 Hello everybody! In today's video, we will find out how to configure Wi-Fi mode for a router with the example of TP-Link Archer C20. We will see what WPS is, how to set up protected Wi-Fi mode and configure wireless guest network. Here we go. If you need to recover deleted data, view or restore removed browsing history. Hetman software products will help you. Follow the link in the description, download the necessary program for free, install it and analyze the disk. The utility will show you the data you can recover, so you will be able to view it or get it back. In our channel and blog you will find solutions to any problem, from installing an operating system or configuring it, to fixing possible bugs and errors or optimizing mobile gadgets. Our specialists will answer any questions you ask in your comments under the videos or articles. In another video, you can find the link below. We have already showed basic settings of a Wi-Fi router required to connect to the Internet. But how can we use Internet without Wi-Fi? Let's find out how to configure it properly. Today, we'll be dealing with the router TP-Link Archer C20. This is a dual-band Wi-Fi router, but its settings are more or less typical, so this video guide can help you set up almost any other router. So, in order to configure wireless node for a router, go to the Settings panel. In one of the previous videos, I have already described in detail all aspects of connecting a router to the computer and entering the Settings panel, so I don't think we have to focus on it again. Let's start by with choosing the working frequency for wireless data transmission. As this router is a dual-band one, it can broadcast two Wi-Fi networks. One at the frequency of 2.4 GHz and the other at 5 GHz. If you don't need one of them, I recommend visiting the tab Dual-band Selection and disabling the network for the frequency you don't want to use. Just uncheck the box and save the settings. Otherwise, you can leave both networks as they are. For example, use 2.4 GHz for alter devices and let newer gadgets use 5 GHz, which they support, by the way. What is the difference, you may ask? The primary difference between the wireless connection frequencies – 2.4 and 5 GHz – is the range of signal. When the frequency 2.4 GHz is used, the signal is transmitted to a longer distance compared to that of the 5 GHz frequency. It can be explained through the main wave characteristics. The higher is the frequency, the sooner waves will fade out. That is, if you worry more about the coverage area, you should opt for 2.4 GHz. The other difference is the number of devices working with such frequencies. At 2.4 GHz, the wireless signal is more prone to interference than at 5 GHz. This is because there are many other devices that also use the frequency of 2.4 GHz. Mainly, these are microwave ovens and wireless handsets. They produce more interference into the frequency environment, which reduces the speed of wireless connection. In both cases, 5 GHz is a better choice, because it gives you more channels to isolate your network from other networks, and there are less sources of interference for this frequency. To cut the long story short, if there is a lot of interference in your area and your devices support 5 GHz data transmission, it is recommended to use 5 GHz wireless networks. In all other cases, you should go for 2.4 GHz. Now, move on to the tab of the Wi-Fi network you need to configure. For example, like in my case, wireless 2.4 GHz. Enable wireless mode, if it was disabled, and set the wireless network name in the basic settings menu. You can choose to have any network name you like. The next step is to set the Wi-Fi network mode. Nowadays, the current standard is 11, with four main modes, B, G and AC. They differ mostly by the maximum connection speed, bandwidth. 11B works at 2.4 GHz with a speed up to 11 MB per second, 11G works at 2.4 GHz with a speed up to 54 MB per second, 11N supports the speed up to 150 MB at 2.4 GHz and up to 600 MB per second at 5 GHz, 11AC is the new standard that supports 5 GHz only. It can transmit data at the rate of almost 7 GB per second. Newer modes are compatible with the older ones, but the older modes don't work with newer standards. Usually, the default option is 11B, G and mixed for 2.4 GHz networks or 11A and AC mixed for 5 GHz networks. This approach is meant to ensure maximum compatibility, so that you can connect any gadget to your router, be it a newer or older device. I recommend checking your situation and enabling the mode, which is the most appropriate and compatible. In the Fields channel and channel widths, you can set the frequency the router will be using when working in the wireless mode. You should change the channel only if there are problems because of the interference generated by another access point located near your devices or equipment. If you choose Automatic mode, auto. The router will select the most suitable channel automatically. That's why don't change anything here or just choose auto. Enable SSID Broadcast By checking this box, you allow the wireless router to transmit its name, SSID, openly in the Broadband mode. What does it mean? Every wireless access point transmits the name of