Customer Service Helper

How To: Setting Up Your Wireless Internet

It’s easy to set up your high speed internet.  All you need is your cable modem and a wireless router.

Some computers may require you to buy a wireless adapter. You can check in Windows 7 by clicking Start, Control Panel, then Network and Internet; in Windows XP, right-click My Computer and select properties. On the Hardware tab, click the device manager button, then the plus sign (+) to the left of the words Network Devices. If you see the words “wireless”, “wi-fi” or “WLAN”, or anything about 802.11, your computer has a built-in wireless adapter. Most recently manufactured laptops have wireless connectivity built in their CPU chip.

Connect your cable modem to your router where it says “WAN”.  Turn the router on.

Open a browser on a computer. Find the router’s default address in the documentation and type it where you would normally see the URL of a website. This should bring up a configuration screen that will walk you through the rest of the steps to set up your network.

Choose a name for your network. Don’t leave the default SSID, for the sake of security. Enter a password as well. It’s not required, but if you don’t enter one, you may find yourself responsible for your neighbor’s browsing habits, so passwords are highly recommended. Choose something hard to guess. You will need to enter this on every device on your network, but start here, with the router.

When the wizard asks you, select WPA rather than WEP as your encryption method, as it is more secure.
Now enter an administrative password for your router, and that’s it, at least with the router. Write this password down or save it. You will need it if you have to reconfigure your router in the future.

Next, add your computers and other devices. On Windows 7, press connect to a network, and select the network name you entered into the router, click connect. Next, press view network computers and devices under network in the control panel to make sure you can see the rest of the network.

In Windows XP, right-click my computer then click properties. On the computer name tab, click change. Make sure the workgroup name is WORKGROUP or change it if necessary. Click OK. Select network connections under network and internet connections in the control panel to make sure you can see the network.

Congratulations, your wireless internet should be up and running.