📶 Technology
How Does Wi‑Fi Actually Work?
A simple explanation of how your phone or laptop communicates with a router.
Wi‑Fi is a way for devices to exchange data with a wireless router using radio waves. Your device turns information into signals, sends them through the air, and the router passes the data to the wider network.
How it works
- Your device connects to a nearby wireless network.
- The router receives and sends data using radio signals.
- The router connects that traffic to the internet.
- Your device converts the received data back into information you can use.
Key takeaway: Wi‑Fi is essentially a wireless link between your device and a network. It is not the internet itself; the router normally provides the bridge to the internet.