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-   -   Totally Clueness & Need Help Changing From DSL to Wifi? Where Do I Start? (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/off-topic-discussions/272995-totally-clueness-need-help-changing-dsl-wifi-where-do-i-start.html)

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 11:48 AM
Totally Clueness & Need Help Changing From DSL to Wifi? Where Do I Start?
 
Am desperate for somebody to help a non-geek and tell me how to set my laptop up for wifi and get a wifi service provider, if I need that.

I have a wifi-ready laptop and AT&T DSL service but so want to to wifi but I haven't a clue where to start? I'd love to get rid totally of AT&T and even my landline if possible.

What should I do first? Then second and so forth.

Will I need a new Internet Service Provider other than this AT&T DSL service to send a wifi signal to my house other than what I've got now? Reading online on a forum I found it seems to say you don't need to change providers or services but the answers implied more than I know about it. Is that true I don't need to change plans? It seems odd that DSL would automatically change into wifi and no change of plan is needed?

Is someone out there able to walk a clueless person through it all? I'd appreciate any help!

kjc 02-15-2014 12:21 PM
You'll have to set up a wireless network connection, with info from At&T or whomever you want to go with. Can do over the phone or check your FAQ in your account online. Set up would be under Network in your control panel.

kjc 02-15-2014 12:35 PM
Go to ATT online... search 'WiFi setup", in Support > setting up a home wireless connection... tells you where to find the info you need to set up the connection. At some point it will ask for your zipcode... to give you pertinent info for your area.

Maximo 02-15-2014 12:52 PM
https://www.wireless.att.com/busines...usb-modems.jsp

It would probably be less expensive to have traditional internet service and to use a NAT router in your home for wireless capability.

Let us know what you find out.

Nancy1999 02-15-2014 01:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo (Post 4392079)
https://www.wireless.att.com/busines...usb-modems.jsp

It would probably be less expensive to have traditional internet service and to use a NAT router in your home for wireless capability.

Let us know what you find out.
Yes, that's the way we went. First you need to decide, do you want this just for you home, or do you want to be able to take your laptop everywhere and be connected? If you just want to connect things in and around your home and the router is the way to go. We have so many things connected wirelessly with the router, several different gaming systems, a printer, my husbands laptop and my iPad, as well as satellite TV. Once you buy the router, there's no monthly cost besides your regular internet provider's bill. Talk to you internet provider, but you do not have to buy the router through them.

Maximo 02-15-2014 02:36 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy1999 (Post 4392095)
Yes, that's the way we went. First you need to decide, do you want this just for you home, or do you want to be able to take your laptop everywhere and be connected? If you just want to connect things in and around your home and the router is the way to go. We have so many things connected wirelessly with the router, several different gaming systems, a printer, my husbands laptop and my iPad, as well as satellite TV. Once you buy the router, there's no monthly cost besides your regular internet provider's bill. Talk to you internet provider, but you do not have to buy the router through them.
:thumbup::thumbup:

You don't have to spend a fortune on the router. We bought the least expensive Netgear and run 3 computers on it. Works well. Extra layer of protection too. Just make sure to password protect it. Many people skip that part.

I know you said you would like to get rid of your land line phone. We haven't had one for about 18 years. We first went mobile because our lives were very mobile at the time.

Our Comcast internet service is about $55 a month. We have the "slowest" connection and yet we can't tell the difference between it and the "faster," more expensive plans.

McheleM 02-15-2014 02:51 PM
My att internet service (which is wi-fi) provided a wireless router. I didn't have to purchase a separate one. We have uverse.

Same at my office. We have DSL with a wireless router.

Wi-fi is not the same as DSL. DSL is how the internet gets to the house or office. Wifi or network is how the computer hooks to the DSL.

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:12 PM
So if I buy a wireless router at the store and bring it home, I need to set up my computer to "talk" to it using the instructions on the AT&T website(which are now gobblydeegoop to me) and nothing more?

Will my DSL broadband service, which is about $34/mo., automatically send wifi waves through the air to get me connected to the Internet? That's the part I'm not sure about is how my DSL service now will change to wifi waves or signals.

Will the online set-up I do on the AT&T website automatically send me a wifi signal from the online set-up time onward? Sorry to be so dumb but I have never even looked into this before or talked to anyone about it so it's brand new stuff to me.

