Adding wireless network profiles on a Windows 8, 8.1, or 10 operating system

Connecting to your wireless network sometimes requires additional steps to complete the process. Wireless network profiles or wireless settings may need to be manually added to your Windows 8 / 8.1/ 10 computer if you want to successfully establish wireless connection.

Adding preferred networks or network profiles

Adding the wireless network manually is required if you encounter the following issues:

Unable to connect to the wireless network automatically
SSID broadcast of the router is disabled
New wireless settings

Before proceeding with the steps below, make sure you have the following wireless settings:

Wireless network name (SSID)
Wireless security type
Wireless password or network key

If you don’t have these settings, you can get them by following the steps here. Once you got the needed information you can now start the configuration process:

Select your computer's operating system (OS) below to learn how to add network profiles manually.

Windows 10
Windows 8/ 8.1

Windows 10

Step 1:
Right-click the Start button and select Control Panel.

Alternatively, you may click on the Search icon and enter "Control Panel" in the search field. When the matches appear, select Control Panel.

Step 2:
Open Network and Sharing Center.

NOTE: If your Control Panel is on Category view, switch it to Small icons to display the Network and Sharing Center option.

Step 3:
In Network and Sharing Center, click Set up a new connection or network.

Step 4:
On the new window that appears, select Manually connect to a wireless network.

Step 5:
Enter the details of your wireless network and click Next.

Step 6:
Click Close once the prompt that the network has been successfully added appears.

Your computer should now be connected to the network. A solid User-added image

indicates that it has an active connection to the network and the Internet.

Windows 8/ 8.1

Step 1:
Right-click on the Start screen icon then click Control Panel.

QUICK TIP: You can also click the User-added image

icon in the Charms bar. Enter “control panel” in the search field then click on the icon from the search results.

NOTE: For touch-enabled computers, swipe from the right edge to reveal the Charms bar with the system commands.

Step 2:
Open Network and Sharing Center.

Step 3:
Click Set up a new connection or network.

Step 4:
On the new window that appears, select Manually connect to a wireless network.

Step 5:
Enter the details of your wireless network and click Next.

Step 6:
Click Close once the prompt that the network has been successfully added appears.

Your computer should now be connected to the network. A solid User-added image

indicates that it has an active connection to the network and the Internet.

If you have other computers in the network that are having connection problems, you can go through the same steps again if you want to get them connected.

Other things you can do:

Powercycle the modem, router and the computers. There are times when the system does not respond right away to the changes made so a simple refresh might be needed.

Upgrade or reflash the firmware of the router and the drivers of your wireless adapters. Sudden power outage can cause damage to the firmware of the router. Keeping your devices updated will help you achieve a better network performance.

Related Article:

Updating the router’s firmware through the Belkin Dashboard