its Wi-Fi network in a broadband format within the working range of its frequencies. Any client currently scanning the range and search of access points available for connection will see it and may try to hack it. If you hide SSID by unchecking the corresponding box, this identifier will not be broadcast in the broadband format and therefore it will not be visible on the list of available Wi-Fi networks. If you do it, only the client who knows the SSID and enters it manually or with the help of WPS function, which we will analyze a bit later, will be able to connect to such network. So uncheck this box if you want to hide your network. But I will keep it as it is. Enable WDS This function lets the router bridge two or more local wireless networks. You can use it to extend the coverage area of a wireless network by combining several Wi-Fi access points into a single network, without having to establish a wired connection between the points. However, you are unlikely to need it for standard Wi-Fi network settings. I'm going to describe this function in more detail in one of the next videos about connecting two routers within one network. Don't forget to save the settings. The next menu is WPS. This function allows to quickly add new devices to the network. If such device supports the function for configured and protected Wi-Fi connections, Wi-Fi protected setup, and has a corresponding quick setup button, you can add it to the network by simply pressing the button on the device or enabling the corresponding function. Here is how it looks like when you use WPS to connect a smartphone to the network. My smartphone is now connected to the wireless network. Let it be Hetman Software. Go to the settings of the phone's wireless network and enable WPS. It starts the countdown. Now press the WPS button on the router. An indicator lights up to show the function is now active. Wait for several seconds and you can see that the countdown on the smartphone has stopped. Check the network. The smartphone is now connected to the router by WPS. This function does not require any special settings. It can be enabled or disabled. Current PIN The current value of the router's PIN is displayed here. The default PIN code can be found on a sticker placed on the router's side or in the user manual. Restore PIN Restore the PIN of the router to its default. Generate New PIN Click this button to get a new random value for the router's PIN. Add Device You can add a new device to the existing network manually by clicking this button. To do it, press the WPS button on the router or enable this function in the menu. The next step is to set and configure wireless security and set a password for your Wi-Fi network. To do it, go to the tab Wireless Security. You can choose one of the following security options. Disable Security If it's disabled, wireless devices can connect to the router without encryption and password. It is strongly recommended to select one of the variants below to protect your wireless network. WPAWPA2 Personal WPA is based protection with a pre-shared password. WPAWPA2 Enterprise WPA Protection with Radius Server WEP An option based on 802.11 WEP Standard Select the recommended option – WPAWPA2 Personal You can choose the authentication type – WPAPSK or WPA2PSK. Both protocols – WPA and WPA2 – offer high standards of data security and improved access control for users trying to access wireless networks. However, WPA2 provides better safety than its predecessor – the WPA protocol. WPA2 protocol supports the AES standard, which enhances its protection greatly. Which suggests that AES encryption should be used with WPA2PSK, while the best option for WPAPSK is using TKIP. If you configure this part in a different way, users won't be able to connect to such an access point. To fill the wireless password, set the password you want to use for connecting to your Wi-Fi network. If you connected any devices to the wireless network before you have configured Wi-Fi settings, you will have to reconnect them after changing the password and restarting the router. And login again after entering the new password. Group Key Update Period Enter the Key Update Period, which tells the router how often encryption keys should be changed. If you don't have a super-secret laboratory at home and you don't expect to export hackers launching attacks at your humble data, you can set the Update Period at zero, that is to cancel key updates. Save the settings. Wireless Mac filtering Together with encryption, authentication and encryption key, Wi-Fi network password, Mac filtering is an additional factor for protecting your wireless network. For example, you can use it if you want to restrict access to your network for strangers or allow access for your own devices only. Sometimes, it can be used as a parental controls function to restrict access to the local network for children's devices. If you want to disable network access for a device within your area, just add it to the exclusion list. To do it, check the option Deny the Stations. Click on the Add New button. Type the MAC address of the block device. You can see this address on the device itself or in its settings. For example, with an Android smartphone, you