What is Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a wireless radio technology used to connect computers, including tablets, smartphones, and other devices to the internet.  It is the radio signal sent from a wireless router to a nearby device, which translates the signal into data you can see and use. The device transmits a radio signal back to the router, which connects to the internet by wire or cable.

What is a Wi-Fi network?

A Wi-Fi network is simply an internet connection that’s shared with multiple devices in a home or business via a wireless router. The router is connected directly to your internet modem and acts as a hub to broadcast the internet signal to all your Wi-Fi enabled devices. This gives you flexibility to stay connected to the internet as long as you’re within your network coverage area.

What does Wi-Fi stand for?

Wi-Fi is a marketing term and is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. It was coined as a catchy, hi-fi-style brand name with no literal meaning — the popular “Wireless Fidelity” expansion is a backronym the Alliance briefly used and then dropped. It does not actually stand for anything.

If your interested this article in Wikipedia may be of interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi

Some simple points

• Wi-Fi and the Internet are two different things.  Wi-Fi is one method of connection to the internet.
• Wi-Fi and your phone’s mobile signal (4G or 5G) are also different. Your mobile signal connects you to a mobile phone tower, and the tower provides the internet to you. Yes, these mobile signals are wireless radio signals too — but they are not Wi-Fi. (Older 3G networks were switched off across Australia during 2024, so newer phones now use 4G or 5G.)
• Wi-Fi is method of establishing a computer network and can be used without access to the internet. It is possible to have computers, printers etc at home connect to each other via Wi-Fi, without any Internet connection.
• Wi-Fi is a radio signal, so it can be weakened or blocked — by walls, mirrors, large appliances, foil-backed insulation, and even water (including people!).
• Wi-Fi uses only very low power, which is why its range is limited and it’s easily disrupted.

The “Wi-Fi” name and the password are not the same thing. Your Wi-Fi network has a name (you’ll see it called the SSID), and a separate password (sometimes called the network key or security key). You pick the network by its name, then type the password once to join.