Wi-fi definition

The standard wireless local area network (WLAN) technology for connecting computers and myriad electronic devices to each other and to the Internet. Wi-Fi is the wireless version of a wired Ethernet network, and it is commonly deployed alongside it (see Ethernet).Every laptop, tablet and smartphone comes with Wi-Fi, as well as most security cameras and home theater devices. Printers and scanners may also support Wi-Fi, and home appliances increasingly use it for control and notifications. Although it must have been inspired by "high fidelity" (hi-fi), the name does not mean "wireless fidelity." To learn how Wi-Fi fits into the home and office, see wireless LAN, wireless router and Wi-Fi hotspot.Wi-Fi Is Officially IEEE 802.11Wi-Fi is the common name for the IEEE 802.11 standard. For details and history of Wi-Fi, see 802.11 and 802.11 versions. The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies that network devices comply with the IEEE 802.11 standards. See Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Passive Wi-Fi, Muni Wi-Fi, wireless mesh network, Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet and cellular vs. Wi-Fi.

See wireless fidelity.

The name given IEEE 802.11 by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, now the Wi-Fi Alliance), Wi refers to the wireless nature of the LAN and Fi to the fidelity (i.e., faithfulness, or integrity) of the signal.The term also has been attributed to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group, with Wi referring to the fact that a wire traditionally served as the physical medium for LANs, and the homonym Fi referring to PHY, the PHYsical Layer of the OSI Reference Model. So,Wireless PHY became Wi-Fi. One way or another, or perhaps both ways, Wi-Fi became the vernacular for 802.11 and especially 802.11b. See also 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, IEEE, OSI Reference Model, Physical Layer, and VoWiFi.

Alternative spelling of Wi-Fi.