8 tips for setting up your new router

There are plenty of reasons why you should upgrade your router. You’ll open up a world of quicker speeds, improved range, and new features. It’s also likely to ensure maximum compatibility with your latest gadgets. Read on below for eight important tips for setting up your new router. 

Find the right position

Most importantly, finding the right position for your router is the best thing you could do for it (since everything else depends on it). Wireless routers use radio waves, which are often weakened by obstacles such as brick walls, and they also get weaker the further they travel, leading to a slow connection. To get the best out of your router, place it near the center of your home on a desk, table, or shelf, away from other devices that emit wireless frequencies.

Change the SSID and password

Check your router’s manual to find its IP address, and then access the device’s admin settings by typing the address into a web browser. Enter the admin username and password when prompted, and follow any further directions.

Adjust the antennas

If your router has external antennas, make sure they’re pointing in the right direction to optimize range and performance. Most people assume this means the antennas must be facing upwards, but a former Apple Wi-Fi engineer, Alf Watt, recommends positioning them perpendicular to each other (such as one facing up and the other facing out). This is because radio reception is better when both the sending and receiving antennas are positioned along the same plane.

Set a Wi-Fi password

As you’re probably aware, a decent router usually comes with basic security settings already in place. This includes a Wi-Fi password, which you’ll need to enter on every device you wish to connect to the internet. You can find this information either in the documentation or on a label on the underside of the router itself.

Update the firmware

As with any piece of hardware, it’s wise to check whether there’s a firmware update available. Although you won’t likely get new exciting features with a router firmware update, you may get performance and connectivity improvements, as well as security patches.

Disable remote access

Remote access allows network administrators, or anyone else, to log into the router remotely via internet. As it has little practical use for the typical home user, it should be disabled, since it poses a potential security risk.

Enable or disable guest browsing

These days, just about anyone who enters your home will ask for the Wi-Fi password at some point during their visit. If your router supports guest access, it’s a smart idea to turn it on for this very reason. This is because guest mode creates a second network with its own SSID and password.

Enable quality of service

Quality of service (QoS) is an advanced tool that’s meant to prioritize which applications are most important when sharing bandwidth. Imagine you’re watching Netflix in 4K, for example, and also have a large file being backed up to the cloud. Of course, you’d want the video you’re watching to run smoothly during this process. Backup speed may suffer, but QoS will come in handy to prioritize bandwidth to Netflix. Although it’s not available on every router, QoS boosts performance in things such as video calls and multiplayer games.

Have any tips? Leave a comment below.

Source: MakeUseOf