Windows Vista Tip: How To Setup And Connect To A Wireless Network
Of all the Windows Operating Systems that have been released, setting up a wireless network in Vista is much more intuitive to manage. Vista includes many improvements for connecting to wireless networks starting with support for non-broadcasting wireless networks and new dialog boxes to easily configure connections to wireless networks.
This following guide will step you through setting up and connecting to a wireless network on Vista and get you on your way to surfing the Net.
Two methods exist for setting up a wireless connection on Vista. This guide assumes your Wi-Fi router or access point is already setup and running on the Network and your PC or Laptop wireless card has been installed.
Before you can get started with setting up a Wi-Fi connection, the following information will be needed from your wireless router or access point:
- Wireless Network Name (SSID)
- Security Mode or Type (WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc…)
- Encryption Type if using WPA or WPA2 (AES, TKIP)
- Security Key or PassPhrase
Automatic Setup For Wireless Connection
1. Click on the Start button and select Connect To from the menu on the right to display the Connect to a network dialog box.
2. The list of available networks will depend on the types of wireless networks detected, such as infrastructure mode or ad hoc mode networks. If you see the name of your Network, double click it to proceed to the next screen. If you see other Networks in the list, they are probably your neighbors…hopefully they are all secured just like yours!
If you do not see your Network, follow the steps described below for Manually Setup A Wireless Connection below.
3. Enter Security Key or PassPhrase (from the information found from your router or access point). Check Display Characters to view characters/numbers being typed. Click Connect.
4. At the next screen, Vista will attempt to connect to your wireless router or access point. Once the connection is established, you will be prompted to save your connection by checking the Save this network and Start this connection automatically boxes.
Click Close. You will now be connected to the wireless network.
Manually Setup A Wireless Connection
1. Click on the Start button and select Connect To from the menu on the right to display the Connect to a network dialog box.
2. The list of available networks will depend on the types of wireless networks detected, such as infrastructure mode or ad hoc mode networks. If you do not see your network in the list, or if no networks can be found, Vista displays Windows cannot find any networks, then your Wi-Fi router may be set for non-broadcast mode. If this is the case, select Setup a connection or network.
3. On the Choose a connection option page, six options are available. Select the Manually connect to a wireless network option, then click Next.
4. The Wizard displays the following:
In the Enter information for the wireless network you want to add … page, configure the following using the above information you obtain from your wireless network or access point:
A) Network name (SSID)
B) Security type (used to authenticate a connection to a wireless network). Choices are dependent on the capabilities of your wireless network adapter:
- No authentication (Open) Open system authentication with no encryption
- WEP Open system authentication with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
- WPA-Personal Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) with a preshared key (also known as a passphrase)
- WPA-Enterprise WPA with IEEE 802.1X authentication
- WPA2-Personal WPA2 with a preshared key
- WPA2-Enterprise WPA with IEEE 802.1X authentication
- 802.1x IEEE 802.1X authentication with WEP (also known as dynamic WEP)
NOTE: The shared key authentication method is not listed. Microsoft strongly discourages its use since it provides weak security for your wireless network. To configure shared key authentication, select No authentication (Open) below in step C.
C) Encryption Type (enabled if using WPA or WPA2, select either AES or TKIP).
- When the No authentication (Open) security type is selected, None is selected.
- When the WEP security type is selected, WEP is selected.
- When the WPA-Personal, WPA-Enterprise, WPA2-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise security type is selected, choose either TKIP or AES
- When the WEP (802.1x) security type is selected, WEP is selected.
D) Security Key/Passphrase (check Display Characters to view characters/numbers being typed)
E) Check Start this connection automatically (tells Vista to automatically connect to this wireless network)
F) Check Connect even if this network is not broadcasting
Click Next
5. At the next screen click on Connect to…
You have now successfully connected to your Wireless network (click Cancel to close).
You should see your connection in the System Tray (double monitor icon). When you mouse over the connection, it will display your current connection. Right clicking the connection and selecting properties will allow you to select different options such as the Network and Sharing Center.
The Network and Sharing Center is the nerve center for you networking tasks. From here you can view all network connection information and make any changes when needed. On the left pane, selecting Manage wireless networks will allow you to make any changes to the connection you just set up above (after clicking Manage wireless networks, right click the connection and select properties).
Selecting Manage network connections will display all network adapters installed on your System. Double clicking on any adapters will display the properties window allowing you to fully manage the adapter and the network connection.
Select Diagnose and repair if you experience problems with your adapter or network connection.
30 Comments on Windows Vista Tip: How To Setup And Connect To A Wireless Network »
May 28, 2007
Tejas @ 5:10 pm:
I tried all the way but I can't access internet. Its our appartmenet network all can access but i can't Its unsecuired also. i dont know why?
