How to Configure Wireless Wifi Router-Step by Step 2020
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How do I connect my Wi-Fi router?
Making a new router and running it out of the box and installing it is not a trivial matter. But setting up a home network doesn’t have to be intimidating, even if you’re a new kid. These days, router manufacturers have made it easier than ever to connect to your Wi-Fi network. But just because you’ve plugged everything in and it seems to be working doesn’t mean your network’s performance and security are as good as it could be. Follow these basic steps to properly configure your wireless router and improve your wireless network and connectivity.
Note that these steps assume that you have already found the right router for your home. If you’re still shopping, check out our Wireless Router Buying Guide, which includes some of the best products we’ve tested.
Steps to Set or Configure Wireless Wifi Router
- Placement and setup
Before you get started, you need to consider where you will place your router. Finding open space toward the center of your residence is the best way to ensure better coverage. Be aware that walls and floors will interfere with Wi-Fi signals, so the more interruptions you have between your devices and your router, the weaker (and possibly slower) the signal will be. Try to avoid proximity to large metal, glass, bricks, or solid objects.
First, you need to connect your router to your modem. To do this you’ll need an Ethernet cable, which you’ll want to plug into the WAN (wide area network) port on the back of your router. This port may look slightly different from router to router, but will usually have a different color from other ports and be labeled “WAN,” “Internet,” or something similar. From the WAN port, connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port behind your modem. Make sure your modem is on, and you’ll be ready to connect to the Internet. Then, of course, you need to plug your router into the wall outlet.
Many modern routers can be fully configured from your smartphone. Manufacturers will have their own unique setup app, so consult your router’s quick start guide to make sure you download the right one. However, not all routers have a mobile app. Some have a dedicated website URL that loads the router’s internal configuration page. You can find your URL by connecting your URL to the router’s LAN ports via an Ethernet cable and entering an address 192.168.1.1 or similar (such as the router’s documentation into your browser’s search bar).
The first step in running and running your network is to set up a username and password. If you already have a proprietary router, the username and password can be reset to factory defaults by holding the search button somewhere on the router (usually back). Often these defaults are like “admin” and “admin”, which every hacker knows, so make sure to change them now. Be sure to use a secure password that includes a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols.
How do I configure my router?
With a username and password set, you can proceed to configure your router settings. As for cooking dinner, there is no “right” way to install the router, and each model is likely to have its own set of steps according to its own characteristics. Because of this, it would be tedious and pointless to try to describe every possible sequence here. We strongly recommend the manual consultation of your router.
That said, we have some points of advice:
Use the easy setup wizard. Most routers offer some form of short setup routine that requires a bit more than SSID and password. If in doubt, start with. (SSID is the Wi-Fi name of your router. It may be something like “Asus” or “Net Gear” out of the box, but feel free to turn it into something creative, like “FBI — Monitoring van. “) You can always re-login to the router’s app or browser page to access more advanced options to enhance your experience.
Use the WPS button to connect Wi-Fi devices.If you’ve ever paired two Bluetooth devices, such as a smartphone with headphones, you already have a basic understanding of how it works. We say you want to connect a Windows 10 laptop to your router. On your laptop, you will see your router’s SSID popup in the list of wireless networks displayed in Windows. When you select SSID and try to connect, Windows will prompt you to enter the Network Security key, which is a pointless technical way of saying the password. If you’ve done a good job with your security and randomly created a password with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, you’ll have completely forgotten it and never bothered to type it again. Want Instead, press the WPS button on your router. Find each other and successfully pair You need at least one minute for the router and laptop to do this. Remember that WPS only works with Windows and Android devices.
When in doubt, let the router do it. “Auto” configuration tools are your friends. For more than 20 years, I have never had a reason for a router not to manage its IP addresses with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), a protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses to devices. Just because you can change something doesn’t mean you should. At least during the setup and initial use steps, go with automatic settings.
Is it better to connect to 2.4GHz or 5GHz band?
On the client device side, all other things being equal, a 5GHz connection will provide better performance in the short-range from 2.4GHz. This is because 5GHz, while somewhat faster, cannot travel or transfer long distances through certain objects due to the short wavelengths of this band. The 2.4GHz band has more congestion and fewer channel options. That said, if you want to continue using 2.4GHz, consider experimenting with channel selection. “Auto” usually does a good job of finding channel options and finding the best ones, but if you’re struggling with client connections, try setting the channel to 1 or 11 manually. 2. There are a total of 11 channels in the 4GHz band, usually, with default channel 6, you can switch between to avoid interference. When you select a given channel, some signal is usually spelled out. So, for example, the choice of Channel 2 often leads to an increase in traffic on Channels 1 and 3. Therefore, changing the range of 1 or 11 points away from the default point of 6, sometimes ensures the best performing contacts.
After the “Easy” setup, some routers will take you through some additional steps, such as parental controls (features that allow you to filter certain types of content) and the router firmware update automatically. Will do After these preferences, proceed to the “Wireless Setup” or similarly named tab/screen to activate your Wi-Fi network. Once your network is activated, you can connect to it from any device and start browsing the web.
