Click Save changes. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
You will need to repeat the previous steps on each computer that you want to share files from.
To share your files, save them or copy them to a Public folder on your computer. There is a Public folder for each type of library (Documents, Music, Videos, and Pictures). Every person with a user account on the computer shares these folders. For example, to open the Public Documents folder:
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Open the Documents library by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Documents.
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In the navigation pane, under Libraries, double-click Documents, and then double-click Public Documents.
Picture of the Public Documents folderThe Public Documents folder
Sharing a printer
If you have a printer attached to one of your computers, you can print to it from any computer connected to your wireless network. The easiest way to share a printer is to select the Printers check box when you set up your homegroup. If you don't have a homegroup, you can follow these steps:
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Log on to the computer that has the printer attached to it.
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Open Advanced sharing settings by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, click Network and Sharing Center, and then, in the left pane, click Change advanced sharing settings.
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Click the chevron Picture of the chevron icon to expand the current network profile.
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Under File and printer sharing, click Turn on file and printer sharing, and then click Save changes. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Note
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If you have password-protected sharing turned on, people will need a user account with a password on your computer to access your printer.
To access the printer from any computer on the network, follow these steps:
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Open Network by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network computers and devices.
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Double-click the icon for the computer that has the printer attached to it.
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Double-click the icon for the printer. Windows will automatically add the printer to your computer and install the printer driver.
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Enjoying your freedom
And that’s it—your wireless network is ready to go. You can relax on the couch or out on the deck while you browse the web, send e-mail, or do some online shopping.
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