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Welcome to the "iPad: Connecting to Wi-Fi and exploring network settings" course. You'll learn how to connect your iPad to the internet over a Wi-Fi network and some other network connection options.
If your iPad has a physical Home button some of the steps might be slightly different but you can still follow along.
Most of the things you do on your iPad require an internet connection. You'll need to be connected to the internet to install apps, search the web, receive notifications, send and receive messages and emails and many other things.
Some models of iPad use a SIM and the mobile data network to connect to the internet, just like a mobile phone, but all iPads let you connect to a Wi-Fi network. So, we'll focus on that in this demonstration.
To check whether your iPad is already connected to a Wi-Fi network, look closely at the top right of your screen. If you can see the Wi-Fi symbol here, your iPad is already connected to a Wi-Fi network.
The steps in this video might still come in handy if you ever need to connect to a different Wi-Fi, such as at your local library or cafe, so you might still want to follow along.
If you can't see a Wi-Fi symbol in the top right of your screen, you'll need to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Let's do that now.
From the Home screen, tap the Settings app icon to open the Settings app. From the list of options on the left side of the screen, look for Wi-Fi and tap it. On the right side of the screen, you'll see a Wi-Fi switch. If the switch is grey, your iPad's Wi-Fi setting is turned off. So tap it to turn it on. The switch will move to the right and turn green and a list of nearby Wi-Fi network names will appear underneath.
Even if you are at home, you might see several networks listed. These might be your neighbour's Wi-Fi or nearby public networks such as a library, cafe, or shopping centre.
Let's look at some of the icons that appear to the right of a network's name.
The padlock icon means a Wi-Fi network is protected by a password. This is known as a secure network. If you don't see a padlock, the Wi-Fi network is not protected by a password. This is known as an unsecure network.
Some free public Wi-Fi networks don't require passwords, so are not secure.
[eSafety tip] You shouldn't use any public Wi-Fi for online banking and other tasks that involve your personal details even if the network requires a password.[eSafety tip ends]
The Wi-Fi icon indicates how strong the signal is. If some of the curves are grey, the signal is weak and is likely coming from a fair distance away. If the Wi-Fi icon has three solid curved lines, then the signal is strong and is likely nearby.
Find the name of your home Wi-Fi network in the list and tap it. A new window will appear. Type the password for your home Wi-Fi. If you haven't changed it, the password will probably be written on the bottom of your home router. If you are not sure what your network name is, you'll find that here too.
Use the keyboard to type in the password. Type it carefully so that any upper and lowercase letters match exactly. Tap Join in the top right corner and your iPad will start connecting to the Wi-Fi network. Once it's successfully connected a blue tick will appear next to your home Wi-Fi name.
Now that you are connected to Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi symbol will appear in the top right of the screen. Look for the Wi-Fi symbol at the top right of the screen. This symbol will remain visible no matter what you are doing on your iPad.
If some of the curved lines in the Wi-Fi symbol are grey, the connection is weak. Your internet connection will still work with a weaker connection, but some content, especially movies and TV shows, might not play smoothly. You might need to take the iPad closer to the Wi-Fi router to try and get a stronger connection.
You can always turn Wi-Fi on and off from the switch at the top right of the Wi-Fi setting screen. But we are going to show you another faster way to do this using the Control Centre. You can open the Control Centre at any time regardless of which app you have open.
To open the Control Centre on your iPad, swipe down from the top right of the screen. The swipe should always begin with your finger in the bezel which is the area that surrounds the screen. At the top left of the Control Centre, you'll see a group of icons that control your iPad's wireless connections. The Wi-Fi icon is at the bottom left of this group. When the icon is blue, the Wi-Fi setting is switched on and the iPad is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
To switch off Wi-Fi and disconnect from the network, simply tap the icon. A pop up might appear to let you know that Wi-Fi will disconnect until tomorrow. Tap OK. The Wi-Fi icon is now white which means that the Wi-Fi setting is switched off and the iPad is not connected to Wi-Fi.
To turn Wi-Fi back on, simply tap the icon once more. When the icon is blue, the iPad has automatically reconnected to the Wi-Fi network.
Let's look at a few other wireless connection settings in the Control Centre.
The Bluetooth icon sits next to the Wi-Fi icon. If you have connected a Bluetooth device to your iPad such as wireless headphones, for example, you can tap this icon to switch your Bluetooth connection off and on.
The icon that looks like a plane is in fact Aeroplane Mode. Tap this icon to turn this setting on and your iPad will disconnect from all wireless connections, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Tap anywhere outside the group of icons to close the Control Centre.
To connect your iPad to a different Wi-Fi like a network at a cafe or library, for example, simply find the name of the network in the list and tap it. You might need to enter the cafe's Wi-Fi password if they have one. And tap Join to connect to the new network.
Your iPad will remember each and every Wi-Fi network you join and will automatically join that network whenever you are in range. It will even remember the password of a secure network, so you won't have to re-enter your password each time you join. This can be handy for your home Wi-Fi but you might not want to automatically rejoin a cafe's Wi-Fi each time you are in range. Let's look at how to forget a Wi-Fi network from Wi-Fi settings.
Look for the Wi-Fi network name with the blue tick next to it near the top of the screen. This is the network that the iPad is currently connected to. Tap it to open a list of network options. At the top of this list is the option, Forget this Network. Tap on it. A pop up will appear to confirm your choice. Tap Forget. Your iPad has disconnected from this network and will not automatically reconnect to it when you are within range.
If you wish to reconnect to the Wi-Fi network, you'll need to tap its name in the list and follow the steps presented earlier to manually reconnect to it.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to return to the Home screen.
You've now completed the course and learned all about your iPad's Wi-Fi network connection.
If you are unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video or click the chapter headings to jump to the start of a chapter. If you are ready to move on there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected.