How to Identify Wireless Card/Device

How to Identify Wireless Card/Device

I feel it is important to write article about this matter since there are lot's of reason for this and i think it is better to explain it in details. Nowadays, many laptop manufacture provide more than 1 wireless driver and ask you to choose base on your specification while there are no information given.

Content:
1. Simple way to Identify your wireless Card Device.
2. Identify your wireless using hardware ID. (Driver not yet installed)

1. Simple way to identify your wireless Card/Device.

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(Driver already installed, if you still didn't install the driver look content no 2.)

1. Press windows + R button,  a windows "RUN" utility will open. (all windows OS)
2. To open device manager Type DEVMGMT.MSC and press enter or OK.

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3. Device manager will open, look for Network Adapter and expand it.

Note 1: You can see your wireless name appear (red box in the picture).< br />Note 2: If it marked with yellow means you need to install the driver for it.

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4. Right click on it and select properties, you will get more details about your wireless device.

2. Identify your wireless using hardware ID. (Driver not yet installed)

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This 1 is simple, but if no drivers installed, you won't see the wireless name but it will list it as "network adapter", network device or else with yellow mark on it.

1. Right click on the network adapter marked with yellow.
2. Select properties - Deta ils and on the drop down menu select hardware ID.

3. Copy the hardware ID and Google it, you will have more than one line, choose any line to search and you will see the result displaying the exact name for your wireless device. Example i use the 3rd line from picture above

4. Now, there are other result that discuss the same hardware ID in details and give the driver version to use for your device.

5. If your manufacture provide 3 different wireless drivers example Intel, atheros and broadcom, you can use this method to determine which to download and install.