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How to set up a Wi-Fi network and wireless router. How to set up a Wi-Fi router at home yourself: connection tricks

An article about how to properly configure a WiFi router and improve the performance of your home wireless network.

Life always presents us with some surprises. Sometimes good, and sometimes not so good... But we almost always have a chance to correct any misunderstanding! So I recently had a problem that anyone who has Wi-Fi at home can face - the Internet does not work...

More precisely, of course, it works, but with glitches. It happens all day long, everything is fine, and then suddenly it’s gone. Moreover, it disappears for different time intervals: from several minutes to several hours! I complained to the providers, but they, as usual, said that there were no problems or interruptions on their part. So, as always, we will try to solve all the issues ourselves, Google will help us :)

Looking ahead, I’ll say that my problem was most likely that two more WiFi routers were working on my channel in the house (we have an apartment building) (and one of them was somewhere near the nearest neighbors!). If you are not interested in the intricacies of all wireless network settings, then you can immediately proceed to reading the section on setting up channels. Let's start in order :)

General information about routers

First, let's define the terms a little :) Users often confuse devices for accessing the Internet, so in order to avoid misunderstandings, let's find out what the difference between them is:


As I already said, next we will look at the principles of setting up WiFi using the example of a wireless router (not a modem!). My TP-Link model TL-WR740N will be used as such, however, having understood the basic conditions for setting up wireless broadcasting, you can configure almost any router in the same way.

WiFi activation and protection

So, let's assume that we have already connected the cable from the modem or switch to our router and want to start distributing wireless Internet. In some models there is a special button for this, which allows you to turn WiFi on and off with one click. However, not everyone has it, and if they do, it creates an open access point by default without connection security. That is, everyone can connect to our Internet! Therefore, the first thing I recommend is to enable password protection for the network, and to do this you need to go into the settings of our router.

For the initial setup, we will need to connect to the router via a network cable (it is advisable to make all important settings in wired mode), open any browser and enter the IP address of your device, then press Enter. Typically, the default factory address for all routers and modems is either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. You can see the exact IP in the instructions, on the bottom sticker of the device or on its box.

The start page that opens usually contains general statistical information about the operation of the router and data on its settings. We are looking for the side menu, and in it there is an item that may be called “Wireless mode”, “Wireless settings”, “WiFi” or something like that (depending on the device manufacturer and its firmware version). Let's go to this section and see the primary settings of our wireless network:

We will return to some of the nuances of these settings later, but for now we will set the basic parameters. These include:

  1. WiFi activation switch (in the screenshot “Enable wireless broadcasting of the router”). This is the main “toggle switch”, which usually looks like a check mark or radio button and allows you to turn on or off our WiFi at the software level. May have names “Enable WiFi”, “Enable Wireless Network”, “Activate WiFi”, etc.
  2. SSID broadcast switch (“Enable SSID broadcast”). This toggle switch is responsible for the visibility of our wireless network by its specified name (SSID). For WiFi devices to be discovered, this option must be activated. Name options: "Enable network visibility", "Activate SSID Broadcasting", "Show SSID"...
  3. Field for entering SSID (“Network name”). The main (after broadcasting activation) Wi-Fi settings option. By default, the network name matches the name of your router, however, you can change it to any word written in English letters. Renaming the network is desirable for end devices to quickly find their WiFi connection. Name options: "SSID", "Network name", "Service Set Identifier", "Wireless Network Name".
  4. Broadcasting region ("Region"). Usually it is a drop-down list of countries and their regions, in which you need to select the one where you are currently located. This is necessary so that the router automatically receives a list of frequencies allowed for use and does not interfere with other radio equipment. Variations: "Country", "Region".

