Basic Home Router Setup

If this article was written only a few years ago it would have taken twice as much to say the same thing. But in our modern era brands like Cisco’s Linksys and D-Link are making home router setup easier than ever with push button simplicity.

In today’s writing we will cover the general rule on setting up a basic home router that can be applied and used on the majority of the brands out there. Your first step is to locate the instructions that came with your wireless router. Sometimes these instructions are on the box, a small paper insert, a sticker on top of the router, or a CD or DVD. Look for something called “Quick Setup” to forward past the advanced configuration.

Depending on the type of wireless router you have, you may or may not have to first connect your broadband signal to the device by means of a separate modem.

Some Internet Service Providers lease you a wireless router that already has the ability to connect to your broadband cable. Consult your ISP first if you have this kind of a router.

If you have a traditional wireless router then proceed with these general instructions to set up a basic home config.

First, connect your broadband signal from your ISP modem to your wireless router. The port to do this is usually located on the back of the router and is a special designated color like blue, green, or white depending on the vendor who made it. It should be labeled as “Internet” or “Modem” no matter what color it is. Plug your broadband cable in this port.

Next you may see several yellow colored ports which are meant to connect computers or other devices like printers which you prefer to be hardwired. If you did receive a CD or DVD setup disc with your router, it should cover more about these ports and what they can be used for.

After your wired connections are set, plug the power in on your wireless router and reboot your broadband modem. During this process of booting and rebooting, you should note a few different lights and their status on the wireless router.

Green on the front under “Power” indicates the router is receiving power properly. Other lights under “Internet” will start flashing green too if your ISP modem and your router are talking to each other correctly. If the lights remain amber or nothing at all, try walking back through the above steps and confirm that all connections are firmly made and active. Consult your Internet Service Provider if necessary.

If everything went as planned you should see a full row of green lights. Try going to your computer that has wireless capabilities and open your web browser. You may have to consult the setup instructions again to find the default router IP address. Most routers default IP is 192.168.1.1 and you can enter that in the browser directly.

The default username and password for most routers can be found here on RouterIPAddress.com so you can search above. Otherwise consult the setup instructions if you are prompted for this information.

From here go through each configuration page and make the settings as you wish. If no configuration page will come up then walk through the steps again and confirm that you have an Internet signal working properly and it is routed through your wireless router.

Once everything is working properly you will realize that you have now setup a basic router for your home!