How to Set up A Router for Home WiFi
People ask me occasionally about how to set up WiFi and make sure it’s secure. It’s not something that is easy to explain in person, it takes illustrations. So I’ve compiled it here.
First off, I suggest Linksys routers. If you don’t have one, go get a Linksys E2000 router. You can find them at Office Depot, Best Buy or most big box stores. I’ve also shamelessly added a link at the bottom of the page to get one on Amazon.
It isn’t totally necessary to get an E2000. An E1000, E2500, E3000, or Similar “E” router will have almost identical instructions. Most Cisco-Linksys routers will actually have similar screens.
Also grab some ethernet cable. You can buy this, make your own, or go to your IT guy’s office at work and ask if he has any spare pieces. You’d be surprised at how often the answer is, “Yes, how much do you need?” He might even be so happy for anyone coming around that doesn’t need to reboot their computer that he’ll make the cable for you. Your router will come with a piece, but you will need two pieces for the first setup even if you are going entirely wireless.
Step 1 – Unplug your modem from the power and disconnect it from your computer, or old router.
Step 2 – Look on the back of the router for the port (the hole) labeled “Internet” or “WAN”. Plug one piece of patch cable in here, and plug the other end of that cable into the modem’s Ethernet Port. Pro-tip: They look like big telephone jacks.
Step 3 – Plug the other piece of Ethernet cable into the port labeled “1” and plug the other end of that cable into your laptop or desktop’s Ethernet port.
Step 4 – Plug the router into power. Wait for the router to fully boot up. This usually takes about a minute.
Step 5 – Open the web browser on your computer and type “192.168.1.1” into the address bar and hit enter. Do not type this into the Google bar. See the picture below. Never mind that it says “192.168.227.1” in mine.
Step 6 – It will ask for a password. On Cisco/Linksys routers the username is “admin” and the password is “admin”.
Step 7 – My router had some Express setup screen that came up instead of what you see above. Just cancel that and get into the advanced setup screen. It’s not that complicated and I’m going to show you how to make things very secure.
Step 8 – Internet Setup – Leave the Internet Connection Type as “Automatic Configuration – DHCP”. Most Internet Providers don’t require a host name or domain name and you can leave MTU as default.
Step 9 – Network Setup – This is where we do things a bit different from most.
IP Address – The IP address is 192.168.1.1 by default. I would leave it like that. You’ll see in mine I’ve changed it. You can change the third number in the IP address to anything between 0 and 253 if you want.
If you change the IP Address write what you changed it to down. It’s important!
Subnet Mask – Leave this the default.
Device Name – You can change the device name to something different.
DHCP Server – Set DHCP server to enabled. The start IP address blank should be “100”. I always set Maximum Number of Users to 10, but if you have more than 10 Wi-Fi devices (laptops, phones, kindles, mp3 players, blu-ray players, XBOX, PS3, etc…) figure out how many you have and set this number to five or ten more than that.
Leave everything else here the default. It should fill the IP Address from above in the “Static DNS 1” blank.
Step 10 – Time Settings – Set this to your local time zone. You can see mine is wrong. It really doesn’t mean anything.
Step 11 – Click the “Save Settings” button. The router will reboot.
Step 12 – Close your web browser, wait a few minutes for the router to reboot.
Step 13 – Open the web browser and enter the IP address you change it to in Step 9, or the default “192.168.1.1” into your browser bar and hit enter.
If things work right the browser should open up to the page from before. If not, the easiest way to fix it is to reboot your computer.
On to the wireless set up!
Step 14 – Wireless – Click on the Wireless link at the top beside “Setup”. Change the Configuration View to “Manual” if it isn’t already.
Wireless Band – Select 2.4 GHz.
Network Mode – Select Mixed (this will allow a greater variety of devices to connect).
Network Name – Give your network a descriptive name, do NOT leave it as Linksys. Mine is “thegreentower”. You might want to name yours after your last name or something.
Channel Width – Leave this whatever the default is.
Channel – Leave this as Auto.
SSID Broadcast – Set to Enabled.
Step 15 – Click on Wireless Security and change the Security Mode to “WPA2 Personal”. If you have some really old devices you can set it to WPA.
DO NOT USE WEP! It is trivial to break WEP security. I’ve seen someone do it in five minutes.
Passphrase - Enter a good 6 to 10 character password here. Something you’ll remember but that isn’t easy to guess. I’ve blacked mine out on the picture.
Step 16 – Click the “Save Settings” button at the bottom, reboot the router if you need to and you’re done!
