How to connect to WiFi on Samsung phone or tablet

How do I connect to Wi-Fi?

Sharing, streaming, gaming. Almost everything that we do on our smartphones is better with the internet. It's so important that one of the first things you'll be asked to do after opening a new Samsung device is connect to Wi-Fi.

Find out how to set up a Wi-Fi connection, connect to Wi-Fi enabled devices using Wi-Fi connect and how to share your connection with a mobile hotspot.

1 Swipe up from the home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Wi-Fi
Tap Wi-Fi
5 Tap on the Wi-Fi network that you want to join

Please note: the name of your Wi-Fi network will have been decided when your network was set up. For many wireless networks, the name is printed on the router itself. If you're are having difficulty remembering the name of your network, you may need to contact your Wi-Fi network provider for more assistance

Tap the Wi-Fi network you want to join
6 If the network is password protected, enter the password

Please note: the password for your Wi-Fi network will have been decided when the network was set up. For many wireless networks, the password is printed on the router itself. If you're having difficulty remembering your password you may need to contact your Wi-Fi network provider for more assistance 

Enter the password for your network
7 If you don't want your device to reconnect to this network automatically in the future, tap the switch
Tap the switch next to auto reconnect if you don't want to connect to this network automatically in the future
8 Tap Connect
Tap Connect

Removing the network you're connected to

1 Swipe up from the home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Wi-Fi
Tap Wi-Fi
5 Tap the settings cog
Tap the settings cog
6 Tap Forget
Tap Forget

Removing previously connected to networks

1 Swipe up from the home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap connections
4 Tap Wi-Fi
Tap Wi-Fi
5 Tap the options icon
Tap the options icon
6 Tap Advanced
Tap Advanced
7 Tap Manage networks
Tap Manage networks
8 Tap Delete
Tap Delete
9 Tap each of the networks you want to remove
Tap the networks you want to remove
10 Tap Delete
Tap Delete

We rely on the internet everyday to help us get things done, so it can be incredibly frustrating when it isn't working as we need it too. If you are having problems connecting to a Wi-Fi network, there are a number of possible causes and solutions.

Find out more about troubleshooting Wi-Fi network issues.

Wi-Fi Direct

When you connect to the internet, you're typically using a Wi-Fi signal to connect to a router that's linked to the internet. Wi-Fi direct allows you to connect to other Wi-Fi enabled devices directly, without ever having to connect to a router. After your devices have connected, they can transfer information to one another, opening up loads of possibilities. 

1 Swipe up from the home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Wi-Fi
5 Tap Wi-Fi Direct
Tap Wi-Fi Direct
6 Tap the device that you want to connect to

Please note: to connect, both devices must have Wi-Fi Direct enabled

Tap the device that you want to connect to
7 A connection request will appear on the device you are connecting to. Tap Accept
Tap Accept on your other device to connect
8 Your device will now be connected. What you can do with Wi-Fi Direct will depend on the devices you have connected. Once finished, tap the connection on either device to disconnect
Tap the connection on either device to disconnect

Wi-Fi MAC address

If you think about your mobile device as your passport to the internet, your Wi-Fi MAC address would be similar to your passport number. Wi-Fi MAC addresses are unique 12-character codes, assigned to your device by Samsung that tell the internet who is connecting to it. 

1 Swipe up from your home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap About phone
Tap About phone
4 Tap Status
Tap Status
5 Your Wi-Fi MAC address will be displayed
Your Wi-Fi MAC address will be displayed

Mobile hotspots and tethering

Mobile hotspots or tethering allow you to share your internet connection with other devices you own. You can share Wi-Fi signals and mobile data connections, keeping you connected while on the move. You can share your internet connection through a hotspot, USB or Bluetooth.

1 Swipe up from your home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
Tap Mobile Hotspot and tethering
5 Tap Mobile Hotspot
Tap Mobile Hotspot
6 Tap the switch to turn mobile hotspot on
Tap the switch to turn mobile hotspot on
7 By default, the name of your mobile hotspot will be the same as the name of your device. Tap your device name if you want to change it
Tap your device name to change the name of your hotspot
8 Give your mobile hotspot a new name, then tap Save
Give your hotspot a new name then tap Save
9 Your mobile hotspot will be randomly assigned a password. Tap Password if you'd like to create your own
Tap password to give your hotspot a different password
10 Enter a new password then tap Save
Enter a new password then tap Save
11 To save battery, your mobile hotspot will automatically be turned off if no devices are connected for a specified amount of time. To change how long this is, tap the options icon
Tap the options icon
12 Tap Timeout settings
Tap Timeout settings
13 Tap how long you would like Mobile Hotspot to wait before turning off
Tap how long you'd like mobile hotspot to wait before turning off automatically
14 Once finished using the Mobile Hotspot, tap the switch to turn it off
Tap the switch to turn mobile hotspot off
1 Swipe down from two places at the top of the screen to see your quick settings
Swipe down from two places at the top of the screen
2 Tap Mobile Hotspot to turn it on or off
Tap Mobile hotspot to turn it on or off

Please note: to setup USB tethering you will need a USB cable that can connect your two devices together

1 Swipe up from your home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
5 The USB tethering option will be greyed out. Connect your smartphone to another device with a USB cable

Please note: not all devices will support USB tethering. For example, MAC computers are unable to share Wi-Fi from Samsung smartphones via USB cable. If you're having issues, consult the user manual for your device for more information

USB tethering will be greyed out unless you are connected to another device via USB
6 Once connected, tap the switch next to USB tethering
Once connected to a device, tap the switch next to USB tethering
7 An icon will appear in your notifications bar to show you that USB tethering is active
An icon will appear in your notifications bar once active
8 Once finished using USB tethering, tap the switch again to turn it off. You can also disconnect the USB cable
Tap the switch again to turn off USB tethering

Please note: to setup USB tethering you will need a USB cable that can connect your two devices together

1 Swipe up from your home screen, to access your apps
Swipe up
2 Tap Settings
Tap Settings
3 Tap Connections
Tap Connections
4 Tap Bluetooth
Tap Bluetooth
5 Tap the device you want to connect to

Please note: for your device to appear it will need to be in pairing mode. This is usually activated by opening up the Bluetooth settings on your device. For more information please see the user guide for your specific device

Tap the device you want to connect to
6 Tap OK on both devices to accept the connection
Tap OK on both connections to accept the request
7 Tap the back icon
Tap the back icon
8 Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
9 Tap the switch next to Bluetooth tethering to turn it on
Tap the switch next to Bluetooth tethering to turn it on
10 Tap Bluetooth tethering
Tap Bluetooth tethering
11 Tap the settings cog on your connected device
Tap the settings cog
12 Tap Internet access
Tap Internet access
13 An icon will appear in your notifications bar to show you that Bluetooth tethering is active
An icon will appear in your notifications bar to show you that tethering is active
14 Once finished, tap the switch to turn Bluetooth tethering off. You can also turn off Bluetooth on your device
Tap the switch to turn Bluetooth tethering off

If you're experiencing unusual behaviour on Samsung mobiles, tablets or wearables, you can send us an error report or ask us a question in the Samsung Members app.

This allows us to take a closer look at what is happening. The data is anonymised and only held for the duration of the investigation. Find out more about sending an error report through the Samsung Members app.

 

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