Connectivity Features

WiFi Hopper can work as a replacement for the Windows built-in or manufacturer provided wireless client. The following sections illustrate how to use WiFi Hopper for various connectivity-related operations.

Basic Network Operations

WiFi Hopper can connect to unsecured, WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK networks.

Connecting to Unsecured Networks

To connect to an unsecured network, either:

• Double click the network in the Network List
• Right-click the network in the Network List and select Connect
• Select the network in the Network List and select Network > Connect from the Menu.

Upon any of the actions above, WiFi Hopper will:

• Instruct the card to connect to the network
• Wait till the card indicates that we are connected
• Wait till the corresponding interface receives an IP address (if DHCP enabled)

Once the card is connected, WiFi Hopper will change the Status of the network to 'Connected' and display the obtained IP address beside it in the Status. You can obtain more detailed IP information about the connection in the Device Information Window.

Connecting to WEP, WPA or WPA2 Networks

To connect to a WEP or WPA or WPA2 network, either:

• Double click the network in the Network List
• Right-click the network in the Network List and select Connect
• Select the network in the Network List and select Network > Connect from the Menu.

You will be prompted to enter the key or pass phrase for the network in the Network Authentication Window.

If the network has been previous saved under a profile, the key dialog will already contain the key or pass phrase for the network. Note that WEP keys must be either 5 or 13 ASCII characters or 10 or 26 hex characters. There are no implicit restrictions on the length of WPA/WPA2 pass phrases but they are usually greater than 8 characters.

Upon any of the actions above, WiFi Hopper will:

• Instruct the card to connect to the network
• Wait till the card indicates that we are connected
• Wait till the corresponding interface receives an IP address (if DHCP enabled)

Once the card is connected, WiFi Hopper will change the Status of the network to 'Connected' and display the obtained IP address beside it in the Status. You can obtain more detailed IP information about the connection in the Device Information Window .

Note: When connecting to the WEP network with Open Authentication Mode (default), the interface will timeout waiting for an IP address if the network key is incorrect. This is due to the design of Open Authentication Mode.

Disconnecting from a Network

To disconnect from a network, either:

• Double click the connected network in the Network List
• Right-click the connected network in the Network List and select Disconnect
• Select the connected network in the Network List and select Network > Disconnect from the Menu.

If DHCP is enabled on the corresponding interface, WiFi Hopper releases the IP address and then proceeds to instruct the networking device to disconnect from the network.

Connection Manager Operations

You can access the saved network profiles from View > Network Profiles...

There are multiple ways to add a network to the list of network profiles

• Right-click the network in the Network List and select Remember... You will be prompted to enter the key or pass phrase for the network if it is WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK through the Network Authentication Window.
• Select the network in the Network List and click on Network > Remember... You will be prompted to enter the key or pass phrase for the network if it is WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK through the Network Authentication Window.
• When connecting to a WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK network, check 'Remember this network for the future' in the Authentication Window.
• Inside the Network Profiles Window, click on Add New... to bring up the Network Editor and manually enter the network details.

A saved network profile can be used in two ways:

• To recall the key or pass phrase for a network when connecting.
• To automatically connect to a network when in Connection Manager Mode.

To enable the Connection Manager mode, select Mode > Connection Manager from the Menu. In the Connection Manager mode, WiFi Hopper will continually scan for wireless networks. It will compare each network to each saved profile taking into account options such as Match BSSID. Once a compatible network is detected, it will continue scanning to ensure Priority is taken into account. Finally, it will initiate a connection to the most suitable network automatically without any user intervention.

Existing network profiles can be edited by double clicking on the profile inside the Network Profiles Window.

Viewing Detailed Device Information

WiFi Hopper can provide detailed device information for the chosen networking device. To access the device information, select Device > Device Information from the Menu.

The Device Information Window will appear which provides information about wireless, non-wireless device information, IP information and miscellaneous driver counters. Note that WiFi Hopper can provide the device information even if the selected device is non-wireless. This is useful for troubleshooting.