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Editing a Manual Wireless Network Connection

Anonymous
2021-05-21T14:24:58+00:00

Hi everyone -

Kind of a specific situation/question here.

I am creating a manual connection to a wireless network (in my case, used for a WPA2-Enterprise connection).

Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center

Then

Setup a new connection or network

Then

Manually connect to a wireless network

This starts a mini wizard where you create/name the Connection, and then edit the Properties of the Connection.

All this works great - no problems here.

But if I ever want to CHANGE the Properties of this new Connection, I can't figure out where to find it and edit it.

Well, I can kind of find it:

Start > Settings > Network and Internet > Wi-Fi > Manage Known Networks

I can see the manually created Connections here, and you can even click on them and see the Properties, but you can't really change anything, except how the IP is assigned (manual or DHCP).

I can delete (Forget) the Connection and then rerun the wizard to create a new one, but that seems like a lot of work when I just want to make a minor change.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Rodrigo Queiroz 77,265 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2021-05-21T16:57:38+00:00

    You got a good point. That's true, you can only change the settings of a connection that you are already connected to. The only way to change these settings of a connection that you are not connected to is using command-line tools as you can see in the link below

    https://www.windowscentral.com/how-manage-wirel...

    But this can take a lot of work and can be confusing, so, another option is to use a third-party tool to manage these settings, like this one in the link below

    https://www.netsetman.com/en/freeware

    Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-05-21T20:59:08+00:00

    Thanks again.

    NetSetMan can see the connection and change some of the basic properties (Security Type, Encryption Type), like you see when you create the connection:

    Manual Connection Wizard

    NetSetMan

    But it does not allow you to change all the settings (Authentication Method, Authentication Settings, Advanced Settings, etc.) like you see in step 2 of the wizard:

    Step 2 of Manual Connection Wizard

    I will experiment with some of the command line tools and see if those cover it.

    I can't help but think there is a dialog you can call up via a Run command that will show these Connections and allow you to change their Properties...the dialog is already there in the wizard...it's just finding a way to call it up once the wizard is finished.

    But thank you for all your help.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-05-21T15:36:08+00:00

    Thank you Rodrigo.

    For the IP Settings, yes, I see you can do that here:

    Start > Settings > Network and Internet > Wi-Fi > Manage Known Networks

    The for other settings (802.11x, etc.,) I will test out your suggestion, which is here:

    Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center

    It looks like you can only click on an ACTIVE Wi-Fi connection to get to the Wireless Properties > Security Tab.

    What about an INACTIVE connection? i.e. What if I cannot connect to my manually created wireless network connection (because my password is incorrect and thus want to change it), or if I am NOT connected to my manually created wireless network connection (because I am at a different location - home vs work).

    It seems strange that I would only be able to change the Properties of a Wi-Fi connection I am actively using.

    I usually want to change the Properties because I can't connect, not when I am already connected.

    -Russ

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  3. Rodrigo Queiroz 77,265 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2021-05-21T15:06:35+00:00

    Hi RussC-SCS,

    I'm Rodrigo, Independent Advisor and I will help you.

    If you want to change any IP settings of the network, you can change them under Manage known networks, when you set the IP assignment to Manual, the IP options will show to you.

    If you want to change the saved password for the connection, you can change it on Network and Sharing Center > Click the Wifi connection > Wireless Properties > Security tab.

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