How do I turn on WLAN on my Sony PSP?

Hi! I try to go online on my Sony PSP but it will not let me. It says that my wlan switch is off. How do I turn it on?

Dave's Answer:

This is a really common question, so common that I've actually taken a photograph of my own Sony PSP to show exactly what you need to do!

On the lower left edge of your PSP when you're facing the screen, there's a small silver slider switch: that's your WLAN switch. Slide it upwards:

Can you see it there in the photo? Mine's already up in the WLAN on position.

I leave mine on all the time, though it's possible that I'd get slightly better battery life if I left it off except for when I wanted to access either an ad hoc game or the Internet. Dunno, haven't tested it out.

Anyway, flip that switch up and the little orange light just above it should sporadically pop on for a second or so, and if you scan for a local network connection, it light up quite a bit!

Hope that helps you get up and online!

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Categorized: iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help (Article 5861, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: psp, sony psp, wlan switch
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Reader Comments To Date: 157

Patrick said, on February 27, 2006 10:14 AM:

wow thanks i was really confused when my psp asked me to that

Scott Devine said, on April 1, 2006 9:18 AM:

Dude,

This was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I am not sure why people always make things MORE complicated than what they should be. I finally found your site and found EXACTLY what I needed to know with images to boot. If you don't mind I would LOVE to ad you to my site as a link to places I thnk are great on the web! Cudos and keep up the wonderfully clear info!

Scott Devine - Fort Worth - Designmastermind.com

Steve said, on April 7, 2006 12:23 PM:

Crazy that i had no idea what it was...lost the owners manual on the first week... Thankx!

Beyhan Trock said, on April 22, 2006 10:57 PM:

Thank you so much! My son had 10 friends over for a birthday sleepover, and they couldn't get connected to the internat. We found your page and within 10 seconds they were hooked up and ready to play. Now if you could just tell me what to feed 11 hungry adolescents for breakfast...

Gust said, on May 15, 2006 9:30 PM:

Hi,

Can you help me please??
The switch of my PSP is already turned on, and the power saving utility is turned off, but the system tells me that the WLAN switch is not turned on.

Do you know what is the problem?

james Black said, on May 26, 2006 8:56 PM:

Hey i have a psp can i play Online Poker while on the aol on my psp?????????????????????

steve said, on June 3, 2006 11:05 AM:

After I turn on my WLAN switch and try to start a connection, I can't because it says to check my security settings and try again. What do I do?

Da G!! said, on June 26, 2006 9:01 AM:

thanx a lot man!! I finally know how because i was getting frustrated and i thought i needed to buy another one. But thanx again!

Mark said, on July 19, 2006 5:50 PM:

I turn on my WLan switch but it still wont work it says its not turned on still and i can hear it click when i move it up or down. Can ya help me?

LAURA said, on August 9, 2006 3:35 PM:

HELLO, I AM QUITE FRUSTRATED WITH THIS PSP THING FOR MY BOYS HOPEFULLY YOU CAN HELP ME. I FIGURED OUT THE WHOLE WLAN BUTTON THANKS TO YOUR WEBSITE. NOW I GET A MESSAGE THE ACCESS POINT WAS NOT DETECTED. WE ARE ALSO TRYING TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC ON TO THE PSP AND ARE HAVING TROUBLES. THANKS IF YOU CAN HELP!

brittany said, on October 16, 2006 6:55 PM:

how do i know what the password id for the paental controls

Ease said, on October 22, 2006 3:56 PM:

Thanx a lot. even with the networking skills i would have never though the wlan switch was hardware-related. sony has got some idiots on their team.

Oscar said, on November 6, 2006 2:39 PM:

Jo, hello there bro. I have this problem, MY FREAKING WLAND IS ON, BUT AFTER SOME TIME IT TURNS OFF BY ITSELF, THAT'S QUITE FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING MONSTER HUNTER FREEDOM WITH A FRIEND, HELP ME THERE PLZ...

pspnoob said, on January 5, 2007 4:14 PM:

Now I feel like an idiot. Thanks!

