Wired and wireless network problems
Connect to a wireless network in Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 (wireless only)
If you have a laptop or a PC with a wireless network adapter, you can see a list of available wireless networks and then connect to one of those networks. The wireless networks will only appear if your PC has a wireless network adapter installed, the adapter is turned on, and the wireless access point is in range.
View and connect to wireless networks
If you have a laptop or a PC with a wireless network adapter, you can see a list of available wireless networks and then connect to one of those networks. The wireless networks will only appear if your PC has a wireless network adapter installed, the adapter is turned on, and the wireless access point is in range.
Warning
- Whenever possible, you should connect to security-enabled wireless networks. If you do connect to a network that's not secure, be aware that someone with the right tools can see everything that you do, including the websites you visit, the documents you work on, and the user names and passwords that you use. Turning off network sharing can help minimize the risk. For more info, see Turn sharing on or off and How do I know if a network is safe to connect to?
- On the desktop, tap or click the wireless network icon in the notification area.
- In the list of wireless networks, tap or click the network you want to connect to, and then tap or click Connect.
- If you're connecting to a secure network, enter the security key, and then tap or click OK.
- If you entered your sign-in info, pressed OK, and nothing happened except that now the OK button is unavailable, you might need to adjust the identity timeout request setting on your router (for example, set the timeout value to 30 seconds). For instructions, contact your router’s manufacturer.
- Turn on the PC.
- Connect to a network by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Settings (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Settings), and then tapping or clicking the network icon ( or ). Tap or click the network you want to connect to, and then tap or click Connect.
- Instead of typing a security key or passphrase, press the Wi‑Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button on the router. The router will automatically set up the PC to connect to the network and apply the network's security settings.
Where can I find my network security key? If you're looking for the security key so that you can connect to the network, first check for a push button on the router. If you find a push button, press it and see if the router automatically adds your PC to the network. Some wireless router manufacturers set a default security key that you might be able to find on a sticker in the documentation or on the bottom of the router. If you still can't find it, you can open the wireless router settings webpage. This is where the security key is set up or automatically generated.
To find your network security key on your router settings webpage
- Connect your PC to the router using a network (Ethernet) cable.
- Open a web browser and enter the IP address for your wireless router into the search bar (for example, 192.168.1.1 or 172.16.0.0). You can find the default IP address in the documentation that came with your router.
- Enter the user name and password to open the router settings webpage. Most router documentation contains a default user name and password.
- On the router settings webpage, look for a wireless or wireless settings option. Depending on the router manufacturer, this might be a tab, icon, or option in a task pane.
- On the wireless settings page, look for a security or wireless encryption setting. The security key (sometimes called a network key, a passphrase, or a network password) should be listed nearby.
- Different router manufacturers have different settings pages. If you can't find the router settings, contact the router manufacturer.
What if I don’t see my wireless network in the list of available networks?
Your wireless router might not be set to broadcast its network ID (SSID). If this is the case you won’t see the network when viewing available networks. Setting the router to broadcast its network ID makes the network visible to any person within range of the network.
To check your wireless router and broadcast the network ID (SSID), refer to the documentation that came with the wireless router or follow these basic steps:
- Connect your PC to the network using a network cable, start Internet Explorer, and type the IP address for your wireless router (for example, 192.168.1.1 or 172.16.0.0). The default IP address should be listed in the documentation that came with your router.
- Enter the user name and password to see the router settings. The documentation will contain the default user name and password.
- On the wireless router page, look for a Wireless Settings option. Depending on the router manufacturer, this might be a tab, an icon or just an option in a task pane.
- On the Wireless Settings page, look for an option to Enable SSID Broadcast or Wireless SSID Broadcast. Click the button or place a check in the box to choose this option, then save your router settings.
Note- If you can't find the option to turn on broadcasting, check the documentation that came with the router or contact the router manufacturer.
- If you can't find the option to turn on broadcasting, check the documentation that came with the router or contact the router manufacturer.
For this to happen, your PC must broadcast both the name of the network it's looking for and its own name. In this situation, other PCs “listening” for networks will know the name of your PC as well as the network you’re connected to, which increases the risk of your PC being attacked.
If you still want to connect to a hidden wireless network despite the risks, you'll need to gather some info from the wireless router first. Use the following basic steps to gather that info. You can also check the documentation that came with the wireless router or contact the router manufacturer.
- Gather the following info:
- Network ID (SSID), which is the name that would typically appear in the list of available networks
- Type of security (WPA, WPA2, WEP, or 802.1X)
- Type of encryption
- Security key
- Network ID (SSID), which is the name that would typically appear in the list of available networks
- Connect to a network by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Settings (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Settings), and then tapping or clicking the network icon ( or ). Tap or click the network you want to connect to, and then tap or click Connect.
- Tap or click Hidden network, tap or click Connect, and then enter the network info.
The network will be added to your list of networks and will be available to connect to in the future when your PC is in range of the network.
- Autoconnect is turned off for this network. The next time you connect to the network, select the Connect automatically check box.
- When coming out of sleep or hibernation, your wireless network connection might not reconnect if the power options on your wireless adapter are set to a power-saving mode. Here's how to check or change your current power options.
To check or change power options- Open Power Options by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search), entering Power options in the search box, and tapping or clicking Power options.
- Next to your current power plan, tap or click Change plan settings, and then tap or click Change advanced power settings.
- Double-tap or double-click the Wireless Adapter Settings section, and then double-tap or double-click the Power Saving Mode section.
- If the setting is currently anything other than Maximum Performance, tap or click it, and then select Maximum Performance.
- If you have a laptop or tablet, you can also set the On battery setting to Maximum Performance.
- Open Power Options by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search), entering Power options in the search box, and tapping or clicking Power options.
source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/network-connection-problem-help#network-problems=windows-81&v1h=win81tab2&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1