Usually, by setting the above parameters and saving them, we already get a fully working, but still unsecured wireless network. Let's move on to defense now. To do this, go to the “Wireless Protection” tab (options: “WiFi Security”, “Wireless Security”, “WiFi Protection”) or find the “Protection Mode” parameters below (“Wireless Security Mode”, “Encryption mode”... ):

Here we usually have a list of encryption modes for our wireless network. You may not encrypt your broadcast (your neighbors will say “thank you” and maybe even bring you cookies :)), however, this is fraught with some potential problems... Firstly, most providers can fine you for unauthorized distribution of the Internet (this clause is usually included in the contract) for the amount of several monthly subscription fees. And, secondly, the neighbor’s schoolboy Vasya Pupkin can easily connect to your local network and “whistle” any Important and confidential data from you (for example, your selfie from the bathroom, where you cupped your lips :)))). Therefore, it’s worth encrypting!

For this purpose, I recommend using WPA2 - Personal encryption. This is the simplest, fastest and relatively reliable WiFi security protocol. Essentially, all we need to do is select this mode and set a password for connecting to our local network. The remaining parameters should not be touched unless absolutely necessary - the router itself “knows” how to encrypt the password and how to protect it from those who are too inquisitive :). The only advice is that, if possible, the password should contain random characters and be at least 6 characters long to ensure its resistance to hacking by direct brute force.

Click the “Save” button and reboot the router (“Reboot”). After rebooting, our wireless network should be ready. We check it by trying to connect any device via WiFi. Are you connected? We rejoice :) If not, then read on...

Features of network settings

If you use a regular ADSL connection over a telephone line, then apart from the parameters described above for WiFi distribution, you don’t need anything else. However, it often happens that we connect to the Internet not directly (via a modem), but through a local network. In this case, additional problems may arise that require our intervention.

There are two main options for distributing the Internet over local networks: by a statically specified IP address or by the MAC address of the device’s network card. Let's look at both. To do this, first go to the “Network” tab in the “WAN” section (options: “Network configuration”, “Network connection settings”, “Network Settings”, “WAN port”...):

Here we usually have the option to select the type of Internet connection (in the screenshot - “WAN connection type”; options: “Internet connection type”, “Connection”, “Connection Type”, “Protocol”). By default, the type here is usually “Dynamic IP”, however, as we understand, it is not always appropriate. If the computer addresses on your network are static, then you need to select the “Static IP” option. After this, fields will appear in which you need to enter the address given to you when connecting, the subnet mask and the default gateway (preferred DNS), which is, in fact, the address of the server that distributes the Internet. All this information is in the contract that you drew up with the provider, or in the appendices to it.

Things are somewhat more complicated in the case of distributing the Internet via MAC addresses. In this case, the connection is tied to exactly the PC that you had when concluding an agreement with the provider and will not work on other devices, since the address of their network card will be different!

Here, the best solution, of course, would be to inform the providers of the new address of your router so that they change it in their server settings. However, experience shows that such requests are responded rather reluctantly and the change of address can take several days! Therefore, I suggest that the first thing you do is check whether your router has a function for changing the MAC address, and if it doesn’t, then contact us.

Usually the "MAC Address Clone" function is located in the same network settings or even in a separate section. If you do not find this option in the network settings, try searching in other sections for all items where the word “MAC” appears. It could even be just a separate field in which we should enter the address of our previous computer:

We can find out the address of the computer that needs to be used using the command ipconfig -all, which should be entered in the Command line of your working PC (Start - Run line - CMD (and press Enter). We look for your wired network card and the parameter " Physical Address" will be exactly the address that needs to be specified as the MAC address of the WAN port of your router.

My router has an automatic address cloning feature. To use it, you just need to connect your computer to the router via cable (via WiFi, as you can see, it doesn’t work). In this case, the address of your network card will appear in the “Computer MAC Address” field and you will only have to click the “Clone MAC Address” button without having to go to the Command Line and enter something manually.

As usual, save the settings and reboot the router. Now with a 99% probability everything will work. There is, of course, a possibility that you use more exotic connection types, but in most cases, the manipulations described above are sufficient.

How and why to change WiFi channels

And now, in fact, this is why this article began to be written :) The situation is as follows: you have a long-configured wireless network, which suddenly, for no apparent reason, begins to constantly disappear or become very slow (at the same time, the settings do not disappear and everything remains exactly as you configured). Of course, the possibility of problems on the server side cannot be ruled out (and providers will not always tell you about this ;)), but if you live in an apartment building, then another option cannot be ruled out - the signal of your router is simply blocked by the signal of someone else’s more powerful router ! Most likely, it was one of my neighbors who recently bought a new router, which is why all the pandemonium began...