Dakota said, on January 17, 2007 5:17 PM:

Hey, I tried flipping the switch on the side of my psp the so called " WALAN " switch. ANd it still says the WLAN switch is off, any reason why this is happening?

Mitchell said, on January 20, 2007 4:22 PM:

Do you have to buy seperate parts like a receiver for your computer to plug in to?
because i can never get a connection. email me back, PLEASE!

dan said, on February 3, 2007 2:24 PM:

How do I get music on my psp and how do I use the internet

Raj said, on February 9, 2007 2:04 PM:

This was the best tip about PSP on any of the sites I have visted!! Now can i down load games direct to my PSP??

Dani said, on February 12, 2007 8:56 PM:

ok so i turned the wlan on, but now it says "a connetction error has occurred. The accesse point was not detected." what do i do?

JAY said, on February 27, 2007 11:24 PM:

my psp light isnt lighting up i dont know what to do

Dave Taylor said, on February 28, 2007 10:16 AM:

Jay, if your PSP isn't lighting up, then you probably have a hardware problem and either need to send it to Sony for repair or send it to a third party repair service like TechRestore. Here's an article I wrote about different repair options:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/broken_sony_psp_fixed.html

Good luck!!

john said, on March 4, 2007 8:50 PM:

Hi Steve yea.. my PSP's WLAN switch is up but it dosent seem to have tha blanking light to light up and im here where there is DSL connection will it work then? thankz

john said, on March 4, 2007 8:57 PM:

hi sorry i mean Dave Just wondering with DSL can the PSP connect to it Wireless or with the DSL's code name or online number by entering it into the psp to track it..?

john said, on March 4, 2007 9:03 PM:

hi Dave my psp is sayinng "A connection error has occurred. The attempt to obtain the IP address timed out?" what dose that mean?

stevie said, on March 6, 2007 8:04 AM:

i can,t seem to access the internet, i bought a secondhand psp but it came without a manual pleas help

yay said, on March 14, 2007 1:05 AM:

THX ALOOT

kk said, on March 17, 2007 10:18 AM:

i do push up the wlan switch up but when i go to connect it still says the wlan switch is not on

Ryan Kheejoo said, on March 24, 2007 5:59 PM:

how do I find the ssid

John said, on March 31, 2007 2:29 PM:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Jimmy said, on April 2, 2007 11:10 PM:

hey when i try to connect none secure connection it says check your security setting and try again and sometime it start the process of getting IP address and after sometime it gives a timeout error. what is it can ya help me?

Like Jeezy I Hyptonize said, on April 6, 2007 8:20 PM:

It doesnt work i still cant get a good connection on my psp how do i get a good connection

Powelly said, on April 16, 2007 4:17 AM:

How do you get pictures and music onto your psp? It wont let me.

conan williams said, on April 23, 2007 1:27 PM:

Can you help me with my psp. When i try to connect to the access point it say that it cannot connect to it?

joel said, on April 25, 2007 12:09 PM:

thank you so very much!!!!!!!!!!!1

shadrach kidwell said, on May 13, 2007 9:42 PM:

it said to hold down the AOSS button down can you please help me find were the button is

alex said, on May 15, 2007 9:58 AM:

hey, i turned the wlan switch on but it still says its turned off. why does it do that

Jeremy said, on May 17, 2007 10:20 PM:

Thank you very much for this info. I just got a PSP off ebay with no docs and this did the trick. You rock!

leslie taylor said, on May 24, 2007 2:31 PM:

thank you alot i have spent like 2 hours trying to fiqure this out

xxx said, on May 27, 2007 10:14 AM:

hey dave, what is "WPA key"? plz help

Rich said, on June 2, 2007 8:46 PM:

Hey Dave! I was looking all over for the friggin WLAN switch and I even looked through the instruction manual (God help me...) and didn't find anything but your site proved useful once again. Thanks!

yashar said, on June 5, 2007 10:42 AM:

it said to hold down the AOSS button down can you please help me find were the button is?