Moving to the next level
With most routers, just activating your network and connecting to the Internet is only scratching the surface of what you can do. While the name of tabs like “Advanced Settings” sounds a bit scary, the menus here often let you control the most helpful features of your router. We will cover some great things below.
Quality of service (QoS)
QoS is one of the most useful features of online entertainment. This allows you to select and prioritize upstream and downstream traffic on your network, which can provide a performance boost for your favorite streaming service or online game. Most routers will have a tab in their app/configuration page dedicated to monitoring traffic. Navigate to it and find the QoS tab. Turn on QoS, and then you may prefer some services, such as online games or video streaming. You can also give preference to devices in the network. Years ago, this was usually done by providing a unique MAC address for the device and setting a priority level for the device. These days, vendors like NetGear are providing more intuitive, graphical perspectives for the same idea, as in the manual preference screenshot below.
QoS options can also allow you to see how your total bandwidth is being distributed across the device, so you can see anyone holding more than a fair or desired portion of it.
These days, most traffic is downloaded in nature, especially with multimedia streaming. If your streaming services prevent you from buffering each time, try using QoS to prioritize their traffic. In general, however, gamers only need to worry about upstream priority.
Guest network
If you want to keep all the data and files on your personal network out of the hands of unauthorized people, guest network work is easy. To set up one, go to your router’s app/configuration page and go to wireless settings. In most routers, the guest network is disabled by default, so there will usually be a page to configure it. Confirm the network name and password and the network will be configured.
We strongly recommend that you apply at least WPA2 encryption to your regular Wi-Fi network, but you’ll want to leave your own guest network “open” for easy access. Although simple, it can also prevent parking for neighbors and homeless people in your neighborhood. Make sure to include additional restrictions to limit access to guest networks, such as which bands they can use or when the network is active. You want to limit the guest network to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz band, but not on both.
Traffic monitoring
It can be useful to know what traffic passes through your network, as well as the ability to limit said traffic. If you are interested in either of these features, go to your router’s advanced settings menu. Usually, an option would be a traffic monitor, a traffic meter, a traffic monitor, or something like that. Enable this feature and you will be able to monitor your router traffic. In some routers, you can choose to limit incoming traffic (downloads), outgoing traffic (uploads), or both. Not all routers feature traffic monitoring, but there are many online services that can work for you, including Solar Winds RTBM or PRTG.
FTP servers
Older people on the Internet may remember the days before Dropbox, when they needed to jump through multiple hops with dedicated protocol applications for files. FTP apps may be out of common use, but this technology can still be an easy way to transfer a lot of files without having to deal with cloud services.
FTP servers are only available for routers that have at least one USB port. The first thing you will need is a USB storage device, such as an external hard drive, plugged into your router. Next, navigate to the latest settings on the App / Configuration page and find a tab called USB Storage, USB Settings, or something similar. Once in this tab, click on the “FTP via Internet” or similar checkbox. Your USB device will now be available to users on your network. If you only want to access the USB device, you can edit the read and write access for the admin only.
Some routers require you to read and configure written access to specific folders. Click “New Folder,” “Select Folder,” or something similar, and go to the desired folder on your USB device. Select the folder and click Apply Changes.
MAC address filtering
Think of a MAC (Media Access Control) address as a globally unique name for any network device. The address is connected to the device hardware. Some routers allow you to compile a list of specific MAC addresses that may (or may not) access your network. It’s like blacklisting or whitelisting which devices can access your LAN.
To do this, find the Mac filter under the Advanced Settings tab. Dual or tri-band routers will usually let you choose which band the filter will apply to, and some routers will let you choose whether the entered MAC address will be accepted on a single network or rejected a single address Will be. Once you’ve set your own preferences for these preferences, the final step is to find the MAC addresses on the devices you want to filter and type them into.
For mobile devices such as phones or tablets, the MAC address can be found by accessing your device’s settings and going to the About phone tab. From here, some devices may have a tab called Status, where the MAC address can be found, while in others it is readily available in the About Phone section. On a Mac or PC, go to your device’s network settings page and open the Network and Sharing Center. Click on your Wi-Fi connection and search for details or properties. This area will display a variety of information, including your device’s “physical address”, another term for MAC address. (On Mac, it’s called a “Wi-Fi address.”)
Parental authority
At a minimum, parental control allows you to set time limits for each approved device (identified by MAC address) on the network. So if your child has a bad habit of using devices for a long time after going to bed, but you don’t want to play this bad cop permanently who has to come to the police every night where and when No problem
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First, use MAC address filtering to ensure that only approved devices can be connected to your router. Then use parental controls to ensure that they allow connected devices only within approved hours. It only takes a few minutes to set it up, and, usually having a well-configured rotor, will treat numerous headaches and make sure your home runs smoothly.
Next steps
Anyone can build and run an Internet connection in minutes using your router’s Quick Start Guide, but most models hide lesser-known treasures in their setup menus. If you want to get the most out of your router investment, take the extra time to explore these innovative options. And if you’re still in the market for a new router, consider going beyond the list of box features and product description sheets. Download the manual, explore these advanced options and see which features will provide the most value in your environment. Once you’re ready, check your internet speed. And if you need further guidance, check out our latest hacks: 10 tips to speed up your Wi-Fi and 12 tips to troubleshoot your internet connection.
