If you’re like most people, you use your smartphone to stay connected while on the go. But what if you’re out of range of your home or office Wi-Fi network? Or what if you just want to take a break from the Internet? There are a few ways to connect your smartphone to a Wi-Fi network. You can use your phone’s built-in cellular connection, or you can connect it to a Wi-Fi network using either an Ethernet cable or a wireless connection. To use your phone’s built-in cellular connection, turn it off and then on again so that it reverts back to using its default settings. From there, open the Settings app and tap Cellular. Tap the arrow next to Use Cellular Data and select Use Cellular Data Only When Available. This will keep your phone connected only when there’s an available cellular signal. If you want to connect your phone to a Wi-Fi network using an Ethernet cable, plug one end of the cable into your phone and the other end into a nearby outlet or computer. To connect wirelessly, turn on Bluetooth on both devices and search for any available networks. Once you find one, tap it and enter the security code that appears onscreen. ..
iPhone / iPod Touch
Note: We are using version 4.0 of the iPhone OS
Find and select the Settings icon on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Select Wi-Fi from the Settings menu.
If your Wi-Fi setting currently set to Off, tap it to toggle On the Wi-Fi access.
Once your Wi-Fi is enabled you should see available networks appear below. Encrypted networks will show a padlock to the right of the name while “open” networks will not. Tap to select the network to join.
If you choose a network that requires a password, you’ll be prompted to enter it. Type in your password and select Join.
When connected, your network SSID will be indicated in blue with a check mark beside it.
To connect to a network with a hidden SSID, select Other.
You’ll need to know the SSID, Security type, and password. Enter that information and select Join.
Now you can browse to all your favorite websites and connect to other devices on your Wi-Fi network.
Android
Note: We are using Android 2.1 for our examples.
On your Android device, select the Settings icon.
Under Settings, choose Wireless & networks.
Next, select Wi-Fi settings.
If Wi-Fi is not already turned on, tap the check mark by Wi-Fi to turn it on. When Wi-Fi is enabled, available SSID’s will appear below. Encrypted networks will by indicated with a padlock icon. Select the network to which you’d like to connect.
If password protected, type in your password and select Connect.
You should now see that you are connected to the network.
To connect to a Wi-Fi network with a hidden SSID, select Add Wi-Fi network from the settings.
Then manually type in your SSID and password, and select your network security type. Select Save when finished.
Now you can browse the web through your Wi-Fi router or connect to other network devices.
Conclusion
Whether you want to connect to Wi-Fi to communicate to other devices or just save on your phone’s data usage, it’s pretty easy to do on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone.