Paul said, on June 28, 2007 1:08 AM:

Your rock. Exactly the information I needed.

Savannah said, on July 3, 2007 5:05 PM:

hey when i turn my switch on the orange light dose not come on HELP ME!

MElanie said, on July 12, 2007 8:23 AM:

Thanks a lot I have gn to your site a few times and every time i found eactly wat I needed. Thanks Dave.

Dennis said, on July 16, 2007 9:13 PM:

It helped a lot ill ask you anything else that i need help on with my psp =]

rob said, on July 22, 2007 4:22 AM:

everytime i try to connect its says ip address timed out what does that mean

jodie said, on July 27, 2007 6:15 PM:

Hey, Everytime I try and connect it says ''The attempt to obtain the IP adress timed out.'' Help please!

jon-michael said, on July 31, 2007 10:28 PM:

Hey dave...I have a huge problem and its pissing me completely off..lol ok here it is...I turn WLAN switch on and the connector orange light does not go off so am like ookkk..so i go to connect and it still says the WLAN switch is not on then i try again and it say"a connection error has occured The WLAN switch is not turned on"am about to throw my PsP at the wall so before i did it i look u up plz email me( userttr@aol.com)or contact me on myspace url is j0nc3na tnx bro

Aghiles said, on August 2, 2007 5:21 PM:

What do I do when it says the attempt to obtain the ip adress timed out, so can you really please help me I appreciate it.

Vee Jay said, on August 5, 2007 10:58 AM:

You're the man, spent 15 min. deleting and re-entering settings. googled the question and in less than a minute your page had the answer.

Thanks

VLJ

Emman said, on August 17, 2007 8:30 PM:

hey man whenever i try to test the connection, it either says check security settings or no access detected, what is happening man, I really need your help

Cheri said, on September 15, 2007 2:22 PM:

Thank you so much for the WLAN switch help...The PSP is for my son's 16 bday...I wanted to have it all set up b4 he got it!!!!

Peachy Days!!!!

Cheri

jhon said, on September 15, 2007 10:01 PM:

Ah I feel kinda stupid but thanks for helping me out i now have internet on my psp. aloughti am having a little trouble scrolling down on the internet pages. Thanks for you help you webs site is now on my favorites!!!

alvaro said, on September 29, 2007 5:55 AM:

hi, i cant go to the internet in my psp i have wlan at my place , .ive scaned for connections and i got connected to it.but when i want to use the connection, it says-obtaining ip adress...-i wait for some time, and then it says -time to obtain ip adress ran out ....what sould i do?

abeda said, on October 7, 2007 4:23 PM:

my psp's acess point was not detected what do i do?

rigo said, on October 30, 2007 8:54 AM:

thanks this page helped alot

Game_Wiz101 said, on November 3, 2007 9:49 PM:

Hey man. Thanks fr the help. I am kind of a computer nerd, so my little brother looks up to me, and he is only eight years old. So when i couldn't find the WLAN switch, i felt like he was kinda put out. TY SOOO MUCH!!!

Mick said, on November 5, 2007 3:17 AM:

Im Tryin To Get Online But It Says Your IP Address Has Timed Out....
And Where Is The Aoss Button

Debra Hamel said, on November 6, 2007 10:31 AM:

Wow. Thank heavens for the internet. I could have spent hours trying to figure that out, but thanks to you we fixed it in seconds. Thanks!

dan said, on November 10, 2007 6:18 AM:

HI MY psp keeps saying that ''the attemot to obtain the IP adress timed out'' how do i fix this?

tonio said, on November 13, 2007 7:51 AM:

where is the aoss button

oris said, on November 17, 2007 4:46 AM:

hey thx alot for helpin me find the WLAN witch but wheres the frickin AOSS button thx

Alam said, on November 22, 2007 3:19 PM:

how can u put internet on ur psp i dont get it i dont kno my wep password where did i ment to get that from so plz can u help me n i puted it on my psp my connection plz so can u tell me give me a messege it will b co kl (KOOL)

aroosa said, on December 8, 2007 4:04 PM:

my psp keeps on saying that obtaing the ip address timed out
help plzz
fanx

Don said, on December 18, 2007 5:54 AM:

Thanks so much! I searched many websites before yours, and found that button within seconds, I feel like an idiot now, but at least my frustration has subsided!

