How To Connect an iPhone to a Linksys Router

I'm going to assume your Linksys is actually working and is sending out a signal properly. If this is true, the first thing you'll need to do is to add your iPhone to your router's list of trusted devices. First, open up your router's control panel. You can do this by visiting http://192.168.1.1, which is the default router address for all computers.

Next, visit Access Restrictions. On the top is a dropdown for Internet Access Policy. Here, I just picked an un-used number (which happened to be #2, since #1 was being used for my PS3) and named it "iphone" in the Enter Policy Name field -- see below for a screenshot of all of this:

Next, click that button that says "Edit List of PCs". You should get a screen like the one seen on the right. This is where you'll add the unique 12-digit number assigned to your specific iPhone, called a MAC address.

To find out your iPhone's MAC address, open up "Settings" on your iPhone, then go to "General" and "About." Scroll down until you see "Wi-Fi Address," which should be a 12-digit string of letters and some numbers. This is the one you'll want to type in to the "Edit List of PCs" area in the Linksys area (once again, see the screenshot on your right). Simply type it into "MAC 01" and don't worry about typing in the colons between the pairs.

When done, click "Save Settings" and close the window. Now, you've added a MAC address to your router that will be permitted to receive a signal, and that's half the battle.

Now that your router recognizes your iPhone as an allowed device, it's time for your iPhone to connect to it. We're almost there!

On your iPhone, go to Settings » Wi-Fi. Here, you'll see a list of all networks being picked up in your area. Your Linksys router should be on there somewhere - hopefully you've named it something so that you can find it easily. Tap the name of your router on this list. It should have a "lock" icon on it, which means you have a secured router that requires a password (if not, I highly recommend you secure your router so that your next door neighbor doesn't leech your bandwidth!)

When you tap your router name, iPhone will ask you for a password. This is where EVERYONE who has this problem gets all of their frustration. Here, you're actually not putting in a password whatsoever. You're actually going to have to type in a WEP Security Key. Go back to your Linksys control panel, to Wireless » Wireless Security:

On this screen, there should be 4 "Keys," but all you'll care about is Key 1. Go ahead and type that long list of characters into your iPhone when it asks you for a password to connect to your router. Be REALLY careful, it's very easy to mistype these kinds of things on an iPhone.

One more thing: you'll never have to type this in again. Also, when you leave your WiFi zone, your phone will just use your data plan for internet connectivity. Then, when you get back home, it will auto-connect to your router once again.

That's it - this should allow you to connect to your iPhone via WiFi connection! It's always a good idea to do this, because any data being used in a WiFi connection is not going to count against your data limit for your monthly phone bill.