Home networking guide What you'll need
To build a wireless home network, everyone needs a router and some adaptors that enable your computers and other kit to send and receive information wirelessly. We explain which ones work best.
PCI wireless adaptor
Broadband
If you want several computers to access the web at the same time, you really need a broadband connection – dial-up is far too slow. See our recommended broadband services.
Wireless PCI adaptor
The best way to network a computer that doesn’t live in the same room as your router is to use a Wi-Fi adaptor that allows your computer to send and receive data wirelessly.
You can either install a wireless PCI adaptor (£40 to £60) inside your computer or take the easy route and plug in a USB adaptor (under £50).
A wireless PCI adaptor offers few advantages over a USB adaptor and, being internal, is more complicated to install.
Media streaming device or wireless bridge
Roku SoundBridge media-streaming device
To play digital music stored on your computer through your hi-fi or view digital photos using your television, you’ll need a ‘media-streaming device’ like this Roku SoundBridge. See Music on tap for more information.
If you want to add a games console to your network, you have a couple of options. The Xbox 360, for example, has an ethernet port that allows it to be directly plugged into a router thus allowing the console to access the internet.
Or you can use a different kind of adaptor called a wireless bridge (£60 to £100) to allow the console to connect to your network wirelessly. The bridge simply plugs into it.
Looking to connect a wi-fi printer? Find out more about wireless printers and connecting them to your network in our wireless printing explained guide.
Wireless router
Wireless router or gateway
The essential piece of kit for any network is a router (see our recommended wireless routers). It sits at the centre of your network, connecting all the computers together, and providing access to the internet. Wireless routers with a built-in modem are known as ‘gateways’ (£80 to £100).
If you have a broadband connection, and use a DSL or cable modem that has an ethernet port, then you don't need a gateway. But, if your existing modem only has a USB port, you'll be better off buying a gateway instead.
If you already have a wired router, you can add wireless access to your network by simply plugging a wireless access point (around £50) into one of your router’s Ethernet ports.
USB and PCMCIA Wi-Fi adaptors
USB Wi-Fi adaptor or PCMCIA Wi-Fi adaptor
Because a laptop is portable, it makes sense to connect it to your network wirelessly. Many laptops now come with Wi-Fi (which allows them to connect to wireless networks) built-in. If yours doesn’t, the easiest way to give it wireless access is using a USB adaptor (less than £50). Just plug it into a spare USB port; there’s no internal installation required.
Alternatively you can install a PCMCIA Wi-Fi adaptor (less than £50) which fits into a special slimline expansion slot, usually found on the side of your laptop.
Using ethernet to connect your printer
Ethernet cable
Even if your network is primarily wireless, there are good reasons to use a cable to connect your main PC to your router. Assuming these are in the same room and each has a spare ethernet port, using an ethernet cable to connect the two will be cheaper and provide a faster, more reliable connection than using a wireless adaptor.
There are a number of ways to add a printer to your network (see Security and sharing) but one cheap option is to simply install it on a computer with a direct connection to your router. This will allow you to print from any computer on your network as long as the ‘master’ PC is on
For step-by-step advice on using your Windows 7 computer, see the Which? book Computing Made Easy for the Over 50s: Windows 7 Edition.