Disabling/Enabling Wireless Communication

<Only for model with wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and/or wireless WAN>
There are several ways of disabling and enabling wireless communication.
NOTE
- For further information about Wireless LAN.
- For further information about Bluetooth.
- For further information about Wireless WAN.
-
The wireless communication can be enabled or disabled by connecting or disconnecting the LAN cable. (refer toWireless Connection Disable Utility)

The Wireless Switch

  1. To disable all wireless communication, slide the wireless switch (A) to OFF.
    • To enable wireless communication, slide the wireless switch (A) to ON.
    • In the default setting, the wireless switch enables all wireless devices when it is set to ON.
NOTE
- Do not turn on/off the switch repeatedly at too short intervals.
- Do not restart, log off, or enter sleep or hibernation immediately after turning on/off the switch.
- Do not turn on/off the switch while Windows is starting up.
- To use wireless communication, set the wireless devices ([Wireless LAN] / [Bluetooth] / [Wireless WAN] of [Wireless Configuration]) to [Enabled] (default) in the [Advanced] menu of the Setup Utility (refer toWireless Configuration).
- It may take some time to turn off wireless communication after switching the wireless switch off.

Using airplane mode

(For wireless LAN, wireless WAN and Bluetooth)
  1. Click [Charm] - - [Change PC Settings] - [Wireless].
  2. Set [Airplane mode] to [Off], and then;
    • set [Wi-Fi] in “Wireless device” to [On] (for wireless LAN).
    • set [Mobile broadband] to [On] (for wireless WAN).
    • set [Bluetooth] to [On] (for Bluetooth).

To check the wireless communication status

  1. Click  on the notification area and place the cursor over the Wireless Switch Utility icon (  or ).
    A tooltip appears.

The Wireless Switch Utility icon

The icon appears when click  on the notification area. It shows the status of wireless devices.
  • : Indicates that the wireless devices are enabled.
  • : Indicates that the wireless devices are off.
  • : Indicates that the wireless devices have been disabled in the Setup Utility.
NOTE
- If you uninstall the Wireless Switch Utility, set the wireless switch to ON beforehand.
- When you set [Wireless Switch] of [Wireless Configuration] to [Disabled] in the [Advanced] menu of the Setup Utility, the Wireless Switch Utility icon will not appear if you click on the notification area. All wireless equipment (wireless LAN, Bluetooth, wireless WAN) will remain ready irrespective of the wireless switch setting.
- You can check the wireless LAN communication status in Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software. Perform the following procedure.
Click Start (Start) - [All Programs] - [Intel PROSet Wireless] - [WiFi Advanced Statistics].

Wireless Switch Utility

This utility allows you to control the function of the wireless switch.
This utility also allows you to enable or disable wireless devices from a pop-up menu. In the default setting, all wireless devices are enabled.

To enable or disable particular wireless devices

  1. Click the Wireless Switch Utility icon to show the pop-up menu.
  2. Select ON or OFF for the device you want to enable or disable.

To change the function of the wireless switch

In the default setting, the wireless switch enables devices that you select turning the wireless switch off last time. You can change this function.
  • [Selects the device for which to turn the device status on each time with the dialog box.]
    Display a dialog each time you set the wireless switch to ON so you can choose which wireless device to enable.
  • [Turns on the following device.]
    Only selected devices are enabled when you set the wireless switch to ON.
  • [Turns on the device that was on immediately before the wireless switch was turned off the last time.] (default)
    When you turn on the wireless switch, the on/off settings that were selected when you last turned off the wireless switch will be restored.
  1. Click  on the notification area and click the Wireless Switch Utility icon (  or ).
  2. Click [Settings].
  3. Select the setting you want to assign to the wireless switch.
  4. Click [OK].

Wireless Connection Disable Utility

You can automatically disable the wireless LAN/wireless WAN connection when a LAN cable is connected to your computer. You need to install the Wireless Connection Disable Utility to use this function.

Installing the utility

  1. Log on to Windows as an administrator.
  2. Click Start (Start), input "c:\util\wdisable\setup.exe" in [Search programs and files], and press «Enter».
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the Wireless Connection Disable Utility.

Checking the status of the wireless connection

NOTE
- The Wireless Switch Utility should also be installed so that the Wireless Connection Disable Utility works. The Wireless Switch Utility has already been installed at the factory.
- To use the utility, set [Wireless Switch] of [Wireless Configuration] to [Enabled] in the [Advanced] menu of the Setup Utility.
- The utility does not automatically disable the Bluetooth connection.

Status indication

After installation, the Wireless Connection Disable Utility is automatically started after a user is logged in. An icon appears on the notification area.
: Indicates that
  • the utility is enabled, and
  • the wireless connection is disabled since a LAN cable is connected.
: Indicates that
  • the utility is enabled, and
  • the wireless connection is enabled since no LAN cable is connected.
: Indicates one of the following statuses;
  • the utility does not monitor the LAN port status,
  • the Wireless Switch Utility has not been started, or
  • LAN is disabled in the [Advanced] menu of the Setup Utility or in the device manager.

Menu

Right-clicking the utility icon opens a menu as follows.
Clicking the menu item causes the following utility action.
  • Monitoring LAN Cable: ON
    Enables the Wireless Connection Disable Utility to monitor the LAN port and disable wireless connection when a LAN cable is connected.
  • Monitoring LAN Cable: OFF
    Disables the Wireless Connection Disable Utility, and enables wireless connection regardless of whether a LAN cable is connected or not.
  • Exit
    Exits the Wireless Connection Disable Utility and enables wireless connection.