Windows 8 In Depth

Setting Up Preferred Wireless Networks

Once you successfully connect to any new network, Windows remembers the network’s details as a profile, which is a collection of settings for a given network. By default, Windows keeps profiles for all networks to which you’ve previously attached, and—unless you’ve disabled automatic connection—reconnects when one becomes available. This lets you move from place to place, while Windows automatically connects to whatever network is appropriate.

If you are in an area where your computer can receive signals from two or more known networks—that is, networks to which you’ve previously connected—at the same time, you may want to tell Windows which one to use in preference to the others. One might have faster download ...