Built in wifi adapter

What Does “Built-In WiFi” Mean?

For those who are just looking to set up their first wireless networks, there are lots of terms that can complicate issues.

One of these terms is ‘built-in’ wifi. To put it simply, it means that your device has wireless capability built into to the device.

For a more in-depth discussion, please read on.

So, What Is This ‘Built-in’ Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi

Before we can answer the question, it is probably best to clearly define what wifi is and what it is used for.

Wifi is basically a way that devices can connect to either, without wires, using radio waves . It is considered much more convenient than a wired connection because it is easy to add new devices to a wifi network without having to trail wires around your house.

Also, in an age where many devices are portable, wifi allows users to be anywhere in the network and still be connected. This can allow you to use one device in multiple locations in your home.

Most devices nowadays access the internet using wifi. In fact, most hotels, cafes, restaurants, offices, and many homes will have wifi networks.

These networks, especially those found around a home, often work by having one router that connects to a modem. The router sends out a wifi signal and allows other devices in the vicinity to access the wireless network and therefore, the internet.

The only requirement is that these devices need to also be wireless compatible. This is where ‘built-in’ wifi comes in.

What Is ‘Built-in’ Wifi?

Built-in wifi simply means that the device you are looking at comes with wifi connectivity. You won’t have to buy any extra adapters to access a wifi network as the device already comes with a way of connecting to a wifi network.

Nowadays, pretty much all laptops, smartphones, and tablets come with ‘built-in’ wifi. However, if you are using an older computer (or your built-in wifi has broken), you can buy a USB adapter to give your computer wireless connectivity. Or use PCI-E.

As well as this, some device such as smart TVs and games consoles came with wifi capability that would only work when paired with a separate USB adapter . These devices are known as wifi ready devices.

Alternatively, if you are using a device that doesn’t have a USB port but does have an Ethernet port, you could connect an access point to the device with an Ethernet cable to give a device wifi capabilities.

Wireless Standards

When looking at a product with built-in wifi, or even when looking to buy an adapter it is important to know which wireless standard the device uses.

Nowadays, the most common standards are 802.11n and 802.11ac, with 802.11ac being the most recent of the two. Because it is the most recent, 802.11ac offers the fastest speeds over your network. This can help improve the speed of things such as file transfers over your network.

It is also worth knowing that while these standards are backwards compatible, if you choose to use a 802.11n adapter with a 802.11ac router . You will be limited to the speeds provided by the slower 802.11n adapter .

Hopefully this article has cleared up what exactly ‘built-in’ wifi is. If you have any more questions, please ask in the comments section below.

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What Does Built In Wi-Fi Mean? (Plus How It Works)

Built in Wi-Fi is a very common phrase, and almost taken for granted with modern devices, what what exactly does it mean, and how does it work?

Built in Wi-Fi means that a device is already equipped with Wi-Fi cards or antennas to enable it to connect to local wireless networks and access the internet. It means you can browse the internet on it immediately by finding and connecting to a local wireless network by entering the Wi-Fi username and password.
It means that the device can already do this, without needing to install additional equipment like USB Wi-Fi adapters. If a device doesn’t have built in Wi-Fi, it means it doesn’t have this built in capability to go online via wireless, either because it isn’t suitable or is quite old and needs a USB Wi-Fi adapter installing to allow wireless internet access. Let’s look at built in Wi-Fi in more detail, before contrasting devices which do and don’t have it, plus how to get a device online if it doesn’t have Wi-Fi built in.

What Does Built In Wi-Fi Mean?

Built in Wi-Fi just means that a device has some kind of Wi-Fi card or antenna already built into it that can pick up wireless signals and connect you to the internet as long as you have the login credentials to access that Wi-Fi network and are within range. Here’s an example of a Wi-Fi card built into a PC:

This is what can detect and transmit internet data over a Wi-Fi router’s network, allowing the device to access the internet without buying any additional equipment. If a device has built in Wi-Fi, it’s already equipped to go online via wireless networks.

Which Devices Have Built In Wi-Fi?

• All newer PCs and laptops
• Phones and tablets from around 2010/11 onwards (when Wi-Fi started to be phased in to phones and tablets)
• All newer games consoles, from the PS3 generation onwards.
• Some TV’s (Smart TV’s) also have built in Wi-Fi.
• Even some newer household appliances like fridges now have the ability to go online via Wi-Fi.
• In general, if a device is labelled as “Smart“, it will have built in Wi-Fi and therefore the ability to go online.

This means that all these devices should have an ability within their Network Settings, to find and connect to nearby wireless networks, such as those emitted by Wi-Fi routers.