I can see it in the list but when I try to connect it not work. Many time I start diognist & repair but still not work.
please give me some tips about that
July 3, 2007
penny @ 8:55 pm:
I followed the instructions and i still cant get online vis wireless
August 2, 2007
Joe @ 7:43 pm:
ok I did what was said and I stiull cant connect to other computers in my house. I have 3 computers in my house each one running windows Vista. One of them is running basic, One of them Premium and the last Ultimate. I can connect to the internet with all 3 computers but not to each other. Any help you can give me in this matter would be greatly helpful
August 3, 2007
Watching The Net @ 7:22 am:
@Joe
Are you just trying to access data on the other computers?
November 6, 2007
Dave @ 4:03 am:
Worked for me, thanks. Already an aggravating start though, why the heck didn't it detect it?
December 23, 2007
John @ 8:20 pm:
Ok - when i follow the advice to set up a wireless connection to my linksys wireless modem that has wep 64bite encrytpion. Instead of getting the window to "enter a security key" I get a window that says "Enter/Select Additional Log On Information". When I click on that box, I get a window that wants me to enter a user name, password, and domain name. Of which there is none. So the connection fails. This same thing happens any time I want to connect to a secure router, even other brands like Bilken. The only way I can connect wireless is though a non secure system. thoughts?
December 26, 2007
Austin Tashis @ 6:13 pm:
I'm getting the "Windows cannot find any networks" message, so I clicked on "Setup a connection or network." When the "Choose a connection option" page displays, it only has four options, not the promised six, and "Manually connect to a wireless network" is not one of them. So now what?
Why isn't the network being displayed in the first place? The SSID is being broadcast. I can see it and connect to it with no difficulty from my MacBook Pro, but Windows can't see it?
Maybe Microsoft has finally realized that the only way to make Windows secure is to keep its users off of networks.
Watching The Net @ 10:44 pm:
@John
Are you able to select a Wireless Network (as shown in step 2 for Automatic Setup)?
It sounds like your making the connection, but what ever your connecting to wants you to authenticate before allowing access (like a Private Network behind a Firewall, maybe a Neighbor's Network, etc..).
Austin Tashis @ 10:59 pm:
> Are you able to select a Wireless Network (as shown in step 2 for Automatic Setup)?
No. There are no networks listed. It says "Windows cannot find any networks."
> It sounds like your making the connection, but what ever your connecting to wants you to authenticate before allowing access (like a Private Network behind a Firewall, maybe a Neighbor's Network, etc..).
I'm trying to connect my father-in-law's brand new Windows laptop to his wireless network. The network has no password, no encryption, and it's broadcasting the SSID. I have no difficulty seeing or connecting to it with my MacBook Pro without authenticating.
Watching The Net @ 11:09 pm:
@Austin Tashis
Check with the manufacturer to see if the latest driver is installed for your Network card. If you still have problems, go to properties of the wireless network card (Start \ Run and type ncpa.cpl) and uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6).
Also check the support knowledge base and forums of the manufacturer to see if other users are having the same problems. You may find a solution.
Finally, double check your Router and make sure SSID is not disabled.
Watching The Net @ 11:25 pm:
Austin Tashis
You read the wrong reply! (that was for John).
Austin Tashis @ 11:56 pm:
> You read the wrong reply! (that was for John).
Sorry.
> Check with the manufacturer to see if the latest driver is installed for your Network card.
I spent about an hour online chatting with HP tech support. They kept giving me instructions that didn't make any sense for this model (e.g. right-click on the wireless icon in the task bar–there isn't one), then they told me to try downloading new drivers and reinstalling everything. They sent me a bunch of urls to get the drivers, and I had to remind them that I couldn't download anything to the Compaq because it didn't have a network, and downloading them to my Mac wouldn't do me any good because I couldn't install them on the Compaq because I had no way to get them onto the Compaq because it doesn't even have bluetooth–not that I would be able to get it to work even if it did. So then they said I should try restarting the Compaq and hitting F8 as soon as the red Compaq logo appeared to get some kind of setup menu. This turned out to be very amusing. First of all, can you believe how freaking difficult they've made it to find the restart command in Vista???? Holy crap! It took me about three minutes to find it! Then, after the reboot, the Compaq logo appeared, but it was white, not red. So as I'm wondering when the red one is going to show up I realized that Windows was already starting up, so I have to restart it again. This time I held down F8 as soon as the WHITE Compaq logo appeared. Nothing. Windows starts up again. So another restart, and this time I try holding down F10, because there's a message on the screen that says something about holding down F10 to get some kind of setup menu. So when the menu appears I start looking around for this "last known good configuration" thing they said to look for. But it's nowhere to be found. So at this point I'd decided I'd wasted about enough time with Compaq tech support, who obviously haven't got a clue about how their products actually work, and with this cocked-up abortion of an operating system. So I told my father-in-law that the obvious solution to his problem was to return this POS laptop and go get a MacBook. The next time someone tells me they're having trouble with a Windows computer I'm just going to say, "I'm sorry to hear that." These things are such a freaking waste of time.
