Installing a New Router? Make Sure to Tweak These Settings

There’s no life without the Internet and no home without Wi-Fi. It has become an integral part of our lives. We never imagined ourselves giving so much importance to the router, a device that transmits wi-fi signals in our home and keep us connected. And when you have a new router for installation, we recommend taking a step-by-step approach. Let’s look at a few router settings that need change at your end.

Network name and password
Every router comes with a default network name and password, but do not stick to it. Since every manufacturer has their own defined rules for setting password and user name, it gets easier for hackers to get entry into your network. As soon as you get the router, login to your account, change the network name and set a password. Try keeping password a little long and a mix of numbers, special character and uppercase.

Network bands
Modern-day routers come with two frequencies - 2.5GHz and 5GHz. Although both the frequency bands are on by default, you must check the status for confirmation. Also, you should know that 2.5GHz is the frequency in which your Bluetooth, microwave and other electronic appliances also work, making it more crowded. 5GHz is less congested and fast. However, it has a shorter range than 2.4 GHz. If both the modes aren’t on, turn them on so that the router can select which device to keep on which frequency.

Parental Controls
Most router with app control have restricted access, wi-fi pause and other features. If you have kids at home, it makes to activate router kid control features during the initial setup. This way, kids will have the habit of limited access to the Internet and other restrictions as well.

Guest Network
Setting up a guest network is not a bad idea, especially with so many security concerns arising over the Internet. Keep all the devices that you use on private mode and have a separate network for the guests. This way, you will never hesitate in sharing the wifi credentials and your network speed will also not hamper.

When you move to a new home or have Internet connection installed at your place, make sure you spend some time in changing the settings during initial setup and enjoy uninterrupted and safe access.

Understanding the Difference Between Fibre-optic and Coaxial Cables

If you have an Internet connection at home, there must be a line of fibre-optic or coaxial cable coming straight from your Internet Service Provider. Both the types of cables are different in nature and you must know their pros and cons, as this directly impacts the speed of Internet connectivity.

What is Fiber-optic cable?
A fiber-optic cable has small, flexible strands of plastic or glass. It uses light for data transmission, thus have more bandwidth than coaxial cables. The bandwidth with fiber-optic cable is high because the connection isn’t shared with another in the same area. This means, even if there’s congestion, the fiber Internet should work fine and transmit high-speed data to your house.

A fibre-optic cable can offer speed of up to 1 Gbps, however, it depends on the Internet Service Provider and equipment they are using. To make the most out of this blazing speed, make sure you have an advanced wi-fi router at home. If you have a mesh wifi router installed as well, it should again be able to support the speed.

What is Coaxial cable?
A coaxial cable transmits data through electricity. It is made of copper and this technology is most ISPs using after DSL and dial-up technologies went out of fashion. Though cable Internet is prevalent in many parts, it has no comparison with fibre-optic Internet transmission.

Data speed is slow in coaxial cables, but some ISPs are able to delivery speed up to 1Gbps (which is rare). Another reason for slow data speed could be that a coaxial cable connection might be shared in your area. When multiple customers are on the same line, this will reduce the speed.

Last Words
We can see that coaxial cable Internet is not as fast as fibre-optic cable. The former, however, is more economical. As the need for speed increases, there will be a steep decrease in coaxial cable connections. If you are planning to get an Internet connection at your home, make sure it is fibre-optic cable.