When was the last time you looked at your router settings?

Broadband Discussions
1

While our big router habits prize survey is live, how about a quick confession - when did you last do anything to your router? Whether you regularly poke about in the admin panel, or you’re more of a triennial duster like Han, below, we’d love to know!

  • I know my router like the back of my hand
  • I check when I remember but could be better
  • Press a few buttons whenever there’s a problem
  • Plugged it in, forgot about it
  • What’s a router?
0 voters

Tagging @Hugh @Sarah_McGregor @boomer @greenwellys @Ian_Manning1 @Alex @Juliandc @MarkElmy77a @TinCansAndString @WiFi_Neighbour among others who definitely have an answer to this (and don’t forget to vote in the big survey for your chance to win, too)

2

I check my router when there is a problem with the wifi. I’ve found that turning it off and back on again usually solves any issues. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s always my ‘go-to.’ The other time I check the router is when I am asked to press the WPS button for 3 seconds. I’ve no idea what that button does, but it seems some things need you to press it in order for them to work.

1 Like
3

What’s a WPS button?:thinking:

4

Super point @Hugh and @boomer - not all routers have a WPS button and it might be labelled differently/with a symbol. It’s just a way of temporarily unlocking your WiFi connection so you can connect a device without having to type in the password/codes.

Handy if you’re connecting a tiny fiddly device like cameras, or if you’re far away from the device you want to connect to - I once used it to connect my sister’s TV using the router in her office for example, but it did require an unseemly and slightly dangerous sprint downstairs. You have to coordinate connecting from the device, to the brief window of time when WPS “opens” your Wi-Fi connection.

I had to Google the acronym though - it stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup which isn’t terribly helpful!

1 Like
5

Well, now you’ve mentioned it, I’ve just had a look around the back of the router. There is a small button labelled WPS, but as I said before, the instructions for the router didn’t mention what it was for, so I left it alone. It was a new router that came when I changed my broadband provider, so I didn’t want to mess with it as long as it was working.

1 Like
6

Ah sensible choice there @boomer! In this case you’d have to have someone / something actively trying to connect during the brief time the WPS is activated, so it should be safe - but better safe than sorry.

Useful to know it’s there though, if only to save you typing in 20 character passwords!