Picture of the Victor Reader Stream, New Generation, showing Wireless Button and Wireless Status Lamp, labeled in pink text.

Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream New Generation

Here we give instructions for changing the WiFi network on the Victor Reader Stream New Generation eBook player.

Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream Intro

The Victor Reader Stream New Generation media player adds many wireless functions. You can do the following.

    1. Download firmware updates directly to it without a personal computer.
    2. Play internet radio stations.
    3. Download and play talking books from the National Library Service for the Blind (NLS).
    4. Get National Federation for the Blind (NFB) News Line updates.
    5. Listen to podcasts.

The New Generation Stream is a smart device, that offers accessibility to low-vision and blind users.

But all of these new features rely on a working WiFi connection.  So, like other wireless devices, you must program the Victor Reader Stream to connect to wireless networks.

But these networks can change as you move from place to place. Or the network can change when you upgrade your wireless router.  In this piece, we step through how to add a new wireless network to your Stream.

The Victor Reader New Generation Stream, features a voice style prompt system, and thus, has no visual screen.  So with each step below, rather than showing pictures, we’ll quote what the Stream says as we execute each step.

If your Victor Stream had previously connected, but no longer does, this could mean the following.

    1. That network is no longer broadcasting.
    2. Its SSID has changed.

In either case, you’ll need to program in a current in-range WiFi network, as described below.

Picture of the Victor Reader Stream, New Generation Media Player, by Humanware
Victor Reader Stream, New Generation Media Player, by Humanware.

Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream New Generation Player Instructions

1. Turn on the Victor Stream

Press and hold the Power button, located on the left side panel, near the top.  Hold the button in until the unit beeps once.  Release then.

The Stream then says, “Welcome to Victor Reader,” followed by a musical sound.

2. Turn Airplane Mode OFF for Changing WiFi on the Victor Reader Stream New Generation Player

Skip to the next step if your Airplane Mode setting is already OFF. Airplane mode is OFF when the yellow Network Status LED flashes. The Stream cannot connect to any wireless network with airplane mode ON, since this turns off the WiFi chips inside.

But the net status lamp remains dark while the Stream is powered on, when Airplane mode is ON.  To turn airplane mode OFF, press the Wireless key. Find this button just above the number 2 key. It’s near the center top of the Stream’s keyboard, as shown next.

Picture of the Victor Reader Stream, New Generation, showing Wireless Button and Wireless Status Lamp, labeled in pink text.
Victor Reader Stream, New Generation, showing Wireless Button and Wireless Status Lamp, labeled in pink text.

Then, press and hold this round key, with the WiFi symbol. Hold it in until the Stream says, “Airplane mode OFF.”

Release the key when you hear this.  Then watch for the net status lamp to begin blinking.  The blinking means that the WiFi circuits are now ON.  With airplane mode OFF, the unit scans for any networks in its Saved Wireless Network list, that are in-range.

3. Notice that the Stream Reader is Not Connecting to any WiFi Networks

The WiFi network status lamp may flash for over fifteen seconds.  This means then the Stream could not connect to any networks it knows about.

Sadly, the unit does not announce this, while it looks for in-range access points.  Blind users should assume that if you haven’t heard the, “Connected to WiFi” voice message after half a minute, then the Stream has not connected yet, and probably will not.  So proceed in that case, to the next step, to enter a network to which the Stream WILL connect.





4. Bring Up the Online Bookshelf for Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream

Press and quickly release the Wireless key until you hear, “Bookshelf, Internet radio…”  If the Stream says, “Bookshelf, Talking books,” then press the Wireless button again.  This should take you to the online bookshelf.  You need to be in online bookshelf mode in order to access the wireless network settings as discussed below.

5. Scan for Available WiFi Networks

Press and quickly release the 7 key.  This takes you into the Stream’s setup and menus.  It should say, “Menu, wireless”.  But if yours says, “Menu, navigation and playback,” then repeat step 4 above. Make sure that your Stream is set to the online bookshelf before proceeding.

But if your stream says that you’re now in the Wireless menu, then press and release the 8 or Down-Arrow key.  Keep pressing and releasing until you hear, “Scan for available connections”.

