Wireless Network Set-Up Made Easy

If you’re a Windows user, you may not be aware that you can set up a wireless connection in a few steps, drawing on old system data and pulling it into the new platform. This process should work for all Windows versions from Vista onwards.

You’ll need to start by exporting the data for your current connection and saving it into an XML file.

With administrator privileges enabled, go into the Command Prompt and enter the following string:

   netsh wlan export profile name=[name] folder=[path] key=clear

Your profile name will be the title of your old network. If this title involves spaces, you’ll need to use quotation marks around the title. If you can’t remember your network name, the string ‘netsh wlan show profiles’ (without quotation marks) will retrieve it.

The path and name of folder should be a location where you’d like the XML file to be saved, so make sure you have a folder created before getting started. You can also specify that the XML should save to a portable drive or a network location (excluding UNC addresses), if required.

An example of the completed string would be:

   netsh wlan export profile name=homeconnection folder=C:\ key=clear

When you hit enter, this would generate a file with the title ‘Wi-Fi-homeconnection.xml’, which would save to your C: drive.

Once the XML file has been completed, you’ll need to run a second prompt to draw this information across to a new connection.

Again, as a system administrator, open the Command Prompt and enter the following:

   netsh wlan add profile filename=[path and name of XML file]

Using the example above, this would be:

   netsh wlan add profile filename=C:\Wi-Fi-homeconnection.xml

Once this is done, your connection should be ready to go, based on your old settings.

Image Source:cnet.com

 

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