This can happen when several (two or more) routers operate nearby at the same or adjacent frequencies. The common frequency of all WiFi devices is 2.4 GHz, but it is divided into several channels (from 11 in the USA to 13 in European countries). Each channel contains a narrow band of subfrequencies on which broadcasts are carried out via WiFi in your home local network. Usually in the router settings there is automatic channel selection, but in practice it happens that the automation sometimes selects not the most optimal option. As a result, we get mutual interference of signals, which cause failures (both for you and for your neighbors :)).

You can test the hypothesis that several routers work on one channel using special programs. For example, you can use the free app Winhotspot. In fact, Winhotspot is intended for organizing Internet distribution via WiFi from a computer or laptop. However, it has a module for monitoring your WiFi environment, which we will use:

Install the program, launch it, go directly to the “WiFi Scan” tab and click the “Refresh” button in the lower right corner. In a couple of seconds, a table will appear in front of us with data about WiFi access points operating within reach. As you can see, on channel 6 (which, it turns out, my router is running on) there are two more routers. Moreover, the signal level of one of them is as much as 70-80%! This is most likely the cause of all the failures!

Now it's a small matter - you just need to change the channel. To do this, we again go into the wireless connection settings of our router, on the first tab (where we indicated the SSID) we find the “Channel” (or “Channel”) item and change it to any unoccupied one. Ideally, it is desirable that the nearest busy channel is one channel away from the one you have chosen, but if there are no free channels at all, then choose the one on which the fewest devices “hang” and the signal level of each of them does not exceed 40%.

I was lucky, and in my house there were three suitable free channels at once: 8, 9 and 13. I chose the ominous channel number 13, which was two away from the closest used one (11) :).

After saving and rebooting the router, now let’s launch Winhotspot again and check if everything is fine:

We see that now no one is bothering us, and let “Intertelecom” continue to “fight” for bandwidth with “sumska”, and I will calmly use the Internet without interruptions :) I hope... :)

Updating the router firmware

However, there are cases when no one interferes with the router (in terms of frequencies), but it periodically fails on its own. This often happens in budget devices. This happened to me when I just bought a router. It worked for a maximum of an hour, after which it simply stopped distributing the Internet...

I took the router back to the store, but a friend who worked there said that the first thing I should try to do is reflash it. More precisely, update the firmware, since the stock one is outdated long ago!

Naturally, the “scary” word “firmware” immediately discouraged me a little, but everything turned out to be very simple. First of all, we went to the official TP-Link website and found our router model in the downloads section. It turned out there were about 6-7 different firmwares of different release times, but my friend explained to me that you only need to download the one whose version completely matches the version of the device, which is indicated on the sticker on its bottom:

We downloaded the archive with the BIN file inside. This file was the firmware. We extracted it from the archive onto the desktop and this time started setting up the router itself:

Before flashing the firmware, we created a backup copy of the current parameters of our router using the corresponding subsection in the “System tools” section (options: “Additional features”, “Tools”). The backup file is also saved in BIN format on the desktop. And we proceeded to the firmware itself:

It turned out that everything is more than simple! We went to the “Firmware Update” subsection, “Firmware Update”, simply selected the downloaded update file and clicked the “Update” button. The router rebooted, its firmware was updated and (lo and behold!) it still works properly to this day :). Since then, I have updated regularly (about once every six months) and have practically no problems!

conclusions

Each router, in addition to the basic settings described above, has a whole bunch of different additional parameters. These may include setting up a schedule, parental controls, managing bandwidth and distributing the Internet only to specific devices on the network (by MAC address or IP). It is advisable to clarify their presence and absence using official documentation (if any), on the official websites of manufacturers and on specialized forums.

