Home wifi setup checklist
Most wifi complaints are a placement problem or a default-password problem, not a speed problem. Sort both before spending money on anything faster.
15 items
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The items
- Router admin password changed from the defaultDefault passwords for most routers are published online. This is the single most important item on the list.
- Wifi network name and password set to something not shared with the router's own admin login
- Router placed centrally and elevated, away from thick wallsA router hidden in a cupboard for tidiness is the most common cause of a weak signal upstairs.
- Firmware updatedSecurity fixes for routers arrive the same way as for a phone, and get installed about as often if nobody checks.
- Guest network set up, separate from the main oneVisitors and smart devices get their own network rather than one that can see laptops and phones.
- Ethernet run to anything that benefits from a wired connectionA games console, a TV or a work laptop on the desk all do better wired than fighting for the same wifi as everything else.
- Mesh extender or a second access point added for weak spotsOne box in a hallway rarely reaches the far bedroom or the garden as well as it reaches the room it sits in.
- Speed tested in a couple of different rooms, not just next to the router
- Devices reconnected one at a timeForget the old network name on each device rather than leaving two networks it might jump between.
- Parental controls or content filtering configured, if needed
- Smart home devices put on their own network, if the router supports itKeeps a cheap smart plug's weak security from being a way into the network holding everything else.
- Router plugged into a surge protectorA power spike takes out a router as easily as anything else plugged into the wall.
- ISP account details and router login saved somewhere other than a sticky note on the router
- Old router kept as a spare or recycled properly
- Wifi password shared by QR code rather than read aloud across the room
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Questions people ask
- Where should the router actually go?
- Central, elevated, away from thick walls and metal objects, not in a cupboard. A router hidden for tidiness is the single most common cause of a weak signal.
- Do I really need to change the default admin password?
- Yes — default router passwords are published online, and leaving one in place hands anyone in range a way into every device on the network.
- Is a guest network worth setting up?
- For visitors and for smart devices, yes — it keeps them off the same network as laptops and phones holding anything sensitive.