Connecting to a wireless network

From openSUSE

Connecting to a wireless network

KDE 3.5.9

Before you start, ensure that your wireless network card is configured and active (on laptops, there is often a switch to turn the card on/off).

Setting up the connection

1. Click on the grey globe icon in your toolbar
2. Select "New Connection"
3. Select "wlan0"
4. If your network is showing in the list, select it and click "Next". If not, type the network name in the "Essid" field (i.e. the name of your router; this is something like "Default", "bell01", "D-link", or a custom name you chose) and click "Next".
5. At the next screen, you will be presented with the option of providing a password. If there is no password on your router/network, de-select "Use Wireless Security" and click "Next". Otherwise, select the security type (typically "WEP" or "WPA Personal") and enter the password/passcode, then click "Next".
6. At the next screen, you will be given the option to manually configure your IP address. Typically, you will not need to do this. If you're not sure what to do here, leave it blank and click "Next".
7. At the last screen, you will be given the option to give your connection a name. This auto-populates with the router name, and changing it here will not effect the connection. You can also choose to have SUSE connect to the network automatically when it's found.
8. Click Connect & Save, and you're done. You should see the grey globe icon change as it's working on resolving the connection. If you are successful, the icon will become a graduated bar, showing the strength of the connection.

Connecting to an existing network

If you have already setup a network connection as described above, you should be automatically connected if the network is within range.

If not:

1. Click on the grey globe icon in your toolbar
2. Select "Connect to other network"
3. Click on the network to which you want to connect
4. You should see the grey globe icon change as it's working on resolving the connection. If you are successful, the icon will become a graduated bar, showing the strength of the connection.

Problems

Gather some basic info on the configuration of your network card:

1. Go to Start > Computer > Administrator Settings (Yast) -- In KDE 3.5, that is Start > Applications > System > Administrator Settings (Yast)
2. Login with the root password
3. Click on "Network Devices"
4. Click on "Network Settings"
5. Select your wireless card. The bottom half of your screen will show summary information. It should indicate the Device Name, how it's started, an how the IP address is assigned. This will be useful information to provide when asking for support.
6. If the card is showing as not being configured, go through the documentation and forum to resolve that first.

A common problem is that your wireless card isn't being activated at the right time by SUSE. To have it start on boot:

1. Go to Start > Computer > Administrator Settings (Yast) -- In KDE 3.5, that is Start > Applications > System > Administrator Settings (Yast)
2. Login with the root password
3. Click on "Network Devices"
4. Click on "Network Settings"
5. Select your wireless card.
6. Click "Edit"
7. Click on the "General" tab
8. In the "Activate device" drop-down, select "At Boot Time"
9. Click "Next"
10. Click "Next" again.
11. If you are asked if you want to proceed without using encrytion, click "Yes"
12. Click "Finish". Yast will now save your settings. You may need to reboot for the changes to take effect.