How To configure a Wi-Fi Router Correctly

Last week, we looked at ways to look for a good Wi-Fi router. Its one thing to choose a Wi-Fi router, but it's equally important to spend the same time to install and configure it correctly. If you’ve bought a router from your ISP, then someone from the ISP might have come over to your place and installed the router for you.

 Routers have more to them than you expect

Sometimes, the ISP personnel might not have any knowledge of wireless security and have no idea about your network setup at your home. If you’ve bought your own Wi-Fi router, then you will have to configure your router yourself. Let’s look at some of the most important features that need to be configured on your router.

Logging into your router
At this point, we are going to assume that you’ve setup the cables between the ISP and the router correctly. Routers and modems do not have any controls or LCD displays that let you configure the settings for them externally. The firmware on the router can only be accessed through a web browser. The web interface can typically be accessed on http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.0.1. The user name and password are both admin most of the time as well. If that doesn’t work, refer to the router manual for the correct URL or look at the back of the router. The user name and password will also be mentioned there.

Entering authentication details for internet account

Some of them require you to authenticate using a web login while most of them use PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet). When you first buy your router, you might have to enter these details into the router manually for once. The interface and location of the menus differs from one brand of routers to another, but the features are common everywhere. If your ISP doesn’t use PPPoE, you can use DHCP as your setup type and if your ISP assigns you specific IP addresses, you can choose the Static IP option and enter the details manually.

Enabling MAC Address Cloning
Every single network device has a MAC address which is unique to that device. ISPs lock internet access to MAC addresses on their clients’ PCs. So when you buy a new router, the ISP detects a different MAC address and disables internet access to that connection.

MAC cloning allows new routers to be recognized by ISPs

Fortunately, routers have a MAC address cloning feature that allow you to manually add the MAC address of your PC. Most of the routers have a MAC address auto-detection feature built into them. Enable it if you find your internet connection not working the moment you install your brand new router.

Securing your Wi-Fi network
Wi-Fi security is absolutely important if you don’t want your network PCs to be exposed and if you don’t want random users using your internet connections. Most routers come with no passwords set for the wireless network, which makes it easy for you to get online but at the same time, also easy for those unauthorized users. There are a few steps that can reduce the chances of that happening.

Setting a complicated password is a must

When you first install the router, make sure that you have Security mode on your router setup to WPA2-Personal and enter a long and somewhat complicated password. Most ISPs today distribute routers amongst their users with the passwords set as admin, password, the user’s phone number or name.

MAC filtering only allows specific devices to connect to the wireless network

The next step is to block all MAC addresses other than your PC and other devices that you might be using. Remember, we talked about ISPs blocking PCs with unrecognized MAC address? Routers have a similar feature that blocks devices whose MAC addresses aren’t present in the white list. Linksys calls the feature the Wireless MAC filter.

Disabling SSID Broadcast hides your network to outsiders

Disabling SSID Broadcast is one of the last steps to securing your router. With the broadcasting disabled, users aren’t able to see any wireless networks and accessing it isn’t possible unless you know the exact SSID of the network. Ideally, disable this once you’ve connected your devices to the Wi-Fi router at least once so that the SSID, password and settings are saved.

Setting up port forwarding
A lot of P2P applications and games might require open ports, which basically means that the router should be able to accept ports and forward them to your devices. Since all the connections being made to your network pass through the single router, the router needs to redirect those requests to specific PCs. In this case, incoming connections coming to various ports need to forwarded to the correct PCs. P2P applications for example need an accessible incoming port. Once you know which port your P2P application knows (which is something you can find out from the connection settings for the application), you can specify the port you would like the router to forward and to which PC or device.

Port forwarding is necessary for certain applications to operate flawlessly

Some manufacturer use the term NAT, port forwarding or in the case of recent Linksys routers, the feature is available through a menu called Applications & Gaming. In this case, users can choose from one of the preset applications and ports or can choose to manually enter the values. For example, if you were hosting a game of Quake III Arena (a game that uses the port 27960) for your friends, you would need to specify the external port to be 27960, the internal port to be 27960 as well and mention the destination PC’s IP address. Don’t forget to specify TCP/UDP traffic. You can set it to be both if you’re unsure.

Enabling bandwidth priority
Streaming Youtube uses a lot of bandwidth. If you happen to be playing a multiplayer game online while someone else is watching a Youtube video on the same connection, you’re likely to face lag or disconnections. This is obviously very annoying.

