What should I know about Wi-Fi data connectivity on my Windows Phone?

Chances are pretty good that you're already familiar with Wi-Fi networks. If you've taken a laptop to your local coffee shop and gone online, you've used Wi-Fi. You can also use your Windows Phone to connect to a Wi-Fi network. When you're in range of an available Wi-Fi network, this is generally faster and less expensive than using your phone's cellular data connection.

By default, your phone's Wi-Fi connectivity is turned on and always ready to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Whenever your phone finds a network, a notification will periodically appear to let you know that a network is available in your area. You can then tap the notification and pick the network that you want to connect to. (If you don't want to see these notifications, you can turn them off in your phone's Wi-Fi settings.) Your phone will automatically connect to a network that you have previously connected to when it's in range.

If you want to know how to configure your phone's Wi-Fi connectivity, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network.

Finally, many Wi-Fi networks are secured and require you to enter a password before you can connect to the network. Your phone can connect to open networks that don't require a password, or protected networks that use these security protocols: WPA, WPA2, and WEP.