How TO enable and disable Wi-Fi?
# How to enable a Wi-Fi device
Wi-Fi can be enabled by performing any of the steps below. 1. Some laptops have an On/Off switch for the Wi-Fi device, like the button shown in the picture. It is usually found on the side or front of the laptop. Find the switch and flip it to the On position, which is typically designated by a " | " symbol, the word "On", or the Wi-Fi logo will light up. 2. Look in the Windows notification area find the icon for Wi-Fi or wireless Internet. Right-click with your mouse on the icon and select the option for enabling (or turning off) the Wi-Fi device in the pop-up menu. NOTE: You may need to access the wireless connection Control Panel if no Enable option is available in the pop-up menu. This can also be accessed from the pop-up menu. 3. Access the Device Manager by right-clicking with your mouse on My Computer icon on your Desktop or in the Windows start menu. Select Properties from the pop-up menu, click on the Hardware tab in the window that opens up, and click on the Device Manager button. Find the Wi-Fi device in the list of hardware devices. Right-click on the device name and select Enable from the pop-up menu. If no Wi-Fi device is found in Device Manager, the Wi-Fi device drivers are not installed. 4. Finally, there is also the option of enabling the Wi-Fi device from within the computer's CMOS setup. However, its very unlikely that the Wi-Fi device would be disabled in CMOS. # How to disable a Wi-Fi device In the event you need to disable your Wi-Fi device (e.g. you connected your laptop to a physical network cord and don't need it), follow any of the steps below. 1. Some laptops have an On/Off switch for the Wi-Fi device, like the button shown in the above picture. Flip the On/Off switch to the off position, which is typically designated by a " O " symbol, the word "Off", or the Wi-Fi logo light will turn off. 2. Right-click on the Wi-Fi icon in the Windows notification area and select Disable (or turn off) from the pop-up menu. NOTE: You may need to access the wireless connection Control Panel if no Disable option is available in the pop-up menu. This can also be accessed from the pop-up menu. 3. In the Device Manager, right-click on the Wi-Fi device name and select Disable from the pop-up menu. 4. As is the case with enabling the Wi-Fi device, it can also be disabled in the computer's CMOS setup. # Wi-Fi on Desktop computers Wi-Fi devices are also available for Desktop computers. The Wi-Fi button mentioned in option #1 is only on most laptops and not Desktop computers. However, there is the possibility that the Wi-Fi device itself (typically an external version, like a USB Wi-Fi adapter) has an On/Off switch. The other two options will be most commonly used for Desktop computers, especially if the Wi-Fi device is an internally installed PCI card. When you install the software for the Wi-Fi device, an icon will then show in the Windows system tray, giving you access to enable and disable the device. The Device Manager is also an option, though not quite as quick as using the icon in the system tray. |