> If you still have problems, go to properties of the wireless network card (Start \ Run and type ncpa.cpl) and uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6).
Hmm. That's interesting. I remember seeing that option somewhere, and it was checked, but I thought IP v6 support should be standard on any new laptop. Macs have had it for years.
> Also check the support knowledge base and forums of the manufacturer to see if other users are having the same problems. You may find a solution.
They're useless. They don't even list this model on their site. They show an F700EF and an F700EM, but no F700. I swear there is no EF or EM on the sticker on this machine or in the system info in firmware.
> Finally, double check your Router and make sure SSID is not disabled.
It's not. I can see it on the Mac in the Airport menu. I don't even have to run Kismet to see it.
February 4, 2008
Steve @ 8:55 pm:
I can't get my Windows XP settings for my secure wireless network to work in Windows Vista. My secure network works fine on my three XP computers, using wireless or direct CAT5 connect, with a Linksys WRT300N wireless router. But in Vista, it keeps telling me that the settings aren't valid for a network. Vista cna see the network but not connect to it. It really wants me to import the settings using a USB flash drive, so I did that. I also tried every entry manually. The settings that work on XP and are exported to my flash drive or printout for manual entry are:
Network name (SSID): mynetworknamehere
Network key (WEP/WPA key): ten-digit numeric-only number
Key provided automatically (802.1x): 0
Network authentication type: open
Data encryption type: WEP
Connection type: ESS
Key index: (blank)
In Vista, however, these options aren't selectable this way. For instance, with an open network authentication type, WEP is not a selectable option. But WEP/WEP for network and data encryption doesn't work. Vista seems to think the wireless network properties (which it sees) are WPA2-PSK, but that isn't selectable either. Key index is driven to 1, 2, 3, or 4, but not a zero or blank.
How can I connect from Vista to a working encrypted wireless network, that it can see, that my XP computes can connect to? I've tried every option of every menu multiple times. I even tried to reset my router back to store values to start unencrypted and start fresh, but I could get it to that either. I was lucky to get back to where I was. Windows Zero Connect was no help either. Any ideas?
February 5, 2008
Rahul Singh jasrotia @ 3:26 am:
sir as in image Network and sharing Center we are not able to connect to the internet as we are connect to the network provider.
please help me ..
Watching The Net @ 7:46 pm:
@Steve
@Rahul Singh jasrotia
As many things can contribute to wireless connection issues, the most commoon items I found that causes wireless problems are:
- Not having the latest driver/firmware version installed
- Try changing the channel. One of the most common sources of wireless connection problems is interference (operating at the same frequency as cordless phones, baby monitor, etc…).
- Network mode mis-match, make sure both wireless adapter and the router are set to the same speed (B or G).
- Firewall. If you are running a firewall make sure it's not blocking access to the router.
- Configuration error. Double, triple and quadruple check encryption settings (for password syntax errors for WEP or WPA), are you using MAC filtering on the router, is the SSID name correct?
- Is SSID set to not broadcast on your router? If it is, enable it so Vista can see it.
- Compatibility problems. XP and Vista are not the same. If you had a wireless card that used to work on XP and now it won't work on Vista, it may be incompatible with Vista (driver only works on XP). Try using a different adapter.
February 6, 2008
Steve @ 9:50 pm:
I fixed it! It turned out to be that my newest wireless adapters will only support TKIP and not AES encryption. All my older ones suport AES, which is what I had my WPA2 network set on for the last year plus.
Thanks for the tips. I had pretty much checked all this but it inspired me to run a step-by-step systematic diagnostic of my own. Maybe this will help someone else.
I connected the laptop to the router with a hard LAN cable so I could maintain control of the router while troubleshooting the wireless connection. First I disabled all firewalls to confirm that there was no interference, which there wasn't. Then I took the router down to an unencrypted basic state to confirm it would connect via the wireless adapter, which it would. I then turned back on the Norton Internet Security firewalls, and connectivity was still good. I then increased encryption on the router one step at a time, matching the settings on the wireless network properties. I went to WEP with a 10-hexadecimal key, and got good connectivity. I then increased to 26-digit WEP and reestablished a good connection. I then went to WPA personal successfully. I then went to WPA2 AES with no connection. I reduced to TKIP after setting my router to TKIP or AES, and got the highest security I could get using all eight of my computers.
The frustrating thing was, aside from the time I spent figuring this out, was that nowhere did I see this idea of step-by-step increases in encryption or suggestions to reduce it. No user guides, no help pages, not the manufacturer. The best help was this forum and the Linksys router guide I downloaded. Thank you. I have solved my problem and hopefully someone else will benefit from my experience.
