Show
D-Link quick setup wizard is enough for an average user to set up his router but for advanced options, it is better to learn how to configure this device manually. This tutorial explains how to configure every model of D-Link wireless router manually for advanced features. Here we learn how to enable Internet access, WiFi and WiFi security. The first step of this guide is to make sure you can go online with the modem by connecting a computer to the Ethernet port of the modem. If it is fine, disconnect the modem and connect the computer to one of the LAN ports of D-Link Wireless Router using an Ethernet cable. Now power on the device. Configure Broadband Access On D-Link Router
Configure Wireless & Security Right after configuring Internet access on the D-Link router, you need to configure the wireless settings if you want to use it. Latest D-Link wireless routers support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. So it can extend its support for 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, and 802.11g wireless standards. 802.11n supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz where 802.11a supports 5GHz only. 802.11b and 802.11g work in 2.4GHz. Here we share the manual steps to configure wireless and security on the D-Link router.
You should also set up a strong WiFi passphrase to prevent unauthorized use by intruders.
In this article, we are going to setup our D-Link router. Now we are not only focussing on connecting to the internet, but also on some other important settings. Think of securing your WiFi, using the right DNS servers to speed up your internet connection and creating a guest WiFi network. Getting startedBefore we can connect our D-Link router to the internet we need to figure out how we can connect it. The D-Link router is a router and modem, so it can make the connection to your ISP itself, but we need to know how the internet is provided by your ISP.
Difference between modem and modem/router comboThe difference between a modem and a modem/router is that a modem only makes the connection to the internet. Where a router connects all the device together so you can print on your network printers, share files between computers and use the internet connection. Most consumer routers also provide WiFi and they have multiple ethernet ports (RJ45). A modem only has one ethernet port that you use to connect a router behind it. Setting your router in bridge or DMZ modeIf your ISP doesn’t provide you with the PPPoE credentials, then we need to set your current router in bridge mode. In bridge mode, your router won’t route anymore, but it will essentially be a dumb switch. It passes on the internet connection through to a LAN port. How you set your router in bridge mode is different for each router. So the best thing is to look up the user manual. But in general, you can follow these steps:
Setting up a D-Link RouterWe have done all the prerequisites, so we can now start with actually setting up the D-Link router. I assume your connected the router and put the internet connection in the WAN port and connected your computer with one of the LAN ports. 1. Open the router in a new browser tabOpen your browser and navigate to http://192.168.0.1, the default IP address of the D-Link router. 2. Enter the D-Link router password
The default router password of a D-Link router is nothing (blank). The default username is Admin. After you are logged in the Internet Connection Wizard will show. The wizard will only open the first time your login. If you don’t get the setup wizard, then click on Internet Connection Setup Wizard in the centre of the page 3. Setup a strong passwordFirst, we are going to change the default password. Enter a strong password (at least 8 characters) to secure your router. Click on next when done 4. Select your TimezoneA pretty simple one, select your time zone. Nothing to explain here… 5. Configure your internet connection
The most important step, we are going to configure the internet connection. Now, it depends on how you can connect to the internet what you are going to select here. The two most options are:
When done click on Connect. It may take a few seconds to connect, but you should now have an internet connection. WiFi setup on D-Link RouterOur D-Link router is now connected to the internet, but we also want to set up our wireless network. By default, your router will have a wireless network that you can connect to. You will find these details on the bottom of the router. But leaving things default is never a good idea, so we a going to change our wireless network name, pick a new password, optimize our wifi signal and disable the Wifi protected setup (because these are to easy to hack). 1. Open the Wireless network setupWe won’t be using the wizard, so on the setup page of your D-Link router, select Wireless settings on the left side and then Manual Wireless Connection Setup. 2. Configuring the 2.4Ghz band
3. Configure the 5Ghz bandUse the same settings as for the 2.4Ghz band. Only add 5Ghz to the wireless network name. For the channel width, again if you live in a crowded area, lower the channel width. For 5Ghz, you should lower it to 20/40Mhz. When done save the settings, if you were connected wirelessly to your router then you will have to reconnect to the new Wifi network. 4. Disable WPS (Wifi Protected Setup)WPS is an easy way to connect a device to your wireless network. You can connect/pair a device by pressing a button on the router or enter a pin code. Now the pin code is where the vulnerability is. A pin code is really easy to crack, so it’s really recommended to disable WPS at all for your router.
Creating a Guest Wifi NetworkThe D-Link router supports a guest wifi network. This way you can give your guests internet access without letting them on your private home network. The guest network is a separate Wifi network with its own wireless network name and password. Enabling it on a D-Link router is pretty easy.
You will now see an extra wifi network in your house. you can also create a 5Ghz guest wifi network, but that isn’t really necessary in most cases. Speeding up your internet with the fastest DNS ServerDuring the internet connection setup, we skipped the DNS part. A DNS server is the dictionary of the internet. Almost everything we do with the internet requires a DNS server to translate a domain like amazon.com to an IP address. And because nearly everything you do requires a DNS server, selecting the fastest one will accelerate pretty much everything you do online. Your ISP also has a DNS server and those are in most of the case, not the fastest servers. So using another one can speed up your internet with more than 30% easily. Now there is also another important reason to pick a different DNS server. The company the runs the DNS server can see every site you visite. Some company even sell this data to advertisers. The fastest DNS server available today is 1.1.1.1. You don’t have to take my word for it, but the independent DNS monitor DNSPerf ranks 1.1.1.1 as the fastest server in the world. Changing the DNS serverTo change the DNS server on your D-Link router is pretty simple.
You will need to restart your computer to apply the changes to your computer too. Or a little bit faster is to reconnect the Wifi network or the unplug and replug the network cable in your computer. Prioritize Network Traffic with QoSTo speed up your internet connection we can also prioritize important network traffic. In a household your share your connection with all the members in your household. If somebody is watching Netflix while another is downloading the latest game on Steam you might notice that Netflix will need to buffer or lower the video quality. This happens because the download is consuming almost all the bandwidth that is available. By prioritizing the network traffic we can tell the router to handle the video stream or gaming traffic first. This way you won’t suffer from any lag during your online gameplay or while watching a movie.
You can enable QoS as followed:
The default rules are in basic fine, but if you have a game console and you play online then you might want to prioritize all the traffic from the console. You can do this by creating a new rule.
Last TipsWe have set up our D-Link router and it’s ready to be used. There a few last tips / commenly asked questions that I would like to mention Back a backup of the configurationAfter you configured your router is it always a good habit to make a backup of the configuration. With a backup, you can easily restore your router if you have to reset the router or when it lost the configuration due to a power outage.
Update the firmwareSomething you should actually start with, but the most convenient way to update the firmware requires an internet connection. New firmware version contains bug fixes, security updates and may even have performance updates for your router. Before you update the firmware, always make a backup of the configuration.
Reset D-Link Router PasswordIf you lost your password of the D-Link router the only option is to factory reset your router.
Other articles you may like:
|