STEEL OS Help

Wi-Fi and home network

Getting online works like Windows: click the network icon, pick your network, type the password.

Connect to Wi-Fi

  1. Click the network icon on the taskbar, at the bottom right next to the clock.
  2. Click your Wi-Fi network, then Connect.
  3. Type the Wi-Fi password and press Enter. It is usually printed on a sticker on your router.

Steel OS remembers the network and connects by itself next time.

Use a cable

Plug a network cable into the PC. It connects by itself; there is nothing to set up.

A network that isn't in the list (hidden Wi-Fi)

  1. Open System Settings, then Wi-Fi & Networking.
  2. Click + (Add new connection), choose Wi-Fi, then Create.
  3. Type the network name exactly, choose the security type (usually WPA/WPA2 Personal or WPA3 Personal), type the password, then Save.

Use your phone's internet

Share this PC's internet (hotspot)

Click the network icon on the taskbar, then the hotspot button at the top. Other devices can then join the network it shows, using the password it shows.

Work or school Wi-Fi

Networks that ask for a user name as well as a password (for example eduroam) need a few extra details. Pick the network, and when Steel OS asks, fill in what your IT department gives you: usually the method (PEAP or TTLS), your user name and password, and sometimes a certificate.

VPN

Most VPN services and workplaces give you a file to import.

  1. Open System Settings, then Wi-Fi & Networking.
  2. Click +, then at the bottom Import VPN connection, and choose the file. WireGuard files end in .conf; OpenVPN files end in .ovpn.
  3. Type your VPN user name and password if asked, then Save.
  4. To connect, click the network icon on the taskbar and switch the VPN on.

WireGuard, OpenVPN, Cisco AnyConnect and Cisco IPsec work out of the box. Some VPN services also have their own app in the App Store.

Other computers and printers at home

Finding Windows PCs, opening their shared folders, sharing your own folders, and network printers are on Printers and sharing.

A fixed address (only if you need one)

Some home setups, such as a game server or a printer reserved by address, need the PC to keep the same address. In Wi-Fi & Networking, pick the connection, open IPv4, change Method to Manual, and type the address, netmask and gateway your router uses.

Something's not working

What you seeTry this
Your network isn't in the listCheck that the airplane-mode icon isn't on. Move closer to the router. Some routers have two networks (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz); try the other one.
It says the password is wrongPasswords are case-sensitive. Check the sticker on the router again.
Connected, but websites don't openRestart the router: unplug it, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. Then, in the network list, right-click the network, choose Forget, and connect again.
Slow or keeps droppingMove closer to the router, or use a cable. On routers with two networks, the 5 GHz one is faster when you are close.
A hotel or café network with a sign-in pageOpen Firefox. The sign-in page appears; accept it, and the internet starts working.