How to Keep Your Laptop Wireless
It's hard to say that your laptop is a portable computer if you have to plug in to a network cable every time you want to go on the Internet. That's why wireless networks are so popular and why your system needs a wireless adapter.
How Do Network Cards Connect?
There are several different ways to get wireless connectivity on a computer. You can either do it with an internal adapter or with an external one. In most cases, the external option involves going with a USB adapter, where the internal option involves using PCI. One thing you should be aware of is that PCI can often mean either PCI or PCI Express. The interfaces are:
- USB: USB adapters provide an easy way for your Dell to access a local Wi-Fi network. You just plug the network adapter into an empty port and Windows will automatically detect it. At the same time, it's something you have to carry with you in addition to the computer if you intend for the system to be portable.
- PCI: The original PCI slot is generally only found in older computers and most cards no longer support this legacy interface.
- PCIe: PCI-E is a popular interface that comes in both expansion slot and card slot formats. It offers lots of bandwidth for devices and can be found in both laptop and desktop computers.
What Kinds of Wireless Cards are There?
There are two main sub-categories of wireless adapters: Wi-Fi and cellular. Each one offers its own set of benefits and tradeoffs to the user:
- Wi-Fi: The most common form of wireless adapter, these often include Bluetooth capability as well. Some models offer dual band support so that you can access Wireless-N and other high-speed protocols. The big advantage of a dual band wireless PCI Express adapter is that you can use both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands with one wireless card, giving you more flexibility when dealing with congested networks.
- Cellular: Cellular adapters let you connect anywhere you can get an LTE signal. They offer the advantage that you don't have to worry about sticking close to Wi-Fi but require a subscription from a phone provider.
Using Wireless with Your Dell
One advantage of recent versions of Windows is that you don't have to go into Device Manager to configure all your cards. You can often simply plug in your network adapter and connect to your Wi-Fi immediately. Combine it with a wireless router and every device in your home can easily connect to the World Wide Web.