Sharing a Wireless Internet Connection

If you have multiple computers in your household that need to access the Internet, sharing a single wireless connection can be a great way to allow everyone online without stringing a mess of ugly network cables throughout your home. Although setting up a wireless network might sound like a challenging ordeal, it is much easier than you might think to share a wireless Internet connection in a home setting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wireless network card for each computer

1. Set up a broadband Internet account through a cable or DSL Internet provider if you do not already have one in place. The higher bandwidth you can get in your Internet account, the faster the Internet connections will be in your household (given that the bandwidth will be shared among multiple computers). Make sure that connection sharing is allowed under the terms of your account, also. Some Internet service providers have a user agreement that states that specific account types can only be used on one computer.

2. Test your Internet connection by connecting it directly to one of your computers (if it is a new account). You will want to make sure that the modem is working properly and that the account is active before you start trying to set up your wireless network.

3. Verify that each computer that will be sharing the connection is equipped with a wireless access card. In newer machines, it is likely that a wireless access card will already be installed in the computer, but if you have an older machine you may need to buy a wireless card. If you don't have room in your machine to install a wireless card, it is possible to use a USB plug-in wireless access device. Any new device that you install in a computer may require a driver, which should come with the product but can sometimes be downloaded off the Internet.

4. Connect your DSL or cable modem to a wireless router. Follow the instructions that came with the wireless router to configure the router. There may be a CD-ROM disc that you will need to install into one of your computers in order to access the router, or you may need to type a specific IP address into the browser of one of your computers with a functioning wireless access card. During configuration of your router, you may need to enter information such as the account name and password for your Internet account and the type of wireless encryption you wish to use.

5. Open the configuration software for the wireless networking card or access the Internet networking controls in each computer that needs to share the connection. Select that you are using a wireless access network, and enter the configuration information in order to access your router, such as the network name and the wireless password if you included encryption when you were setting up your router.

6. Test to see if your newly configured computer is able to access the Internet, and troubleshoot as needed. You may have made a typo in your wireless password or forgotten to select a specific option during the configuration. If you cannot get your computer to access the Internet, call the technical support line for the vendor of your network card or wireless router.

Tips & Warnings

• Note that the exact procedures for setting up a wireless access card and connection will vary by operating system and by the exact product you chose to use, and there may be additional steps with some products or platforms. If you do not have very specific instructions available with the products you're using, such as if you purchased your router second-hand, try searching online for the setup instructions while using direct access to your DSL or cable Internet connection before you attempt to set up your wireless network. There are many helpful user groups on the Internet that may be able to point you to the correct instructions.

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