Windows Vista configures a wireless network with an automatic connection, so you get on the network as soon as Vista detects it. (This is assuming that you activated the Start This Connection Automatically check box when you made the initial connection.) If you have multiple wireless networks, Windows Vista 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.
Vista’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:
- Click the Network icon in the notification area and then click Network and Sharing Center.
- Click the Manage Wireless Networks link in the Tasks list. The Manage Wireless Networks window appears.
- Select the network you want to move.
- As you can see in Figure 1 below, 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.)
Figure 1. In the Manage Wireless Networks window, use the Move Up and Move Down commands to reorder your wireless networks.
