Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a wireless networking protocol that allows devices to communicate without internet cords. It's technically an industry term that represents a type of wireless Local area network (LAN) protocol based on the 802.11 IEEE network standard.

Wi-Fi is the most popular means of communicating data wirelessly, within a fixed location. It's a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, an international association of companies involved with wireless LAN technologies and products.

How It Works, Example

The easiest way to understand Wi-Fi is to consider an average home or business since most of them support Wi-Fi access. The main requirement for Wi-Fi is that there's a device that can transmit the wireless signal, like a router, phone or computer.

In a typical home, a router transmits an internet connection coming from outside the network, like an ISP, and delivers that service to nearby devices that can reach the wireless signal. Another way to use Wi-Fi is a Wi-Fi hotspot so that a phone or computer can share its wireless or wired internet connection, similar to how a router works.

No matter how the Wi-Fi is being used or what its source of connection is, the result is always the same: a wireless signal that lets other devices connect to the main transmitter for communication, like to transfer files or carry voice messages.

Wi-Fi, from the user's perspective, is just internet access from a wireless capable device like a phone, tablet or laptop. Most modern devices support Wi-Fi so that it can access a network to get internet access and share network resources.

Setting up Wi-Fi Access

If you're wanting to set up your own Wi-Fi at home, you need a wireless router and access to the router's admin management pages to configure the right settings like the Wi-Fi channel, password, network name, etc.

It's usually pretty simple to configure a wireless device to connect to a Wi-Fi network. The steps include ensuring that the Wi-Fi connection is enabled and then searching for a nearby network to provide the proper SSID and password to make the connection.

Some devices don't have a wireless adapter built-in, in which case you can buy your own Wi-Fi USB adapter.

You can also share your internet connection with other devices to create a wireless hotspot from your computer.