However, all this is additional and secondary. Guided by the above article, you can configure almost any router yourself! And this is already a good skill. Who knows, maybe in the future you will become a real system administrator;)

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

Almost every laptop has the ability to connect to wireless Wi-Fi.

Using this technology, computers exchange data between themselves and network devices (printers, access points, etc.), and also access the World Wide Web.

There are many laptop models, but they all work according to the same communication standards. Can you imagine what it would be like for their owners if Wi-Fi setup on each laptop was done differently?

Many laptops - one Wi-Fi

The procedure for setting up a wireless network depends only on the operating system.

Some manufacturers equip their laptops with network utilities, but this does not provide anything new, except that it makes the setup process more convenient. Of course, you can use them, but it is more useful to know how to work with OS tools.

If you figure out how to set up WIFI on Windows 7, 8 and XP using the system, you can do this on any laptop, regardless of the model.

Three conditions for turning on Wi-Fi for the first time

Before you connect your laptop to the Wi-Fi network for the first time, you need to do three things:

  • turn on the wireless adapter (also called a WLAN or wireless network card);
  • install the wireless adapter driver;
  • start the WLAN autoconfiguration service.

Step 1. Enabling the Wi-Fi adapter

To turn on the Wi-Fi adapter on the laptop, there may be a button or key combination: Fn+ [one of the F1-F12 keys, where the Wi-Fi icon is shown]. You can tell that the adapter is turned on by the glow of the indicator on the laptop case:

Step 2. Driver installation

To install the wireless driver, connect the laptop to the Internet using cable access or a USB modem, go to the manufacturer's website and download the wireless driver for your operating system.

Run the downloaded file, wait for the installation to complete and reboot the machine.

To automatically start the WLAN AutoConfig service (if it is not running), open a Command Prompt with administrator rights and run two commands in it:

  • sc config Wlansvc start=auto
  • net start Wlansvc

After this, the Wi-Fi adapter will “see” access points located in the signal reception area.

Step 3. Setting up and connecting Wi-Fi on Windows 7 and 8

Quick connection

To connect your laptop to an existing Wi-Fi, click on the “Network” icon in the system tray and select the desired access point from the list.

Click the "Connect" button.

Enter your security key (password) and click OK. The connection will be established.

In addition to this method, you can connect to the selected wireless point by pressing the Wi-Fi button on the modem (router).

Important! Networks marked with a shield icon with an exclamation point do not require a password. They are not protected in any way, and data is transmitted through them in clear text.

Step 4. Connect to a hidden network and change the communication profile

To connect to an invisible network whose name is hidden, as well as to create a new wireless access profile, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and enter “Network Center...”.

In the “Change network settings” list in Windows 7, click “Set up a new connection or network”, and in Windows 8 (8.1) click “Create and set up a new connection or network”.

Select "Connect to a wireless network manually." This window, like the following ones, looks the same in Windows 8 and 7, so let’s look at the settings using Windows 8 as an example.

Enter the access point name (SSID), security type, encryption and password. If you are going to use this network constantly, check the “Start connection automatically” checkbox.

The “Connect if the network is not broadcasting” option should be checked when the access point is not visible in the list.

In the next window, you can change the connection parameters by clicking the button of the same name.

Basic parameters - name (SSID), grid type and availability cannot be changed. Security settings can be changed, but they must be the same as those assigned to the access point.

Step 5. Connecting and setting up Wi-Fi on Windows XP

Connect to available wireless networks. To connect your laptop to existing Wi-Fi networks, right-click on the “Network” icon in the tray and open “View available wireless networks.”

Select the desired access point from the list and click “Connect”.

Enter the password (security key) and its confirmation. After clicking on the “Connect” button, the connection will be established.

Wi-Fi is a wireless data transmission technology. Today, Wi-Fi is the most popular and most used Internet connection. Access points are installed in shopping centers and cafes, thanks to which you can get free Internet on a wireless basis. But often it is necessary to create a similar network at home or in the office. Let's talk about how to set up WiFi on a laptop.