Load balancing between PCs is possible using QoS features

Routers have a feature which allows users to set higher or lower priority for bandwidth provided to specific PCs or applications. The QoS feature should allow you to select MAC addresses, IPs address and ports, so that bandwidth priorities can be assigned to them.

How to Choose a Wi-Fi Router

The days when most of us had a single PC or laptop are gone. Many of us use a PC and a laptop and there are those who have many more. The modern geek’s home usually has a primary desktop, a netbook or notebook, a smart phone and obviously an HTPC in the living room right next to the television set. Networking all of these PCs and laptops is possible with a simple hub or switch but there are a bunch of cables involved.

The easiest solution is investing in a WiFi router. If you don’t already have one, you may be able to buy one from your internet provider. Some providers offer Wi-Fi routers on rental basis whereas some offer an over-the-counter purchase option. The only problem there is that you have no control over the model. Its better if you buy your own router, but like buying any other product these days, things can get a little confusing. Let’s look at some of the most important things to consider before going out to buy one.

How much will I need to spend?
Wi-Fi routers can be bought for as little as Rs. 600, if you buy it from your ISP. Other branded routers start from as little as Rs. 1,300 and go right up to Rs. 12,000 or more depending on the kind of features. If you’re looking for a basic router that you want to use with your devices for just browsing, then something in the range of Rs. 1,300 to Rs. 2,500 will be fine. The moment you want higher speeds for streaming good quality video content and more advanced features, then be willing to increase your budget.

ADSL2 connectivity
Many of the larger ISPs today use ADSL to distribute internet connections and customers are provided with ADSL modems to use with their PCs. If your ISP uses ADSL, then look for a compatible router which has the ADSL2 modem functionality built into them. These are bound to be a little more expensive than regular Wi-Fi routers but you’re no longer dependent on a separate ADSL modem for internet access.

Which one - 802.11g or 802.11n?
Most routers are sold as either 802.11g or 802.11n. They’re all backward compatible but 802.11n offers faster speeds than 802.11g. IEEE 802.11g has a speed limitation of 54Mbps whereas 802.11n offers speeds of up to 150Mbps in a single stream. Dual band setups can reach twice that speed. The performance of routers as we’ve seen changes one from location to another. IEEE 802.11g offer enough speeds to transfer fairly large files and browse the internet and even stream Youtube and DVD-quality content over the network. You’ll have problems streaming HD 720p and 1080p content though.

IEEE 802.11n’s improved bandwidth definitely increases that limit but streaming HD 1080p content is still off limits when you move from one room to another. Once again, this depends on the layout of your home or office.

Ethernet ports
Wi-Fi routers typically come with Ethernet ports which can also be used to connect PCs using cables. These can be used to connect a PC that’s kept right next to the router. The advantage you get is 100Mbps or 1000Mbps speeds and there’s none of that tiny latency increase that you notice with wireless connections. If you’re looking for good wired connectivity, look for routers with Gigabit Ethernet ports, but also remember to upgrade your cabling to CAT6 to support the higher speeds.

USB ports
USB ports on a router are becoming a common sight these days. The USB ports on a router can be used to connect external storage devices such as an external hard drive or a flash drive.
You can access all the contents of that drive from anywhere in your home or from the web. Sometimes, the USB ports may also be used to connect a 3G USB modem as well.

Additional services
The USB functionality adds a whole world of possibilities to routers. Sharing data on a Windows network is just one of the basic features. Some routers offer FTP functionality which lets you host a FTP server with the option to set user permissions as well. Some of the more advanced features are built-in download managers which allow file downloading capabilities without the need of a dedicated PC. Downloading Torrents without a PC is also possible. All of these features can be accessed through a web interface.

Custom firmware support
Routers have upgradeable firmware and almost every router should have that feature. There are custom firmware developed by third party developers and communities. Two of the well known are DD-WRT and Tomato.


These custom ROMs are free for download but unfortunately, only work on specific models of routers.  Before you go out and get yourself a new router, you might want to check the compatibility lists on these sites to see if your router will be supported. Remember that you might void the warranty of the router if you install a custom firmware.

3G functionality
If you’re looking to use your router with a 3G broadband connection, look out for routers that support 3G dongles. There are some routers which have a slot for a 3G SIM card as well. These routers are somewhat more difficult to come by and expensive as well. Some of the 3G enabled routers are also compact, can be powered by a USB connector and carried in a pocket. These are great if you're traveling very often.