Connecting WiFi to a smartphone tends to be more straightforward than connecting a desktop or laptop. Some Dell desktops don’t connect to the WiFi easily because they don’t have proper WiFi adapters. So, how do you connect your Dell computer to WiFi?
You can connect your Dell computer to WiFi by going to the Windows Action Center. It’s a speech bubble at the right end of the taskbar. Click on it and navigate to the Network icon. After this, click on WiFi, choose the correct WiFi name, input the password, and connect.
Connecting a Dell computer to WiFi can be a bit of a learning curve, but it is not difficult if you follow the steps mentioned below.
How to connect to WiFi with a Dell computer
1. Navigate to the Windows Action Center
The fastest way to connect your Dell computer to WiFi is by navigating to the Windows Action Center. You will find a speech bubble-like icon at the right end of the taskbar.
It sometimes looks different depending on your computer, but it should look similar to the image below. Remember, the right-side of your taskbar at the bottom of your desktop.
When you click on it, a small window will open on the right-hand side of your screen.
On this window, you will see all the icons for the Windows Action Center.
2. Click on network
When you click on “Network“, a smaller window will open. At the base of this table are three icons:
- WiFi
- Airplane mode
- Mobile hotspot
You can now pick which one of the icons you wish to use, which, in this case, will be WiFi.
3. Click on the WiFi button
You can now click on the WiFi button. When enabled, it will be highlighted, and you will see the available networks when the WiFi is on. Some of the networks you see are those within your range, but you will not have access to them if you haven’t entered the password.
4. Select your WiFi network
Click on the correct WiFi network name and input the password. Your Dell computer should now be connected to the wireless internet.
Besides the direct option of connecting to WiFi (as mentioned in the steps above), you can also use the following steps to check if you can access WiFi:
Check if your Dell computer has a wireless network adapter
If you weren’t successful in connecting your Dell computer to WiFi, you should check the reason behind this. Most operating systems have network adapters, and you should check if a wireless option is available.
Here’s how to check if your computer has a wireless network adaptor:
DWL-510
- Click on the start menu in the Windows taskbar. You can also navigate to the control panel and find the device manager.
- Scroll to the device manager. If the icons are small, go to the top right hand, click on “view by“, and then click on Large Icons. You’ll find the device manager much faster when the icons are large. Click on the device manager.
- Scroll down to the network adapter.
- Click on the network adapter, and then navigate to the wireless or WiFi adapter option.
- Right-click and then click enable.
Check the internet icon on the taskbar. The wireless internet browser should be running if you have done it correctly.
Conclusion
If your Dell computer’s built-in network adapter is not connecting to WiFi, you should try the steps mentioned in this article. Sometimes you will have WiFi and WiFi 2 listed under the wireless network options, and you should try the option that will connect your computer to WiFi.
