# We use Wi-Fi every day to connect our devices to the internet, but how does it actually work? How do our devices communicate with the router and what makes Wi-Fi different from other types of wireless communication?
In: Technology
WiFi is just a special type of radio. Think of walkie-talkies. Instead of voice, though, the signal is just a bunch of “noises” that are used to represent the 1’s and 0’s that computers use for data and communication — binary.’
WiFi has a bunch of channels, like radio stations or TV channels, that it is allowed to send signals on. The radio in your phone or laptop can flip through the channels and send a “who’s out there” message on each and listen for a response. This is what the list of WiFi access points is that you see on your computer or phone.
The data between the computer and the WiFI access point is scrambled to prevent other computers from eavesdropping. This works by the radios exchanging “keys” (numbers that they use to scramble messages). You might be asked for a password, and if you don’t provide it, the WiFi access point won’t send you a key that lets you communicate with it.
Once you’ve connected to the WiFi access point, The computer and the access point send encoded messages back and forth on the channel that the access point is using. Each message consists of a small chunk of data, and information about where it is intended to go, along with the identity of the transmitter so it’s clear which key is used to decipher the message. The Wifi access point then routes messages where they are intended to go.
WiFi only operates on certain channels. The standards for the technology lay out channels, how the digital data is to be represented as a signal, how fast communications are, how the encryption works, how data packets are represented, … every aspect of generating a message, transmitting it, and receiving it securely and robustly.
It mostly differs from other types of wireless communication on how string the signals are, the speed with which data is transmitted, and the whole system of wrapping up and encrypting messages.
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