[pjmac35]

I am using Win 7 64 bit. I have a PC with a Netgear router linked by LAN. I also have a laptop and a Blackberry Playbook tablet. The laptop performs faultlessly (Wi-fi) My Playbook always connects by wi-fi and I can access Internet, email etc. However, to transfer files, the Playbook does not show up under My Computer\Networks, at least sometimes. At other times the tablet does show. I can't think what determines whether it will connect or not. The Blackberry desktop software doesn't ever show the device on wi-fi but does when using USB.

In addition, I've just got a Kobo Touch e-reader and can connect on wi-fi and download books etc but it also doesn't show on My Computer.

Any ideas?
Regards and thanks in advance

Syke

[pacoman03]

First, get the ip address of your Playbook. It's under settings (gear in top right corner), About, then Network from the dropdown menu. It's the IPv4 number (black numbers only- ignore greyed out numbers) and will look something like this- 192.168.0.101 (this is my ip addtress- your's may or may not be the same). Now on your desktop PC, click on the Start button, and in the search box at the bottom, input your PB's ip address behind two forward slashes ( thus \\192.168.0.101). Hopefully, you'll get a hit- click on it.

One other thing- make sure wifi sharing is turned on on your PB. Go to Settings/Storage and Sharing.

[slparry]

1. click on the gear wheel in the top right corner
2. scroll to "Storage & Sharing" on the left side
3. on the right side click the "Properties" button in the Network Identification section
4. note the "Tablet Network Name" and the "username"
5. click the back button
6. ensure "File Sharing" is on (not totally needed for this but will allow usb file access)
7. ensure "Wi-Fi Sharing" is on
8. decide if you want to password protect your remote file access. If so set the password.

Now assuming your PC and your Playbook are both connected on the same network (and assuming your PC is running Windows) click the Start button on the PC in the search or run box type CMD and press enter

A black box should now open with a flashing cursor.

In that box type
ping thetabletnameyounotedearlier so for example in my case it's ping playbook-fc04 and press enter

It should then respond with four "Reply from......." messages. This indicates your Playbook is acknowledging the ping you've sent.

Now go back to the search/run box you typed CMD in earlier and type \\thetabletnameyounotedearlier ... so again for mine it's \\playbook-fc04 for example.

If you've enabled the username and password use the ones you've previously set, it may need the username in the format workgroup\username

A window should open shortly with two folders, one of which is media. That's the file area.

Once you know it's all working it's probably worth creating a shortcut on the desktop of the PC to \\thetabletnameyounotedearlier or mapping a drive to it. Using the name rather than the ip address means if the ip changes the device will still be found via its name.

Hope that helps?

[pjmac35]

Thanks to both for quick response. I put the tablet name and ID in the Search box and got nothing. I tried the IP and this worked; I put a shortcut to this on the Desktop and can now access Playbook on wi-fi, but it still sometimes doesn't show in My Computer\Network.

Regards

Stke

[Gooseberry Falls]

Hello. I wouldn't worry about it. I have a laptop that rarely shows up in Network but I can access it either by IP address or UNC (\\computername\fileshare) even after many refreshes. It is basically just a shortcut anyways. It is wired to my router (LAN) and WLAN, too. I haven't paid too much attention but it could be in what order all the devices enter the network. Also, alot of OSs involved (XP, Vista, Win 7, Win 8, android, PB, Windows Mobile, Windows CE). So I give it a break.

[Scotter75]

It is probably a setting in Windows, likely in the network connection settings, that may be causing the problem.

[Angus_CB]

It is possible that your Playbook IP address isn't the same each time you connect at home.
You can set a static IP address in the settings.