New phone?

Connecting to a WiFi network

Whether you're at home, work or out and about, chances are you'll find WiFi networks your phone can connect to. Some are open to everyone and some are secured, requiring a password to connect. Using a WiFi connection can help reduce your mobile data usage to save on costs, and it's usually faster than a mobile data connection.


  2. Make sure that WiFi networking Toggle control icon is set to On .


  3. Tap the network you want to connect to.

  4. If you're connecting to a secured network and are asked to enter a username and password, enter them and tap Done.


See a notification at the top of your screen when WiFi networks are available? Tap it to go to WiFi Settings, and tap a network to connect. If you want to see your status bar or dismiss the notification, flick it to the right.

Finding WiFi hotspots

If your mobile operator offers WiFi hotspots, good news! Your phone may be set up to automatically connect to them, so you'll use WiFi instead of mobile data when you're in range of one (at some coffee shops, for instance). You can find the Automatically connect to WiFi hotspots setting in Settings Settings icon> WiFi > Advanced if your phone is set up to do this. (The name of this setting can vary, and not all mobile operators offer WiFi hotspots.)

If you're out and looking for WiFi hotspots, you can also go to Settings Settings icon > WiFi and tap Find nearby WiFi. The Data Sense WiFi Guide shows you a map with nearby WiFi hotspots. (Not all mobile operators offer Data Sense.)

You can help other people with Windows Phones discover nearby WiFi hotspots by opting to automatically send public WiFi connection data to Microsoft. When you participate, your phone will send the network name, service quality, bandwidth, authentication type and other details of public WiFi networks you connect to. This info is used to identify and increase the visibility of WiFi hotspots near you.

If you don't want to participate and send this connection info, in WiFi Settings, tap Advanced, then untick the Send information about WiFi connections to help discover nearby WiFi checkbox. For more info, see the Windows Phone 8 Privacy Statement.

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