Riley said, on December 25, 2007 9:23 PM:

YAH im having trouble getting the light itself to turn on buy ... you see , i have the new psp slim and the button that is on the lower left edge of the psp is not on this model so i have to figure out how to do it . if you have any tips plz tell me!

toby said, on December 26, 2007 11:26 PM:

hay i have it like you sad the switch but it keeps saying error has occurred (00000001)

Duane said, on January 5, 2008 1:57 PM:

Ok, I found the switch but I'm having more troubles.
its now saying "A connection error has occured. The connection to the access point timed out."
What does that mean?

mattymono said, on January 14, 2008 2:08 AM:

tyvm u are the best every 1
PSP LITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on psp lite its at top left

SAMUEL EVERETT said, on January 24, 2008 10:14 PM:

mine says error 0000001 or sumfin HOW DO I FIX IT

Yazz said, on January 27, 2008 3:19 PM:

Hay Dude Thanks Alot
I Have Used Your Site Alot For Different Thing I Have Needed Help With

And I Love How Easy It Is To Understand =]

Thanks Again Dude You Help ALOT!!

xx

bill said, on January 29, 2008 4:47 PM:

dave taylor

Shannon said, on February 9, 2008 8:52 AM:

My son was fooling around with my PSP and changed my settings, turning off my WLAN switch in the process. Trying to figure out how to get my PSP to go online again was making me nuts.

Thank you for posting this!! :o)

Alex said, on February 9, 2008 11:31 AM:

i turned on the wlan switch and now it says to press and hol the "AOSS Button" of the acess point until the AOSS indicator starts blinking how in the world do i do that????

David said, on February 12, 2008 8:27 AM:

Thanks so much for the info! Saved my sanity!

David.

Vincent said, on February 24, 2008 3:19 AM:

Hello Dave,may I ask how to turn my WLAN switch because I've already tried to slide the left swich to go up but I can't. please answer my question

from vincent

JJ said, on February 26, 2008 6:08 PM:

ON MY PSP I CAN DO EVERYTHING AND ALL BUT WHEN I TRY TO USE THE INTERNET IT SAYS(A CONNECTION ERROR HAS ACCURED. THE ATTEMT TO OBTAIN THE IP ADDRESS TIMED OT) WHAT DO I DO?

mat said, on April 14, 2008 12:05 PM:

Hi, whilst trying to obtain a IP address it keeps saying a connection error has occurred and i have been timed out. Any ideas? regards mat

kieron said, on April 30, 2008 3:30 PM:

hi with mine being a white 1 is doesnt have that slider on mine and it says ur WLAN is turned off how do i turn it on

nate said, on May 10, 2008 3:35 PM:

this is not my problem i always says my IP address has timed out what should i do?

kiki said, on May 16, 2008 12:06 PM:

i cant find the aoss button on my silver psp. can you help?

robert said, on June 17, 2008 1:08 PM:

i have got the wlan switch on but when i try to connect to the internet and it comes up with "scan,manual or automatic" i click on scan and then it comes up with "an internal error has occurred", what does that mean? And if i click on "automatic it comes up with "press and hold the AOSS button of the access point...and then it comes up with "an error has occurred, what does it mean?

