Easy Ways to Set up a Router in Your Dorm

It’s no news to you that campus WiFi is not very reliable. But, if you’re thinking about it, remember when you needed to write a paper, study for an exam, or watch an episode of a show when your WiFi suddenly went down? If you nodded yes to at least one of these situations, it’s time to take serious steps to set up a router in your dorm.

Pros of Getting Your Router

To begin with, it’s worth noting that using a router rather than a modem in your dorm is a better option. The fact is that the college usually provides its students with Internet services. But before you and your roommates split the cost of a router, find out if the college leadership allows it. If so, you’re fortunate, as you get a lot of extra benefits. First and foremost, it’s about speed and security.

So you get more privacy because the data is only transmitted through your network, not the campus-wide network. So when you log in to one of your accounts, that data is not transmitted through a broad network shared by the rest of the dorm. Your login credentials to connect to the router keep your personal information safe. A unique login known only to the login owner reduces the likelihood of your Internet being hacked.

Setting Up Your Dorm Router

Now it’s time to move on to the main issue on the agenda today: setting up the router. Hope you have already purchased one? If you haven’t yet, hurry up. And also, take this advice: buy a small router, given the small size of your dorm rooms and no need for extensive coverage. So, did you manage? Then let’s move on to setting it up. First, look for an Ethernet wall port in your room that says “ENET” or “Data.”

It seems the same as a phone jack but is a little wider in size. If you don’t have one, look for outlets with a cable jack. Did you find one? Great. This port is where you’ll get your Internet connection. In addition, your router has a port into which you plug your Ethernet cable. If that’s not included with your new router, then it’s worth buying a CAT 5 or 6 CAT Ethernet cable separately.

Then you need to insert one end of the cable into the Ethernet wall port and the other end into the router port, which may be labeled “WAN,” “Internet,” or “Ethernet.” It may often be yellow or green. Next, check the wireless network available for your computer and other devices. Finally, your new router should have a sticker with the default login information.

If you don’t find one, don’t worry, as it’s in the user manual. Then find your device’s SSID (Service Set Identifier), also known as the WiFi network name. Next, you’ll need to enter your username and password, which are also usually found on your router or your user manual. Once you are logged in, you know that all the cables are connected in the right places, and you are ready to get connected.

However, even though setting up a router doesn’t require professional knowledge and skills, something can go wrong at some point. In that case, you need to use the online service Howly and get expert consultation on any question you are interested in setting up your router. The service’s response time takes no more than a minute, so you don’t have to wait.

Secure Connection

As mentioned above, one crucial role in this process is the security and privacy of personal data. Now it’s time to take care of safe connections. To do this, you must change the default login information used when setting up. If you don’t do this, it will be easy to hack in the future. Next, you need to find the router’s IP address listed on the back of the router or in the user manual. Generally, IP addresses look like 192.168.1.1.

To get to the router administrator page, you must enter the router IP address into the browser window. This page is a control panel for settings and configuration. Next, try to find the login information in the instruction manual. If that doesn’t work, use the router’s brand website, which has the default username and password.

If you want to change your username and password, note that the place to go for this purpose varies depending on the router brand. You can find the necessary information under Wireless Settings or on the router’s main page. If this is impossible, you need to refer to the instruction manual. It’s worth noting that your new username and password must be secure. So take the time to do this.

The hackers should fail to guess your password on the first, second, or third attempt. And generally, try to make it impossible to guess it at all. So birthdays, home addresses, and phone numbers are bad options. A strong password should consist of symbols, numbers, and letters. If you’ve done everything correctly, all the default information is changed, and your router is working, you need to connect all your devices to the new WiFi network.

Consider that you mustn’t share your WiFi password with everyone you know. Only your friends and roommates that you trust should know this information. These precautions will help keep your new connection fast and more secure.

Conclusion

As you can see, setting up your dorm router is not too difficult. Use the instructions in this article, and you’ll be streaming tv in no time! However, if difficulties appear, you can quickly get rid of them with the help of Howly experts, who help you with any Internet connection issues.