Internet In My Area

How To Set Up A Wireless Network

Setting up a wireless network can be a good idea if you have a lot of computers, laptops, and other devices that need to have wifi access to the internet in your home. You'll also be able to move around your home while staying connected. It's not difficult to set up wifi at all. Just follow the instructions and your wireless network should be up and running quickly.

You will need:

• a cable modem or DSL modem
• a wireless router
• a computer with a wireless adapter (internal or external)

Once you have the necessary equipment, continue following the steps below for setting up a wireless network.

1. Disconnect the power from your cable or DSL modem, but leave it connected to the internet line.
2. If the modem is directly connected to your computer with a network cable, unplug the network cable from your computer and plug it into the back of the router where it's labeled “Internet”,”WAN”, or “WLAN”. Now the cable modem should be connected to the wireless router.
3. Reconnect the power to your modem and wait until all the lights are back on. Approximately 30 seconds.
4. Connect the power to your wireless router and wait for the “Internet”,”WAN”, or “WLAN” light to come on along with the rest of the lights.
5. Find the network cable that came with your router and plug one end into slot 1 from the router and plug the other end to your computer. This step will set up your wireless network.
6. Open up Internet Explorer and enter the IP address into the URL. The IP address differs depending on the brand of the router. After entering the IP address, you may be prompted to enter a username and password.
   
   Here's a table for reference. If your brand is not listed here, please check the manual.
   
   

   Router	Address	Username	Password
   3Com	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin
   D-Link	http://192.168.0.1	admin
   Linksys	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin
   Netgear	http://192.168.0.1	admin	password

7. Once you're in the configuration page, you want to set up your SSID which is the name of your network. This name will differentiate your wifi network from your neighbor's so you'll know to connect your devices to the correct network.
8. You should also set up your network's security with either WEP or WPA. WPA is recommended because it's stronger. You'll be asked to enter a password. Whenever you connect a device to your wireless network, you'll need to enter the password.
9. Also, change the default password of the admin (configuration) page to something you can remember. This step is not for the WEP or WPA security which you already did in step 8. This step is to change the password for when you type in your IP address to log in to the configuration page.
10. Disconnect the network cable from your computer to get on the wireless network.
11. Finally connect to the network by right clicking on the wireless network icon in the taskbar at the bottom right of the screen. Choose “connect to a wireless network” or something similar. It depends on the operating system that you are using. Find the SSID (network name that you chose) and connect to it. When prompted, enter the password that you set up for WEP or WPA security.

You should now be connected to the home wireless network that you just set up. Whenever you want to connect another device to the network, just follow the last step which is 11.