Alessa said, on June 27, 2008 6:38 PM:

I felt like such an idoit, but glad that I found this information.

ryan said, on July 9, 2008 10:05 AM:

haha that actually worked thanks alot!!!!!!!!!!!!

aaron said, on July 11, 2008 7:13 PM:

i did it and it says that the ip adress is timed out so can you please help me and tell me how to do it hit me back and tell me how to do it

aaron stevevnson said, on July 11, 2008 7:29 PM:

can u please help me i haveing truble trying to get the internet so i look on websites and i found this one and i turned the wlan button on and i went scan and it said the the ip adress was timed out so if u could help me to do that or some one that can help me to do that because i am haveing a lot of truble so because my kids wamt me to do it but i said wait i will go on the comuter and find out how to do it so if u could just email me and tell me what i have to do
and than my kids will be heaps happy
thanx so much

Becky said, on July 12, 2008 8:03 AM:

Its amazing who ever built this is a genius i had no idea!!!! ThanksXXX

kunsheryn said, on July 22, 2008 6:27 AM:

plz can you help me i have turn on wlan but he is always telling me the acess point is not detected.please help me

PSPfigures said, on August 2, 2008 10:46 AM:

hi dave, i managed to went in to the internet plus turning on the WLAN. but there's something keep occuring when ever i go to any website. Its wrote there 'The connection to the server timed out'. how can i solve it? thanks if you could help. i would appreciate that.

Basheer said, on August 7, 2008 3:15 PM:

thanks for ur help mate
keep up the good work

Lee said, on August 21, 2008 2:09 AM:

My sony Psp hs not got one of those buttons and it won't connect to the internet even though I have used your step by step guide

CAN YOU HELP ME??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Elisha said, on August 27, 2008 9:02 AM:

I turned the WLAN switch on & tried to get the internet connection working but when its scanning the WLAN in the settings it keeps saying "No access points were detected. Do you want to try again?" and i keep trying again but it still don't work can you help me please?

james said, on September 14, 2008 2:20 AM:

im getting every thing right its just that right when i got the test connection part it says that the signal is weak and i dont know how it got like that

jay said, on October 4, 2008 5:40 PM:

hey my wlan switch is turned on and everytime i try to go on the internet it tells me that my wlan swtitch is truned of. Can you please tell me wat to do..ive been having this problem for the past 6mths and never paid it no mind cus i thought it was a minor problem..but i tried opening it and i dont kno wat to do afterwards? please HELP

Manuel Young said, on October 5, 2008 12:13 PM:

Hi, I came here for wifi switch not on situation that seems to be popular. I quickly arrived at the correct answer and I thank you, DAVE so so much for your help. I felt dumb not able to turn a switch on(im a tech)It took me a while to figure out the switch looks like the right power switch(two position) and there is 2 icons with wifi down position BUT its only for wifi as an (down)off (up) on. im sure most thought as I that (down) on and (up) disk drive. Im glad its the sony wifi switch engineers that are IDIOTS!not me. ok! I feel better now. thanks again. Maybe you should go work for sony... they need you.
xenotech1,
Goodyear, Arizona

Eri said, on October 5, 2008 4:54 PM:

A connection error has occurred. The attempt to obtain the IP address timed out?" what dose that mean? how can i connect to the internet on my psp? please help me. Thanks

Wanda Canada said, on October 9, 2008 4:43 PM:

I have a psp and it want show english it is in chinesse and can't play the games. How do i get it back to english just purchased a new game and it is showing in chinesse Please help

wahhhhgirl said, on October 11, 2008 12:35 AM:

wahhhhh!!! i dont have a psp my dad said hes gonna buy me so i read alot of these!!! this is really helpful!!!:]

taewah said, on November 17, 2008 4:17 AM:

HI MY psp keeps saying that ''the attemot to obtain the IP adress timed out'' how do i fix this?

Alana Marie Maher said, on December 11, 2008 2:08 AM:

hey My name is Alana and when i try to acsess the net on my PSP and WLAN is on it just says ...
A connection error has occured.
The access point was not detected.

Connection name Bigpond8104
SSID Bigpond8104

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

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I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

How do I turn on WLAN on my Sony PSP?

Reader Comments To Date: 157

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

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