Whether you’re moving to a new location and setting up your WiFi, or you’ve changed internet service providers, here are some things to do when setting up your home WiFi network.
Many times, your internet service provider will come, set up your internet, and then leave. Usually the router they set up has a unique password already set so it’s secure right out of the box, but everything else is set with default settings and this isn’t always optimal.
For example, you will want to change the WiFi password and the type of protection used to protect the WiFi network. Most often, routers use WEP protection by default, which can be easily hacked.
It’s also possible that your router is out of date, although technically it should have been when it was first set up by your ISP’s technician. But these are things you can easily change in your router’s settings. Here’s how to set up WiFi correctly.
How to Access Your Router’s Settings
Before you begin, anything you want to change and install should be accessed from the router’s admin control panel. Usually the default admin login is printed on the back of the router.
Now open your web browser and type 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 to go to the admin login screen. This is your router’s IP address. Of course, it depends on the router you have. You can do check out this list to see which IP address you need to type
The next thing you should see is your router’s login screen. Go ahead and type the admin username and password. Again, this information should be printed on the back of your router. If not, leave the username usually and password , , or blank.
After that, you are officially in the hub of your router and can start fiddling with the settings. Your WiFi password, network name, etc. Note that changing any settings, such as So don’t freak out if you see your WiFi disconnected – you just need to reconnect and then re-access the admin control panel.
Change Default SSID and Password
Perhaps the most important thing to do when setting up your home WiFi network is to change the default password you use to connect to WiFi. Your ISP provides a default SSID and password so it’s secure right after installation, but you’ll want to change that to something a little easier for you to remember.
Changing the SSID isn’t a bad idea either. SSID is the name of your WiFi network. Many ISPs will provide a default SSID like “D35GD” or something silly. You can change it as you wish from the admin control panel.
To change these two things, look for a setting in the name or something like that. This will vary depending on the brand of your router. From there, there should be text fields where you can change the SSID and password.
Enable WPA2 Protection
Speaking of your WiFi password, it’s a good idea to go ahead and change the protection level to WPA2. Many ISPs set their routers to WEP-only protection by default, but it’s easily hackable and not as secure as WPA2.
To change this setting, it’s most likely (instead of just) or similar. From there you will have the option to choose WEP, WPA or WPA2. WPA2 is the most secure so choose that and save your changes.
Change WiFi Channel
If you want to get every inch of performance from your router and your WiFi network, changing the channel your router is running on can do that pretty well.
Channels on routers essentially prevent a cluster of routers from interfering with each other. So, if you live in an apartment where many WiFi networks overlap, many of them may be running on the same channel, so they interfere with each other.
What you want to do is choose a channel for your router that many other routers don’t work on. To find out which channels are using surrounding routers, you can download a tool called iStumbler for Mac or NetStumbler for windows. These tools can show you a list of surrounding WiFi networks and what channels they are on, this way you can select an unused one.
To change your router’s channel, it should be in the section where you changed your SSID and password. If not, it should be in or similar.
Optimize Router Placement
You can put your router in a convenient place and leave the router there assuming there is always a certain radius it can reach to allow devices to connect to it, but where you place your router in your home is very important.
Walls, doors and corners greatly reduce router signal strength, so try not to place your router near these items in your home. Ideally, wireless devices should have a direct line of sight to the router for the best signal, but of course this isn’t always possible. Instead, it’s best to place your router in the middle of your home, in an open area where signals can breathe and bounce off walls if needed.
Update Router Firmware
Your router must have the latest firmware to function optimally. Unfortunately, router manufacturers and ISPs don’t update the firmware as needed, but that’s mostly because they have so many routers sealed and ready to ship, and it may be months before they actually turn on and ship. to use. Until then, new firmware may be available.
Usually located in the section of the admin control panel, updating the firmware is relatively effortless, but some routers do not have the ability to automatically update newer firmware. Instead, the user has to go to the router brand’s website to download the latest firmware and then upload that file via the router’s admin control panel. To find the necessary firmware, simply go to the Support and Downloads section of the router brand’s website.
