How to Copy Wireless Internet Settings
In many cases, wireless networking software should automatically configure itself to work with the wireless network you choose to connect to. However, in some cases it may be necessary to manually configure your wireless Internet settings. The easiest way to do this is by checking the settings on a different computer already on the same network and then copying most of those settings to a second computer, making minor modifications along the way.
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Instructions
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Check the Internet connection settings of a computer already connected to the wireless network. In Windows, you can do this by going to "Control Panel," then "Network and Internet," and right-clicking on the wireless connection. Choose "Properties," then the "TCP/IP" tab. On an Apple computer, go to "System Preferences," then "Network," and click on the "AirPort" connection. Then click on the "Advanced" button and the "TCP/IP" tab. Note that if this computer is set to either "Automatically Configure" or "Use DHCP," you will not need to manually configure the other computer. This network is set up to automatically connect with new computers on the network, and it will set up the Internet settings as necessary.
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Write down the three numbers you see in this window. The first will say "IP address," and it will be followed by four numbers from 0 to 255, separated by periods. This is called a "Dotted Quad Address," and it is used to locate every computer on the Internet. The second is labeled "Subnet Mask" or "Network Mask" and will look similar to this: 255.255.255.0. Note the third part of this number may be less than 255, but the first two are almost always 255. The third number is the router address; it will be very similar to the IP address, differing only in the last two parts of the number. Double-check all of these numbers. If one is entered incorrectly, it will not work.
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Open the same configuration window on the computer you would like to connect to the network and enter the router address and the subnet mask. Do not change the IP address; it cannot be exactly the same as the one on the first computer, as every computer must have its own address. Typically, you can increase the last part of that number by one; that is, if the first computer's address was 10.0.0.4, you could enter 10.0.0.5 on the second computer. If another computer on the network has the same address, an error box will appear. Continue increasing the final number until you find one that has not been assigned on the network.
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