Newbie Could Use Some Help....

[Chris Collins]

OK so I got this HP 2200 from my friend and it's pretty cool with all the features it has. Of course, I knew it would be able to connect to the net wirelessly so I was happy about that. I drive around downtown Austin Texas which has lots of hotspots, so I figure it should be no problem to connect to the net. I have a laptop and a wireless card which has connected to a wireless connection before, so I have a little experience with wireless connections. But from what I have learned so far, it seems a little more difficult than expected. Here is what I have done so far.

I bought this exact wireless card:

http://www.mobis.com.tw/images/products/SW-01/SDW118B.jpg

and installed the driver and utility that came with it. I sat outside a restaurant that I know has wifi (and have connected to before with my laptop) and tried to connect but no go. In the network connection screen where it shows wireless connections, it appears to be connected, however when I try to go to a website it cannot find it or the connection does not work.

I know sometimes that I need certain information to access a wifi network, but I am pretty sure I was trying to connect to a free hotspot. I am wondering if there is some way to find this information out besides having to go inside the business where the wifi connection is. One site online I have found is http://www.jiwire.com which seems to be able to find hotspots after you type in zip codes, etc. It also seems places must register with them before they can be listed as a real wifi provider.

Are there any step-by-step guides on how to connect to a wifi hotspot using a Pocket PC because I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for helping a newbie out :)

Chris

[DrQuincy]

Howdy!

Try this:

Tap Start>Settings>Connections>Network Cards

Assuming that the card is on, recognized, and active, you should see two tabs: Wireless and Network Adapters. Select Wireless and verify that the SSID for the access point that you are trying to use is listed. Tap-and-hold on that SSID, and select Connect.

You should see the icon in the Start bar change from WiFi-connecting (sort of an antenna with a halo and moving arrows) to WiFi-connected (same antenna, with static arrows). Your connection should be active and capable of loading webpages.

Notice a checkbox at the bottom Automatically connect to non-preferred networks. Selecting this box lets you connect to any available, open access point that your iPAQ encounters.

Good luck, and have fun!