Installing drivers

Before setting up WiFi distribution on a laptop, you need to install the necessary drivers for the Wi-Fi adapter. To check their availability, you need to:

  • go to the Start menu -> Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Device Manager.
  • go to the “Network adapters” section. There should be two items in this section: Wi-Fi and Ethernet. If the name of one of them contains the word “Wireless” (wireless local network), then this is a Wi-Fi adapter. If there is no information about it, then there are no drivers. You need to install them from the disk that came with your laptop.
  • Drivers can also be downloaded from the official website of the laptop manufacturer. In this case, enter the model name and download the necessary computer program. Otherwise, Wi-Fi will not work without drivers.
  • After installing the drivers, you need to restart the laptop.

How to set up Wi-Fi on a laptop

To set up Wi-Fi on a laptop, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Start menu -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network Connections -> Wireless Network Connection and select Enable.
  • In the “Manage Wireless Adapters” menu, select the “Add” command and press the “Create a profile manually” button.
  • Fill in the required information, including the name of the wireless network and password. This information must be reliable and correspond to the parameters of the access point to which you want to connect your laptop.
  • Specify the security type (WPA, WEP) and select the encryption code (TKIP, AES).
  • Check the boxes next to “Automatically establish a connection” and “Connect even if the SSID is not broadcast.”
  • Save all parameters and close the settings menu.
  • Go to the list of network connections and right-click on the wireless adapter icon and select “Connect”.
  • Select the access point you want to connect to and click on the “Connect” button.

How to turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop

  • In most modern models, the Wi-Fi module is already built-in. You can find out more about how to establish a Wi-Fi connection on a laptop from our article:.
  • On the function keys (F1-F12) find the Wi-Fi logo. To connect the Wi-Fi module, you must simultaneously press the Fn button and one of the function keys, which is designed to turn on Wi-Fi.
  • To enable a wireless network on a laptop, you need to use a special key combination. Let's look at the main keyboard shortcuts that are often used in laptops from different manufacturers:
    • Asus - Fn+F2;
    • Acer - Fn+F3;
    • Lenovo - Fn+F5;
    • LG - Fn+F6;
    • Toshiba - Fn+F8;
    • Samsung - Fn+F9 (F12);
    • Dell - Fn+F12 (F2);
    • HP - FN+F12.
  • If you use these key combinations correctly, the Wi-Fi indicator on the laptop body will light up. Thus, each model has its own special key combination. To find out the functional purpose of the F1-F12 keys, you need to look at the user manual. It comes with the laptop. If there is no Fn button on the laptop panel, then there is a switch or a separate button to turn on Wi-Fi.
  • The operating system usually itself detects Wi-Fi networks available for connection, provides information about them and offers to connect. Select a network from the list provided and use the installation wizard to go through several steps to connect to a wireless network.
  • The wireless network can be protected with a special code. When connecting, you often receive a request for SSID (the unique name of the wireless network). If you don't know the code, you won't be able to access the network. Try connecting to other networks that may be publicly accessible. You can also purchase an access card to a paid network, where the SSID will be indicated.

Now you know how to set up WiFi through a laptop, and you can use wireless communication.

Plug the Internet cable into the WAN (or Internet) port of your router (aka router).

Connect the router to the computer: insert one end of the network cable into any of the LAN ports of the router, and the other into the connector of the PC’s network card. You can use a wireless connection instead of a cable, but it is better not to do this at the setup stage.

Connect the router to a power outlet. If your device has a power button, press it. Then wait a minute or two to allow the router to boot.

2. Check the Internet

If your router was pre-configured by your provider or received settings automatically, then the Internet can start working a few seconds after connecting the router to the PC.

To check, launch your browser and try opening several sites. If there are no problems with accessing web resources, you can skip the fourth paragraph of the article.

In your browser's address bar, enter 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 and press Enter. One of these IP addresses should lead to the router's settings menu. If both options do not work, find the required IP address in the documentation for your router model and try entering it.

When the settings login page appears in the browser window, the system may request a login and password. Most often, when connecting for the first time, one word is suitable for both fields - admin. Less often, router manufacturers use the combination as a standard password 1234 .

If necessary, you can find the login information in the instructions for the router or on the provider's website. Well, or try an alternative.

