Initial PPC setup - Windows Mobile 2003

In most cases, your Wireless card will include a CD with the drivers for your Pocket PC. These may not be the latest available so it is advisable to visit the card manufacturer's website for more a recent version. Unfortunately, many CF WiFi manufacturers have not created drivers for Windows Mobile 2003 but many of these adapters are based on the Prism chipset so the Intersil reference drivers can work. The easiest way to use these is with the Perfect Prism installation utility. Follow the installation intructions. In most cases, installing the drivers is performed by running an executable file on your PC while connected via ActiveSync before inserting the card into the PPC. After installation, perform a soft reset and insert the card after the PPC has restarted. In many cases, if you have your home WiFi router/access point set up and broadcasting, the PPC will report that a new network was found and you will be automatically connected.

While the default settings should and probably will work, there are some changes that may improve your ability to connect. On your WM03 device, select Start, Settings, Connections (tab), Connections to reach a page similar to Figure WM03-1. Tap on "Set up my proxy server." This wll bring up a page like Figure WM03-2. For most home networks, the box "This network connects to the Internet" should be checked but the "This network uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet" should not be checked and the fill-in box should remain empty.

Tap on "OK" to return to the Connections page (Figure WM03-3). Tap on the Advanced tab (arrow) to go to WM03-4. Tap on the Select Networks.

This will take you to a page like WM03-5. Tap the down arrows to the right of the two boxes on this page and select "My Work Network" from the choices. The "My ISP" option is typically used when the Pocket PC is connected via a dial up connection, either through a modem card or with a cell phone. My Work Network really should be called a Local Area Network (LAN) but the use of the term Work is a carryover from days (not too long ago) when many people had LANs at work but very few had home networks. OK your way back to the Connections page (WM03-6)(see note below if you have Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition on your PPC) and select the Network Card button (arrow) to arrive at figure WM03-7.

Your network SSID should be included in the list on this page. If other networks are also listed, but are unknown to you, you can delete them by holding your stylus on the name and selecting "Remove Settings." [Note: if the unknown network is nearby (a neighbor's, for example), you may need to go out of range before the PPC will allow you to remove the settings.]

If you know you will only want to connect to access points (rather than also making a direct connection to another PPC or PC), you can tap on the arrow (arrow A) and select "Only access points" (arrow B) from the dropdown list. This will limit your network list to only the access points (Figure WM03-8). Unless you plan to frequently be connecting to any available network your PPC comes near to, I suggest you uncheck the box "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks." Note, that even with the box unchecked, your PPC will still notify you when you are within range of a wireless network and offer to connect you to it.

Tapping on the name of a network on this page will take you additional settings for your network (Figure WM03-9). This will allow you to select "Connects to:" either "Work" or "The Internet." I've usually recommended making this setting "Work" but to tell the truth, both settings work fine for me. Selecting the "Network Key" tab takes you to page WM03-10. For most home networks, select "Open" from the dropdown list. While it is generally a good idea to leave the "Data Encryption:" disabled until you are certain your wireless network is functioning correctly but it should eventually be set to "WEP" and the key entered in the box on this page using hexidecimal format (not a passphrase). You only need to enter one of the keys (generally key 1) since the multile keys are for larger networks in which the administrator rotates through the keys on a set schedule. For home use, you can just change the entry in the active key periodically.

Unless you know your router is designed for and set up for IEEE 802.1x network access, you should leave the box unchecked on that page.

The following connections have worked for me with an SMC EZ Connect WiFi card using the Intersil Prism reference drivers:

In the Intersil configuration, make sure you've entered the SSID in the Network Name.

I suggest you disable the encryption if you currently have it active (you'll also need to disable it on the router)

On Start, Settings, Connections (tab), Connections, Advanced (tab), Select Networks, and set them both to "My Work Network"

Go back to the previous (Advanced) page and tap on Network Card. Uncheck the box "Automatically connect..." and Networks to access: Only access points.

Under Wireless networks: tap "Add new settings..." enter your network name (SSID) again here, select Connects to: "Work." Under Authentication (tab) uncheck all the boxes (you can add encryption back later).

Note: Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition on PPCs with built in wireless gives a page like that shown in WM03SE-1. Typically, these devices have a wireless utility supplied by the manufacturer that will allow you to make the settings available in the "Configure Wireless Networks" settings described here. In Dell Axims with Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, this can be either the Dell WLAN utility or the Odyssey Client that is supplied with some devices. Users have had different levels of success with these two applications so, if you have trouble connecting with one, it may be worth trying the other.

See the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition setup page for more details.