Windows 7: Configure a Wireless Connection

To Configure a Wireless Connection in Windows 7 follow the steps below:

1. Whether you have a network set up in your home or business to connect to, or you want to connect to free wireless networks as you roam around, you can make settings for that connection. Choose Start >> Control Panel >> Network and Internet.

2. In the resulting window, click the Network and Sharing Center link.

3. In the resulting Network and Sharing Center window, click the Manage Wireless Networks link.

4. In the resulting window, right-click a connection and then choose Properties.

5. In the Wireless Network Properties dialog box, click the Connection tab.

6. On the Connection tab, make any of the following selections:

• Connect Automatically When This Network Is in Range: This option has Windows make a connection whenever it detects this network.

• Connect to a More Preferred Network if Available: This option allows Windows to switch among preferred networks when Windows detects that one’s within range. A preferred connection is any network you have connected to previously. Sometimes this causes Windows to switch back and forth among preferred networks, so you may want to turn off this setting to avoid that.

• Connect Even if the Network Is Not Broadcasting Its Name (SSID): The SSID (Service Set Identifier) is the public name of a network, although network SSIDs aren’t always unique. For security reasons, you might not want to connect to a network that doesn’t provide this identifier.

7. Click OK to close the Wireless Network Properties dialog box and then the Close button (the red button with an X on the top-right corner of the Manage Wireless Networks window) to close it.