Windows 7 / Networking

Reordering Wireless Connections

Windows 7 configures a wireless network with an automatic connection so that you can get on the network as soon as Windows 7 detects it. (This is assuming that you activated the Connect Automatically check box when you made the initial connection.) If you have multiple wireless networks, Windows 7 maintains a priority list, and a network higher in that list connects before a network lower in that list. (A network higher in the list is said to be a more preferred network.) If you are not connecting to the wireless network you want, it might be that the network is lower on the network priority list. To work around this problem, you can move the network higher in the list.

Windows 7's wireless network priority list is none other than the list of networks in the Manage Wireless Networks window. Here are the steps to follow to use the Manage Wireless Networks window to reorder your wireless networks:

  1. Open the Manage Wireless Networks window, as described earlier.
  2. Select the network you want to move.
  3. The taskbar offers either the Move Up or Move Down command, and you use these commands to prioritize the networks:
    • Move Up-Click this command to move the selected network to a higher priority. (You can also right-click the network and then click Move Up.)
    • Move Down-Click this command to move the selected network to a lower priority. (You can also right-click the network and then click Move Down.)

NOTE You don't see both Move Up and Move Down for every network. For example, if you select the network with the highest priority (that is, the network at the top of the list), you only see the Move Down command. Similarly, if you select the network with the lowest priority (that is, the network at the bottom of the list), you only see the Move Up command.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Setting a Small Network
  2. Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer Network
  3. Changing the Computer and Workgroup Name
  4. Connecting to a Wireless Network
  5. Working with Windows 7's Basic Network Tools and Tasks
  6. Accessing the Network and Sharing Center
  7. Setting Up a Homegroup
  8. Activating Homegroup Connections
  9. Creating a Homegroup
  10. Joining a Homegroup
  11. Accessing the Homegroup
  12. Changing Homegroup Settings
  13. Turning Off Homegroup Connections
  14. Viewing Network Computers and Devices
  15. Displaying a Network Map
  16. Viewing Network Status Details
  17. Customizing Your Network
  18. Managing Network Connections
  19. Opening the Network Connections Window
  20. Renaming a Network Connection
  21. Enabling Automatic IP Addressing
  22. Confirming That Windows 7 Is Configured for Dynamic IP Addressing
  23. Displaying the Computer's Current IP Address
  24. Setting Up a Static IP Address
  25. Displaying the Current DNS Addresses
  26. Specifying the Static IP Address
  27. Using a Network Connection to Wake Up a Sleeping Computer
  28. Disabling a Network Connection
  29. Managing Wireless Network Connections
  30. Opening the Manage Wireless Networks Window
  31. Creating an Ad Hoc Wireless Network
  32. Working with Wireless Connection Properties
  33. Modifying Connection Properties
  34. Modifying Security Properties
  35. Renaming Wireless Connections
  36. Reordering Wireless Connections
  37. Creating User-Specific Wireless Connections
  38. Removing Wireless Connections