Sky Wireless connection

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, I have a sky wireless router which I connect to my PC with an ethernet cable (works fine), but I would like to try going wireless. Can someone please tell me what I need to buy - ie usb connector /software to load on my PC which would be compatible with the router. I'm really not sure what I need. Thanks for any replies.

Psychofly

Your best bet is a wireless USB adapter. This one (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Edimax-EW-7318Ug-Wireless-54G-USB2-Adapter-with-Turbo-mode!) will do everything you need and is cheap as hell. Plug it in and follow the setup instructions you get with it. Somewhere in your Sky kit will be a card telling you your wireless access key which you will need. If you can't find it then give us a shout when the time comes to set it all up and I'll talk you through how to get your key.

macman

You can use either a USB wireless adapter (plugs into your USB port), or a PCI wireless card (card goes into spare PCI slot inside your PC). The latter is much neater (and saves a USB port) but you need to be able to take the case off your PC-then it's a 2 minute job).
This is assuming your PC is not already wireless-enabled.
Most adapters/cards will be compatible will all ADSL routers , but if you post the router model we can advise further.
PS: wirelesss has no advantages unless your PC is not within ethernet cable reach of your router, or if you need the mobility of wireless (which is really only relevant to a laptop). Wireless is slower, less secure, and much more buggy.

macman

Psychofly wrote: »

Your best bet is a wireless USB adapter. This one (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Edimax-EW-7318Ug-Wireless-54G-USB2-Adapter-with-Turbo-mode!) will do everything you need and is cheap as hell. Plug it in and follow the setup instructions you get with it. Somewhere in your Sky kit will be a card telling you your wireless access key which you will need. If you can't find it then give us a shout when the time comes to set it all up and I'll talk you through how to get your key.

Psycho-that link is dead.

[Deleted User]

macman wrote: »

Psycho-that link is dead.

Thanks for the reply Macman - I had noticed.

The router I have is one that sky sent me - the make is a sagem. I understand that I need to have an adaptor compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g - what does this mean? Also there's something called G or G+ . This is very confusing as I presume I need to get the right one, or I could be wasting time and money.

Psychofly

Weird. OK.. in that case https://www.scan.co.uk and search for Edimax EW-7318Ug. about £9 plus delivery.

macman

[quote=[Deleted User];22184117]Thanks for the reply Macman - I had noticed.

The router I have is one that sky sent me - the make is a sagem. I understand that I need to have an adaptor compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g - what does this mean? Also there's something called G or G+ . This is very confusing as I presume I need to get the right one, or I could be wasting time and money.[/QUOTE]

802.11g is the current wireless standard. Unlikely you'll find an adapter on sale today that was 'b'.
Any 'G' adapter should be fine.
Make sure you use WPA wireless encryption when you set it up. WEP encryption is not secure enough.

[Deleted User]

Thank you Psycho and Macman. You both been very helpful. I think I'll order the EW7318 - for under £9.00, it's worth a try.

penrhyn

Don't be surprised if you get a slower connection with wireless.
Unless you want to roam round the house with a laptop, a wired connection is always better.

Psychofly

The speed of even a poor wireless connection is WAY beyond the speed of your internet connection. Wireless won't make a difference.. internet is the bottleneck.

yellowrock

Hi

I have the Sagem wireless router provided by sky. We tried a cheap usb adapter from Argos( Buffalo) it worked intially, but now keeps dropping the signal every few seconds. Can anyone tell me what these things are that you buy to plug into the mains sockets to set up a home wireless network? As you can see am a typical computer novice

Thanks

We have an old pc for our son who this will be for, it is windows xp my hubbie says its because the pc is old but I disagree, what do you think

replies much appreciated
YR