4. Set up an Internet connection

If the Internet still does not work, the router needs special settings. Exactly what settings you need depends on your specific device model and Internet service provider. There is no universal configuration. To get the necessary instructions, check the provider's website or request it from support.

Once you have obtained the manual for setting up your model, follow its prompts. If in the process you set up both an Internet connection and a home Wi-Fi network, you can skip the fifth point of the article.

For Wi-Fi, it is important to choose the right security settings.

In the settings menu, find the section responsible for the wireless network (see the documentation for your router model). Here, be sure to set a strong password (you will need it to connect your devices to the router via Wi-Fi) and select WPA2-PSK as a means of protection.

6. Change the password to enter the router settings

Just in case, it is better to limit the access of strangers to the router settings menu. If the router is still protected by the default password, replace it with your own.

Find the settings section that is responsible for the security (see the documentation for your router model) of the device, and enter a new strong password here. Save your changes.

If your computer has a Wi-Fi module, after completing the setup, you can remove the network cable from the PC and connect to the router via a wireless connection.

7. Install the router in the optimal location

Ideally, the router is in the center of the area in which you use Wi-Fi. This way the signal will be equally available to all connected devices.

The fewer walls, furniture, and other obstacles between the receiving device and the router, the better the wireless network works.

Good day!

Many users are intimidated by setting up a Wi-Fi router on their own, and when purchasing it, they also order a service to connect and configure it.

In my opinion, the price for this service in many stores is too high (sometimes up to half the cost of the router) - especially since many can cope with this operation on their own (you just need to figure it out a little).

I also want to immediately add that if in the future you need to change your password, settings for Internet access (or anything else), you will still have to go into the settings of the router and figure it out yourself...

That is why I wrote this small instruction article, with pictures and explanations of each step. I hope the step-by-step presentation of the material will help you figure out how and what to do.

And so, let's go in order ☺...

Addition! You can also read my other article on how to connect and configure the Tenda FH456 (N301, F3) router from scratch -

Step-by-step instructions: connecting and setting up a Wi-Fi router

Selecting a location and placing the router

Many users make one mistake - namely, they place the router next to the computer (for example, on the system unit). No, for testing and initial setup this is acceptable, but for continuous operation of the device this is not good in all cases.

The fact is that depending on where your Wi-Fi router is placed, the level of network reception in different parts of your home will greatly depend. Significantly reduce the Wi-Fi signal: load-bearing thick walls, mirrors, metal doors, etc.

Therefore, you need to position the router so that it is approximately equidistant from all devices that will connect to its network (and also so that there are minimal obstacles to the network signal). An example of unsuccessful and successful placement of a router in a 2-room apartment is shown in the layout below.

On the issue of choosing and placing a router in an apartment

An article about how you can strengthen your Wi-Fi signal -

In general, I think the message is clear: depending on the location of the router, the quality of the network signal, speed, errors, etc. will depend.

Connecting the router to the computer

A typical router delivery consists of (example in the picture below):

  • the router itself;
  • power supply;
  • network cable (usually 1-2 m long). Used to connect the router to a PC (laptop) and configure it;
  • operating instructions;
  • antenna (there may not be an antenna - in some routers it is built into the device body).

Those. there is everything you need to start connecting and setting up the device.

The connection itself comes down to the following:

  1. Connect the router with a network cable (which comes with the router) to a computer or laptop. By the way, please note that the router, as a rule, has 4 LAN ports for this (most often marked in yellow). On some routers, the marking may be Ethernet instead of LAN;
  2. disconnect the Internet cable (coming from the provider) from the computer system unit and connect it to the router: to the WAN or Internet port (usually marked in blue);
  3. connect power to the router and turn on the device;
  4. If everything is done correctly, various LEDs on the device will begin to blink...

If shown schematically, the Wi-Fi router becomes like an intermediary between your computer and the Internet cable from the provider (see picture below).

Important! Connecting the router to a PC (laptop) using a network cable is necessary for the initial setup of the device. Subsequently, the cable can be disconnected and the router placed in a more convenient place.

