Wireless Broadband

atticgirl2003

I guess this will be a silly question to many of you techie people out there.

I have a laptop and I am on broadband, however I am thinking about going wireless. Martin mentioned Plusnet this week at £9.99 per month, free 1-port wireless router.
Do I need anything else other than the wireless router they supply, and would I only be able to use laptop in the room the router was in.

Appreciate any advice.

rdpro

most routers provide wireless access, and it depends on how far away from the router and how thick your ceilings and walls are.

Plusnet_company_representative

Hi Atticgirl,

Our 1 port wireless router should be perfectly sufficient for your needs and our technical support team will be more than happy to help you with the setup, should you have any difficulties.

Lazy_Ike

atticgirl2003 wrote: »

I have a laptop and I am on broadband, however I am thinking about going wireless. Martin mentioned Plusnet this week at £9.99 per month, free 1-port wireless router.
Do I need anything else other than the wireless router they supply,

If your laptop is NOT wireless enabled, than you would also need a wireless PCMCIA card - check that your laptop has an appropriate slot - or failing that (or if you prefer) a USB wireless dongle

atticgirl2003

How do I find out If my laptop is wireless enabled ?

What will it cost for a PCMCIA card or a dongle, and which would be best?

GoodRiddance

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/45581 thats a wireless card to stick in your laptop. Picks up the signal sent from the router.

To see if you've already got one

Click Start> Settings> Network Connections. If theres something in there about wireless connection you've already got one. Enable it and you might be able to get on your neighbours internet

Failing that right click My Computer> Properties> Hardware Tab> Device Manager> Open the drop down for Network Adapters and see if it lists a wireless betwork card

Lazy_Ike

atticgirl2003 wrote: »

How do I find out If my laptop is wireless enabled ?

What will it cost for a PCMCIA card or a dongle, and which would be best?

My preference is for a card, as less of it sticks out, so less liable to damage/being knocked about. I use Netgear equipment, and have installed same for various friends/relatives, so a bit biased. Have had a failure with Netgear, but they replaced the unit no problem, and they have good support. I notice in the specifications for the card on the link from 'Goodriddance' there is no mention that it has WPA encryption capability. WPA gives greater security over WEP, although it is possible there might be a firmwear upgrade available for that card. The Netgear WG511(v2) in various guises can be got for around £20 (£17.80 at PC World if you reserve on line and go instore to collect). There is a vista firmwear upgrade available for this card if ever required. Check with Plusnet as to whether or not their free router supports WPA encryption. Even though it would be best to have this level, the WG511(v2) card has both WPA and WEP.
Don't worry about all the jargon, lots of support available as mentioned, both at Plusnet and Netgear (and other suppliers) this forum, and 'wizards' to help you through the setup.