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Trouble Shooting On and Off Campus Wireless

All laptop computers these days come with built-in wireless adapters. Many power notebooks used by travelers and businessmen will have powerful cell adapters that connect to the Internet via cell phone towers. But a standard built in IEEE 802.11 rated adapter, is a wireless card, that connects the laptop to local wireless routers, or other wireless access point within a hundred feet of the laptop. Signal strength is determined by both the distance between the router, and the notebook - along with the obstructions in between: such as doors, people, walls, appliances, furniture, etc.

With all of that said, the main issue you will encounter with a wireless Internet connection will be the wireless adapter being switched off! A simple fix always involves the wireless on/off button all laptops have - most people aren't aware of it, until their wireless stops working all of a sudden. The vast majority of the time, Internet connectivity problems will be due to operating system software settings, or router security settings. Very rarely is it the internet connection itself. I worked at an internet call center, helping the helpless, so I should be able to provide a few tips to help you struggling students out.

The easiest way to troubleshoot whether your connectivity problem is a result of your local network, is to take the laptop somewhere else and try it. If the wireless isn't operational, go into your control panel: 1) Double click your system icon - click the hardware button on the pop up screen 2) Click device manager 3) On the next screen you should see a wireless adapter, shown under network adapters. If your wireless is turned off, or otherwise disabled; you will see a large red "X" shown beside the adapter. Try to right click the adapter and "enable", this should force the adapter to try and obtain a connection with the router, or access point.

If the "X" is still present after our attempt to enable: Look down on your taskbar by the clock and hover your mouse over the various icons. "Look" for anything that references wireless connections. Many laptop manufacturers have their own wireless management software and the software is designed to run on its own, without the wireless management software supplied with Windows. If there is more than one "wireless utility running" you will need to shut one of them down.

If your on campus and still aren't getting connected, its now time to go to the computer lab, or IT department, and have them confirm you aren't missing a needed password. Also you can confirm with them that the internet connection on the property is indeed working.

If you are at home, or some other place off campus: Everything mentioned above is applicable. Be sure to open network connections, and confirm the router your trying to connect to is displayed in your available networks. If it isn't check that the router is plugged in. If it is, try unplugging the modem and router, then plug them back in...this should eventually prompt an icon to pop up on your laptop letting you know a new network is available. If all else fails...reboot the darned laptop - it's shocking how often this fixes connectivity problems on campus, and off!