Configuring network card settings

Before you go into the Wi-Fi router settings, you need to correctly configure the network card (especially if you previously had different default settings).

First you need to open a tab in the control panel - Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections . The easiest way to do this is to press the Win+R button combination, enter the command ncpa.cpl and click OK.

How to open network connections || ncpa.cpl

Then you need to open select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and open its properties.

In the "General" tab, set to obtain an IP address and DNS server automatically. Save settings.

Obtain IP address and DNS server automatically

Such settings are suitable in 99.9% of cases, because... your Wi-Fi router has an active DHCP server looking into the local network - which will give a free IP address to your computer/laptop.

Entering the router settings (device IP address)

To go into the settings of a Wi-Fi router, you need to know its IP address (which you just need to enter into the address bar of your browser and go to it).

Each router has its own IP address for settings. In most cases he 192.168.1.1 , but there are exceptions:

  1. address for D-Link and NetGear routers: 192.168.0.1 ;
  2. address for TrendNet routers: 192.168.10.1

Important! Also pay attention to the stickers on the body of your Wi-Fi router - almost always the IP address is indicated on these stickers. By the way, on the same stickers you can find the login password for accessing the web interface.

After you enter correct IP address to enter the router settings and press Enter - you will see a window asking you to enter your login and password (example in the figure below).

As a rule, in most cases both the login and password will be admin. If you can't log in, try leaving the password field blank.

I discussed in more detail how to enter the router settings, what passwords and logins, IP addresses, and what to do if you can’t log in in this article:

Setting up a router (router)

If the password and login were entered correctly, then you should be taken to the web interface (with a bunch of different settings, links, etc.). Each manufacturer and different router models have a different interface.

But there is one thing in common: the menu is usually located on the side or on top. The basic settings in the menu are also identical and are set in a similar way. So, having looked at how one router is configured, you can configure another by analogy...

As an example, I’ll take such a popular brand of routers as TP-LINK (with “green” firmware in Russian).

Cloning the MAC address of an old network card

The fact is that many providers charge extra. protection that checks the MAC address. And if the MAC address does not match (or has been changed), access to the network is blocked.

To clone a MAC address, in TP-LINK routers you need to open the “MAC Address Clone” link (in the “Network” section). If you have an English version of the firmware, then look for a link like "MAC Clone".

Addition! Not long ago, I published separate instructions on cloning a MAC address on my blog. -

MAC address cloning

Setting up Internet access

Setting up Internet access mainly depends on the network design of your Internet service provider. The necessary parameters for accessing the network must be specified in the contract for the provision of Internet connection services. Most often, PPPoE is used in Russia (note: a dynamic IP address is issued upon connection. To access you must enter your login and password).

It is impossible to open the WAN (Internet) tab in the router and first specify the connection type (for example, PPPoE, see “2” in the figure below). It is also necessary to indicate username and password (see “3” in the figure below, data can be taken from the agreement with the Internet provider).

All that remains is to save the settings. In most cases, you do not need to enter anything else. Now the router can access the Internet - and the Internet should now appear on the computer that is connected to it with a network cable.

All that remains is to configure the wireless network...

Setting up a Wi-Fi network

To set up a Wi-Fi network, you first need to open the "Wireless Settings" tab (or in English "Wireless Settings"). In this tab you need to specify the network name - i.e. the name of the network that you will look for to connect on your gadgets: tablets, phones, etc. (in some cases, if there is a bad signal, it makes sense to select a channel.).

Then you need to open the “Wireless Network Protection” tab (or in English "Wireless Security") and select the type of protection. Today, one of the best types of encryption is WPA2-PSK, which is the first in the list (we select it).

The PSK password is the password that you will need to enter when connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

Actually, after saving the settings, the router will reboot, and after that you can connect to the Wi-Fi network and use the Internet.

That's all the setup...

I understand that in this article I did not consider many subtleties that in particular cases can have a great impact on the operation of the network. But, probably, all of them cannot be provided for in one article.

As I work on the site, I will touch on this issue more than once...