My laptop wi-fi card won’t hold a connection, so I was trying a broadband connection. When I clicked on “show available networks” or “update available networks” (whatever the case) to select the way I want to connect, it asked for a username and password. I thought it would be my credentials I use to access my provider, but that did not work. Does anyone know what credentials it is expecting? And, shouldn’t I be able to just plug in a networked connection without jumping through such hoops? I know sometimes a port can be set up to only recognize certain PCs (by machine name), but my house is NOT that secure!
Of equal importance, I have to take this PC on the road tomorrow. Do you think I will have better luck trying a networked connection from a hotel room? (Do hotels still offer hardwired connections?)
Are you sure it is asking you for the credentials to your wired connection? It should just work if you plug it in like you assume it should. I would disable all the other connections in the Network panel to make sure that is really what it is asking you for. You would just leave the LAN as the only one enabled.
Hotels, especially those with a significant number of business travelers, usually do have wired connections in the rooms. You usually just plug it in and it will work. Using the hotel wireless network is a little more involved even if it is free. You usually have to open up a web browser and enter your name and/or room number to get temporary access and you sometimes have to renew it every day to maintain access.
ETA: I am having a hard time imagining what you are describing in your OP but it may be asking you for the user name and password of an Administrator on the computer itself to enable you to modify the connections at all.
Shagnasty, thanks for confirming my thoughts! It should be a no-brainer, right?
However, it might be that since this is a company laptop, the security settings have everything so locked down, it is blocking me. There is one more thing I could try related to your suggestion.
When you start your Wifi and search for a connection, it should bring up a list. It should have your own Wifi, amongst neighbours and maybe some others, like when you had connected at work, or in a cafe or library. Most of those will be secure behind passwords, and some will be open and free. But they are only accessible if you are within range, which is usually a very small space of about house or yard size.
If you are home, you can access your own LAN, which you ought to recognise in the list by its unique name. That’s the one where you put in your own ISP login details. If you don’t choose that one, and instead choose a neighbour’s or your Work’s or a public hotspot, then those login details won’t work.