You just need to go to Network/Internet settings on the device, go to Wi-Fi/Wireless, find your router, and enter the username/SSID and Wi-Fi password (found on the back of the router) to connect. You should then be able to go online with that device, without installing any additional equipment. It’s already equipped (built in) with Wi-Fi capability.

Also remember that with dual band devices and routers, you also have a choice between connecting to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, or a 5 GHz Wi-Fi band. See here for our article where we compare the two bands, analyzing which is better for which devices in which circumstances. More basic devices and routers only allow single band connections (2.4 GHz network only), and in all honesty this is still fine for most devices. If in any doubt, connect to the 2.4 GHz band and you’ll usually be fine.

Which Devices Do Not Have Built In Wi-Fi?

All new electronic devices that are designed to browse online now come with Wi-Fi equipped. I can’t think of a single device that’s meant to go online that would ship new now that wouldn’t have Wi-Fi already built in, because it’s so ubiquitous and necessary in the modern world.

However, here are some examples of older devices that might not have Wi-Fi built in:

• Really old desktop PCs (most likely pre-2005)
• Some really basic netbooks/notebooks don’t come with Wi-Fi built in, but they are pretty hard to find.
• Older phones from pre-2010.
• Really old games consoles (PS2/Original Xbox and before from memory – anything from PS3 onwards has Wi-Fi built in). Small handheld gaming devices from early 2000s or before also won’t have Wi-Fi.
• From memory, some older, original versions of the Xbox 360 don’t have Wi-Fi built in, or it was very poor and unreliable (newer versions do).

Some really old PC’s with the chunky towers might not have Wi-Fi built into them

What Can You Do If Your Device Doesn’t Have Wi-Fi Built In?

If your device doesn’t have built in Wi-Fi, you have two main options to get online, if your device facilitates it:

Option #1 – Ethernet connection – Plug into the ethernet port on the back of the device instead, with an RJ-45 cable, and connect directly to your router by cable instead. If a device can go online at all, then it will at least have an ethernet port, even if it doesn’t have Wi-Fi.

If you’re a long way from the router and can’t really run long cables to it from where you are, consider a Powerline Adapter as a clever solution that can get you to the same result using a pair of wall adapters with ethernet ports embedded in them.

Option #2 – Wi-Fi Adapter – Your second option (especially useful for older PCs which don’t have built in Wi-Fi) is to get a USB Wi-Fi adapter and install that on your device.

These are simple USB adapters that you plug into the USB port on the front of the PC tower (or down the side of the laptop) You then usually install some simple software using a Utility CD, and from there you can then connect this adapter to your Wi-Fi router, and it will deliver an internet connection to your device.

Therefore, the Wi-Fi adapter is like a replacement for not having a Wi-Fi card/antenna already built in. This should work on older PCs, provided you can get the adapter installed properly with the accompanying CD.

Use of these should be really limited now, since anything that’s less than 15-20 years old should already have built in Wi-Fi, but here are links to a couple of popular Wi-Fi USB adapters (affiliate links to Amazon):

1. TP Link AC1300 USB Wi-Fi Adapter – Supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands, works with all versions of Windows back to XP, plus Mac OS X. Can deliver great speeds, plus user friendly interface for easy setup and installation. Great budget price as well.
2. CXFTEOXK Wireless USB Adapter – Dual band adapter, works with all Windows back to XP, plus Mac and Linux. Comes with CD drivers for easy installation. Also has built in antennae to deliver an ever better signal and higher speeds.

USB Wi-Fi adapters are primarily for use with older PC’s and laptops. However, they could also be used if your PC/laptop does have built in Wi-Fi, but it just doesn’t work very well. Sometimes built in Wi-Fi cards/antennas can get damaged or knocked out of place, reducing their effectiveness, or your signal might be weak in that part of the house. Using a USB Wi-Fi dongle in it’s place might deliver a better signal.

Built In Wi-Fi vs Wi-Fi Ready

We’ll finish off with a quick distinction between 2 different terms you might see on appliances – Wi-Fi ready, versus the Wi-Fi built in we’ve already covered. What’s the difference between the two?

Built in Wi-Fi means the the device already contains all the hardware needed to go online, and just needs to be connected to a local wireless network. Wi-Fi ready means that the device can use Wi-Fi, but first needs a separate Wi-Fi card installing in a predefined slot/port first.

In other words, with Wi-Fi ready, you still need to buy something extra to get the device ready to go online via wireless networks. You’ll need to purchase an suitable Wi-Fi card, and then slide this into a special slot down the side or back, and then you’ll be able to connect to a nearby Wi-Fi router.

With Built In Wi-Fi, as we’ve covered, you don’t need to buy anything extra to get online; all the Wi-Fi cards and antennas are already installed and you just need to find and connect to your router to get online.

Online gamer and general home networking enthusiast. I like to create articles to help people solve common home networking problems.

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