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo (Post 4392114)
:thumbup::thumbup:

You don't have to spend a fortune on the router. We bought the least expensive Netgear and run 3 computers on it. Works well. Extra layer of protection too. Just make sure to password protect it. Many people skip that part.

I know you said you would like to get rid of your land line phone. We haven't had one for about 18 years. We first went mobile because our lives were very mobile at the time.

Our Comcast internet service is about $55 a month. We have the "slowest" connection and yet we can't tell the difference between it and the "faster," more expensive plans.
I'd love to get out from under AT&T for my phone bill and internet service. They are awful if there are every any billing errors and such they need to correct.

I'm glad to know I don't have to have a landline to have wifi but I guess I'd better check with my ADT service which I think is currently set up through my phone line I think.

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by McheleM (Post 4392122)
My att internet service (which is wi-fi) provided a wireless router. I didn't have to purchase a separate one. We have uverse.

Same at my office. We have DSL with a wireless router.

Wi-fi is not the same as DSL. DSL is how the internet gets to the house or office. Wifi or network is how the computer hooks to the DSL.
Ah, I think I see that the DSL broadband is how the internet gets to the house coming through the phone line now(the broadband cable hooks into the same phone line box) and from that to the modem and from the modem to the computer. So if I don't have a phone line, now I'm unsure how I'll get an internet signal to my house.

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy1999 (Post 4392095)
Yes, that's the way we went. First you need to decide, do you want this just for you home, or do you want to be able to take your laptop everywhere and be connected? If you just want to connect things in and around your home and the router is the way to go. We have so many things connected wirelessly with the router, several different gaming systems, a printer, my husbands laptop and my iPad, as well as satellite TV. Once you buy the router, there's no monthly cost besides your regular internet provider's bill. Talk to you internet provider, but you do not have to buy the router through them.
If I want to take the computer out and connect via wifi when out and about, what else would I need to buy or internet services would I need to subscribe to, Nancy? It sounds as if that might be something I'd want in the future.

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kjc (Post 4392071)
Go to ATT online... search 'WiFi setup", in Support > setting up a home wireless connection... tells you where to find the info you need to set up the connection. At some point it will ask for your zipcode... to give you pertinent info for your area.
None of it explained whether or not I need to buy a different service now to get wifi. I looked all over their website and couldn't find wifi service.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo (Post 4392079)
https://www.wireless.att.com/busines...usb-modems.jsp

It would probably be less expensive to have traditional internet service and to use a NAT router in your home for wireless capability.

Let us know what you find out.
And I won't need a phone line to do that - just keep my current DSL plan whose signal comes through my phone line now and use a router called NAT? Is NAT a brand or type of router ?

yorkietalkjilly 02-15-2014 05:27 PM
BTW, thank you all so much for trying to help a complete novice at this! Sorry for all the maddening questions but before I call any internet service providers or go back to AT&T website, I was hoping I could understand more about what does what to get the wifi signal to my computer without a phone and things like that.

Maximo 02-15-2014 06:27 PM
I think you might need the land line for ADT. Definitely check with them.

NAT router is not a brand. NAT = network address translation
It enables multiple devices to access a single network without wires.
The router requires DSL or cable delivered internet service.
A router is necessary in your house if you want to use even 1 computer without being wired directly into your modem (does DSL use a modem?). The router also has its own firewall, which is an extra layer of protection.

If you want to use wifi on the go, all you have to do is go to a "hotspot", like they have at libraries, coffee shops, and hotels. Or buy a "mobile hotspot": How to Choose the Fastest, Cheapest, and Most Reliable Mobile Hotspot to Stay Connected Everywhere You Go

The article is a little dated, but I don't think a mobile hotspot is cost effective for routine internet use -- not mine anyway.

McheleM 02-15-2014 08:06 PM
We don't have a phone line at our house, and still have broadband internet (like DSL but off fios cable instead of phone lines). Your DSL box must be wireless to get wifi to your computer. If it's not, you'll need a wireless router, which will connect to the DSL box with a network (often blue, resembles a phone cord with a bigger clear clip) cable.

I'm not trying to talk to you like you don't know anything about cable or DSL, so I hope it doesn't come across that way.


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