The only other thing I would recommend doing is going to the Administration screen and changing the Router Password from something other than the default.
Congratulations! You can now connect to your new, secure wireless network! Remember to enter the password you entered in step 15 to connect.
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How to Fix Most Internet Problems
This is the process you should follow to fix most internet connectivity problems you might face. I came up with this process while working at a local ISP as a tech support agent. It works very well for cable, DSL, and Wireless internet connections. Most tech support agents will tell you to do exactly this. I always suggest people try this before calling their ISP. Yes, the ISP will tell you to do this again, but at least you’ll know before calling them if “unplugging it and plugging it back in again” was what you needed to do.
Step 1 – Unplug the power your modem and your router.
Step 2 – Count to twenty. Seriously. Count to twenty very slowly.
Step 3 – Plug the power back into your modem. Wait for the lights to all come back on. Depending on the type of modem there might be an “Ethernet” or “PC” light, it will be off.
Step 4 – Once the modem has booted, plug the router back in.
Step 5 – After a full minute check the internet on your computer.
This will fix connectivity issues at least 9 out of 10 times. When I worked for that ISP, if I got a 100 calls, 97 of them would be resolved doing this. The only step you might add is rebooting your computer, or resetting the network card. I’ll do a post on how to do that with Windows 7.
And yes, tech support agents think you’re lying when you say you’ve done this. Blame your neighbors.
If you do have to call your ISP, be sure to ask the agent what they did to resolve this and get an issue number for next time. If the same thing keeps happening make sure you let them know.
If this doesn’t do it, check out my “Intermediate Home Internet Troubleshooting” article. At very least it will help you determine where the problem is.
How To Install a New Cable Modem
So your cable modem went out, you don’t want to take an hour off of work to have a technician come over. How can you replace it? Well you can’t just plug it in like you can with DSL and it work. Also most cable providers don’t have a good ‘set it up yourself’ method as many DSL companies do.
Step 1 – Go get a new cable modem. Most big box electronics places like Best Buy Sell them. Refer to the notes at the end of the post for what the two major ISPs now use before you go shopping.
Step 2 – Remove the old modem. Remember what cables went where.
Step 3 – Unplug the power from your router, or turn your computer off if connected directly.
Step 4 – Plug in the new modem starting with the coaxial cable (this is the big cable with the screw on end. Do not use tools to connect this as you can damage the connector on the modem. Tighten this with your fingers until it is “just tight”.
Step 5 – Plug the ethernet cable in next (the one that looks like a large phone cable). Do NOT plug the power in.
Step 6 – Call your Internet Service provider and get to the tech support option. I’ve included phone numbers below for Comcast and Suddenlink.
Step 7 – Tell the tech support person your account info so they can look you up then tell them that you want to “provision a new modem” and take the old modem off your account.
Step 8 – They will ask for the MAC address of the modem. This is usually labeled clearly on the bottom of the modem. Most manufacturers print this on the box as well. MAC Addresses look like this 00-00-00-00-00-00. They contain numbers and the letters A through F.
Step 9 – They may ask for the serial number too. Motorola serials are something like 24 digits long and has only numbers. Don’t’ confuse this with the Customer Serial which is shorter and has letters.
Step 10 – Follow the instructions the tech support agent gives you. You may need to reboot some stuff a few times.
Step Done – You should have internet!
Modems By Provider
I’d love to add more links here. If someone would send me information for their local cable internet providers.
I highly recommend the Motorola SB6121 modem. Both Suddenlink and Comcast list it as compatible with their service. It’s easy to find at Best Buy or you can order one here: Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem SB6121
Comcast – Comcast has a modem compatibility tool here: http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/list-of-approved-cable-modems/
Suddenlink – You need at least a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to get the best service. The compatibility list here: http://help.suddenlink.com/Internet/Pages/DOCSIS2.0(orhigher)CompliantModemList.aspx
Tech Support Numbers
Comcast – 1-800-XFINITY – 1-800-934-6489 is the number in real person digits. This is their main 800 number listed on their website.
Suddenlink – 877-794-2724 is the tech support number listed on their website but may be regional to the southwest. There is also 1-888-822-5151 which might be all purpose.
If you hate working the menus here’s a link to Get Human’s instructions for getting a human:
Suddenlink – http://gethuman.com/phone-number/Suddenlink-Cable/
Comcast – http://gethuman.com/phone-number/Comcast-Xfinity/
I do not endorse the Get Human method, but some people might find it useful.