February 7, 2008
Watching The Net @ 7:06 am:
@Steve
That's great news! The valuable information you provided, should help out a lot more Vista users with wireless network problems. As you experienced, sometimes it just takes a little more digging to solve these pesky problems.
February 26, 2008
Ken Croft @ 8:52 am:
I have a desktop running XP and a laptop running Vista. The desktop is wired to the Netgear router and the laptop connects wirelessly to the router. The two computers share a printer and this works too. It all works but when I click on the little icons on the Vista laptop to see what wireless networks are available, there appears to be two. One is called NETGEAR [even though I have disabled broadcasting of my network name] and this is the one that the Vista laptop automatically connect to. The other says it is an un-named and unsecure network. There is nothing I can do to connect to this unnamed network. If I turn off the wireless operation of my router, both these apparent networks dissappear. I have WEP security enabled. What is going on? What is this second network? And can I get rid of it. It must be coming from my router I guess.
Watching The Net @ 12:00 pm:
@Ken Croft
More than likely the 2nd network is from your neighbor and somehow your Netgear router is picking it up.
When I see odd things like that on my Network, I know it's time to change all security settings on the router…you may want to do the same thing. Also, you should really switch from WEP to WPA (if your router model supports WPA).
Ken Croft @ 4:41 pm:
Nope, I do not believe is not a neighbour. I do see other networks, but this unsecure un-named one dissappears if I turn off the wireless operation of my router. Surely that means it is something to do with my router. Any external network should still show up on the laptop shouldn't it?
thanks
Ken
Steve @ 5:55 pm:
I think it's the remnant of when you had your network up before. I found that when I changed the name of my network, the old name stayed as a viable option to select - even though the router was no longer transmitting that name. Try turning on broadcast mode again until you have everything solved. Change the name to something else so you can tell which is which, and use WPA. Then, if you find an old network that isn't "real" anymore, delete it by using the REMOVE option when you have all available networks showing.
Watching The Net @ 6:57 pm:
@Steve - thanks for the follow up
@Ken Croft - look like you are not the only Netgear user who has encountered this. Disabling SSID broadcast only disables broadcasting the name. The network will still be announced but no one will be able to connect to it. Looks like you may not need to worry about it.
http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=6801 (it's not much info but does match your problem)
February 27, 2008
Ken Croft @ 3:23 am:
Many thanks to you all. This was very helpful to know that I am not alone and that it is just a quirk of the Netgear router.
Just one more though, for Steve. How do I find the REMOVE option to get rid of a false network. Presumably this is in a menu somewhere in Vista?
Thanks again
Ken
Steve @ 9:54 pm:
In Windows Vista, select Network and Sharing Center.
Select Manage Wireless Networks.
All the networks will be displayed - those your computer's wireless can see, and those it has ever chosen before (such as hotels or airports, in case it ever sees them again).
Select the network that you no longer want.
The Change Adapter button becomes the Remove button (green minus sign), available to be selected.
Select Remove. That network is removed from the list of available networks.
Good luck.
February 28, 2008
Ken Croft @ 2:09 am:
Very clear. Many thanks
Ken
March 21, 2008
Marc Hardman @ 6:42 pm:
My laptop detects the D-Link router when I open "select a newtwork to connect to",but shows a red cross. It then tells me that the security settings in Vista do not match those for D-link.Any ideas.
Watching The Net @ 6:53 pm:
@Marc Hardman
Do you have encryption (WEP or WPA) enabled on the router. If you do, then you will need to configure the wireless adapter with the encryption settings on your laptop.
March 23, 2008
Todd @ 3:45 pm:
I'm not sure if this is a similar issue. Using Vista; brand new Toshiba laptop and I have updated to SP1. No issues connecting with unsecure networks. My problem is I can't access the internet if there is a security (password) requirement. I never am prompted to enter the Network key. I am able to access my home network wirelessly and this was not easy; I eventually stumbled and actually had to disable/enable security requirements through the router, but obviously I don't have access to another access points router. Something is probably set wrong on my system but I can't find a setting to force a password prompt if there is a secure access point. Please, someone, help.
April 1, 2008
Bert @ 7:49 pm:
Todd, I had similar problems with my new Dell Laptop running Vista… Connecting to my PC running XP and my wireless router. At first I was able to "connect" but with limited access (meaning no internet connection)… I then disabled my router security and retried - I was then able to connect with no problem. Turns out that my router had been set to WEP security - I reset my router to use the WPA-PERSONAL Security Type and TKIP Encryption and tried again this "fixed" the problem. Seems that perhaps VISTA does not play well with WEP.
Just my two cents
May 10, 2008
Sameer @ 3:55 pm:
Hi BERT, how did you disabled the router security i hvae a netgeat i too get limited access only