Then, press and release the # (Confirmation) key, located at the lower right corner of the numeric keypad.

After a short pause, the Stream announces the first in-range SSID that it found.   This may or may not be the WiFi you want if the Stream finds many networks in range.

6. Find the In-Range WiFi Network you Want

If the network you want was not announced in the last step, then do the following.

  • Move around in this list by pressing the 2 and 8 (Up and Down) keys.
  • Pausing briefly after each press. Listen for the current network name.
  • Stop navigating when the Stream speaks the WiFi SSID you want.

Note that the New Generation Stream does not see 5 Ghz. wireless networks.  Only in-range 2.4 Ghz. ones appear in the available networks list.

Press the Confirm (#) key when you hear it.  This “chooses” your desired network.

7. Enter the WiFi Password if Prompted to Continue with Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream

If the network you’ve chosen requires a password, then the Victor Reader will prompt you for it. It will say, “Enter password.”

Use the numeric keypad to enter the password as follows.

    1. Press each key the right number of times to reach the desired character.  For example, to enter the letter ‘c’, press the 2 key three times.  For the letter ‘s’, press the 7 key four times.
    2. After pressing the right number of times, pause briefly. Then the Stream will say the letter you entered.
    3. If this is not the character you wanted, press the Back (rewind) key. This moves the insertion point back to the wrong character.  Then, enter the correct one. The new character overwrites the wrong one.
    4. To enter an upper case letter, then prior to entering that character, press the Book Mark key once. The Book Mark key is the diamond shaped one at the top right corner of the keyboard. Find it just to the right of the Wireless key. This puts the keyboard into shift lock mode.  All letters you enter after that will be capitals.  Press and release the diamond key once more to go back to lower case mode.

When you’ve entered all the password characters, press the Confirm (#) key.  This starts connection to the WiFi network you picked above.

When the Victor Reader establishes successful connection, it announces, “Connected to <wireless network name>.”





8. Enter a Nickname for this Wireless Network

Once the new connection comes up, the stream may prompt for a network nickname.  It might say, “Enter a nickname for this network.”  Such names might include Home, Work, Sisters, and so on.

Again, use the numeric keys as described above in step 7.  Punch in a short but memorable name for your new connection.

The Victor Reader then says, “Connected to <nickname>.”

It may then say, “Please wait.” one or more times, while it checks the Humanware website for software updates.

9. Test Out your New WiFi Connection after Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream

If you wish, you can check that your new WiFi connection is working, by running the “Validate Connection,” menu item.  This will only work if your Stream is connected to a WiFi access point that also provides internet access.

Do this as follows. Press the Exit Menu (the star (*) key).  The Stream should say, “Leaving menu.”

Then, press the 7 key.  The Stream then says, “Wireless, Airplane mode.”

Next, press and release the 2 (UP) key once.  The Stream should then say, “Validate connection.”

Then, press the Confirm (#) key.  The Stream then says, “Completed”.  Then, the text voice reads a short message from the Humanware web site.  It begins, “Congratulations!  You have successfully configured the internet connection of your Victor Reader Stream…”

10. Done with Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream!

Enjoy, you’ve now successfully changed wireless networks on your New Generation Victor Reader Stream eBook player.

Disclaimers

The comments in this piece apply to Streams running Version 4.4.12, Model 503 Stream US English version.

Related Posts to Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream

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Other Posts About the Victor Stream Reader

    1. Solving Victor Reader Stream WiFi Problems
    2. Victor Reader Stream New Generation Review
    3. Victor Reader Stream 303 Daisy Player Review
    4. AC Adapter Specs for Victor Reader Stream Model 303
    5. Victor Reader Stream Gripes, 303 First Generation Model

References for Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream

  1. Humanware   Web Site
  2. Victor Reader Stream New Generation    Product Web Page

Revision History

  • 2019-06-30: Added key phrase targeting for ‘Changing WiFi on Victor Reader Stream’. Removed ad code. Added more tags and links.
  • 2015-09-22: Tweaked content.
  • 2015-08-30: Originally published.