Hidden Wi-fi networks are a sizeable part of the whole Wi-fi experience. Hidden Wi-fi networks provide better security and can only be accessed if the user has the correct SSID and password combination. Hence, it prevents it from being directly available to anyone in the range. This article will teach us how to connect to hidden Wi-fi networks on Windows.
What Are Hidden Wifi Networks In Windows?
Hidden Wi-fi networks are the networks that do not broadcast their SSIDs (Wifi name) to anyone searching for available networks. These networks can only be connected if the user has the correct SSID (case sensitive) and password combination with them.
While hidden Wi-fi networks are believed to add an extra layer of security to the Wi-fi, they are not extra secure except that they don’t broadcast their network IDs. They are especially useful in professional environments where Wi-fi networks must be segregated for different use cases.
How To Connect to Hidden Wifi Networks in Windows?
Connecting to a hidden Wi-fi network in Windows is a pretty straightforward process. We’ll discuss how to connect to hidden Wi-fi networks in Windows and fix connection issues for hidden networks in Windows. Here’s all that’s covered:
- From The Taskbar
- From The Control Panel
1] From The Taskbar
The Taskbar in Windows is used to modify and view many settings, such as the battery level, volume, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. You can connect to a hidden network in Windows using the Taskbar, here’s how:
- Find the Wifi icon in the TaskBar and click on it. From the Taskbar action Panel, expand the Wifi option.
- In the Wifi option from the action panel, click on More Wi-fi settings.
- Now, in the Wifi settings, open Manage Known Networks. In the Manage Known Networks menu, click on the Add Network button.
- Now, this will open a window. Type in the network SSID, select the network security type, type the password (if there is one), and click Save.
Read: Fix: WiFi Keeps Getting Disconnected in Windows
2] Use Control Panel
While the Control Panel is rarely used to modify Settings in Windows, many can still be accessed and modified through the Control Panel. Here’s how to connect to a hidden wifi network in Windows using the Control Panel:
- Search Command Prompt in the Windows Start menu and open it. From the top right corner, change the View by as large icons.
- This will display all the available settings, open Network and Sharing Center.
- In the Network and Sharing Center, open Set up a new connection or network. After that, click on Manually connect to a wireless network from the open window.
- In the following window, enter the network details, select the appropriate options, and click Next.
Read: How To Create Custom Windows System Admin Control Panel
Fix: Can’t Connect to Hidden Wifi Network in Windows
Some users have reported the problem of not being able to use the Taskbar method to connect to a hidden Wifi network in Windows. Let’s discuss other ways to connect to a hidden wifi network in Windows to fix the Can’t connect to hidden wifi in Windows error.
- Check Password and SSID
- Forget Network
1] Check Password and SSID
Not only the password but also the Network SSID are case-sensitive. If you’ve used either of the methods to connect to a hidden network in Windows, recheck the network SSID and password. For example, if your network SSID is Tsnet_5G, and you type in tsnet_5G, you won’t be able to connect to the network.
2] Forget Network
If the connection to the hidden network was initially successful, but now, when you try to connect to the same network, it somehow doesn’t connect. In such a case, you can forget the network and redo the connection using the Taskbar or Control Panel option.
- To forget a wifi network in Windows, head over to the Action panel from the taskbar
- Expand the Wifi option
- Find the Network and right-click it
- From the context menu, click Forget.
I hope the article was helpful and you can now connect to the hidden network using the correct SSI and password.