Motorola SB6121 Instructions
Here’s a link to Motorola’s quick start and user guide instructions for the cable modem I recommend. The quick start guide is included in your manual.
Quick Start Guide – This is quick guide to installation.
User Guide – This one has a little more details on how to set it up and what the lights mean.
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Suddenlink Internet Problems
If you live in the Amarillo Area, or are having a lot of dropped internet problems, here’s some information for you.
You will need to go get a DOCSIS 3.0 compatible cable modem. You can go to this page: http://aaronsarea.com/install-cable-modem/ on how to install it yourself. It’s super easy.
On to my rant about Suddenlink…
I’ve had cable internet with Suddenlink for some time now and I’ve had zero problems with them. The speed has been as promised and I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone, at least in my area.
A week or two ago I started getting dropped from the internet a lot. We’re talking several times an hour. My fiancé was getting pissed at me it was so bad. So I finally called tech support and rebooted it and my router a few dozen times with them. They always ask you to do that. I’m an IT guy, it’s the first thing I try, but I understand their reasoning. The girl I talked to said it was probably the modem and that they’d send a tech out since I lease the modem. They also said they’d send him out three days after I called.
I decided that I’d put off buying a modem long enough. If that was all it was, I’d be taking an hour off work for something I can do in twenty minutes. Plus I didn’t want to wait three days for a guy to put in a modem. See, I’ve installed several cable modems before, and know the drill.
So I got the new one, put it in and called them as you are supposed to do. I got the same model that they had installed. I was mentally preparing myself to go take the other one back and save $5 a month. I didn’t cancel my appointment on the advice of the tech support agent. It looked better that evening and I thought that had fixed it so I canceled the appointment that next afternoon.
I still had packet loss and dropping internet the next day.
It was worse in fact.
So I called tech support again and got another appointment for a technician to come out. The guy really knew his stuff, and was able to figure out what the problem was.
The problem was that Suddenlink has upgraded their systems, at least in the Amarillo area and failed to tell people they needed to upgrade their modems! He told me they were putting in upgraded modems on new installations but not for existing customers.
This pissed me off.
I totally understand that if you own your own modem (which you totally should) that they won’t offer to replace it. They should send out a notice in the form of an e-mail or a flyer when they upgrade. They might say it’s expensive but, I get two ads from them a week for services I already have!
They should have at very least informed me of this over the phone when I called.
After installing and getting the second modem provisioned I wasn’t able to connect to the internet at all. I was resolving DNS, but not getting any traffic back. I ran a trace route while I was on the phone with the guy and saw it dropping about five hops past my router. That’s fancy IT guy talk for, “The problem is obviously on the cable company’s end.” The tech support agent offered to send a tech out again, blaming it entirely on me. Then he said they’d charge me $40 since it was ‘obviously my equipment’. I had even hooked my computer up directly. It’s highly unlikely both computer and router were both bad, especially when I had been on the internet with them not eight hours before.
That’s terrible customer service Suddenlink.
His name was Dan. If you get a guy named Dan with Suddenlink tech support, just hang up and call again. Get someone else. There may be multiple guys named Dan, just hang up on all of them. Do not waste your time being polite. He started trying to get me off the phone almost as soon as he got on the phone. Personally I think the issue was because he’d just made a simple mistake. God knows I did that a lot when I worked at an ISP. He just wouldn’t own up to it.
I called bullcrap on all this and called them again the next day. I talked of a girl named Amber. I told her the problem. She had me run through a few things and only asked me to reboot a couple of times. After about twenty minutes on the phone she asked me to try my internet, and it worked! She said that there was an auto-configuration script stuck and she was able to get that resolved on their end. It was on their end, just like I had informed Dan. I suspected a routing issue, but stuck script makes sense too.
She cancelled my appointment and I haven’t had any issue since! Thank you Amber with Suddenlink!
I would have switched to Clear the next day if she hadn’t. Also before you call Clear if you’re interested in their service, shoot me a message on Facebook or leave a comment with your e-mail. I know a great sales guy who really knows his stuff there.
I really hope no one else has to go through this. I work in IT, I’ve been down this road before so I knew when I was being lied to. If I hadn’t been, I could have gotten a bad technician out here and might have paid $40, plus new modem costs and it would have been completely unnecessary to do so. Meaning I could have been ripped off by my ISP all because one of their guys just needed to re-provision my modem.
The sad thing is, I’m sure the higher-ups at Suddenlink wouldn’t have wanted this to happen in the first place.
Mass Effect 3 Price Drop
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