need to go to Settings -> About Phone -> Status. The address you are looking for is given in the line MAC address. In Windows, go to Network and Internet Settings -> Change adapter options. Right-click on the wireless adapter, which is used for the Internet connection and select Status -> Details. Physical address is the actual MAC address of the computer's Wi-Fi adapter. Enter the MAC address of the required device. Enter simply description of the wireless station into the description field. In the Status drop-down list, select Enabled. Choose the wireless network for which the rule should apply in the host field. Click Save to save the changes you have made. As soon as the function Wireless MAC filtering is enabled, the added device won't be able to connect to this Wi-Fi network even by giving the proper password. If you enable the option Allow the station specified by any enabled entries in the list to access, only such devices will be able to connect to this wireless network. Wireless Advanced Settings. Transmit power. You can specify how powerful a signal the router should transmit. You can select one of the options, High, Middle, Below. Beacon interval. The beacons are the packets sent by the router to synchronize a wireless network. Beacon interval value determines the time of the beacons being sent. You can set this value in the range of 42,000 milliseconds. RTS threshold. This is where you can specify the RTS – Request to send threshold. If a packet is larger than the size established in the RTS threshold, the router will send RTS blocks to a certain receiving station and coordinate sending data blocks. Fragmentation threshold. This value determines the maximum size of packet after exceeding which it should be fragmented. Setting an extremely low fragmentation threshold may reduce network performance due to an exceedingly high number of packets. DTIM interval. This value determines the interval of sending delivery traffic indication messages – shortly DTIM. You can set a value within the range of 1 to 15 signal packet intervals. Enable short GI. This function is also recommended as it allows improving throughput at the expense of reducing the space between symbols or characters being transmitted in order to eliminate inter-symbol interference. Enable client isolation. It isolates all connected wireless stations so that these stations can only communicate via LAN. This function becomes disabled only when the WDS or Bridge Mode is on. Enable WMM. The WMM function makes sure that highest priority information is sent in the first place. If you are new to the settings shown in this page, I strongly recommend that you don't change anything and stick to default values. Some settings can affect performance of your wireless network. Wireless Statistics. This page shows you the MAC address, current status, the number of received and sent packets as well as SSID for every connected wireless station. You cannot change any values in this page. To refresh data and display the currently connected wireless stations, click Refresh. However, the page updates itself automatically every 5 seconds. Here is an important note. If you let your router broadcast at both frequencies 2.4 and 5 GHz, configure settings for both networks and set a password. Their setting menus are very similar. One more setting for a wireless network is the Guest Network Mode. Guest Network is an additional wireless network that your router will broadcast. It will have a different name and password. It is called Guest because it is meant to be used by your guests, visitors or customers in your office, cafe, etc. Its main difference is complete isolation. It means that any devices connected to the Guest Network will not be able to access the local network or shared printer, drive, unless you change the settings to allow it. Having such a network makes sense if you provide access to your Wi-Fi for your neighbor, for example. The work of such network can be scheduled, too. For example, make Guest Network operate during working hours only, or have this network running for a few hours or minutes, and then it will be disabled automatically. Here is one more thing. You can configure its bandwidth, that is, limit the internet connection speed for the Guest Network. In this page, here is what you can do. Allow Guests to access my local network. If this function is enabled, users will be able to connect to other devices in the router's local network. Guest Network Isolation If this function is enabled, users won't be able to communicate with each other. Guest Network Bandwidth Control Turning this on will apply rules for controlling the bandwidth of Guest Network. You can specify the frequency to be used by the Guest Network – 2.4 or 5 GHz. But it only makes sense if your router is a dual-band one like mine. Guest Network Enable or Disable the Guest Network Network name is actually the name of the Guest Network. Type the name up to 32 characters long. This is the name that your guest will see. Maximal Guest Number Up to 32 Give the number of guests you prefer. Security Use it to disable or configure Guest Network protection. If you disable it, guests will be able to connect to your Wi-Fi network without a password. Alternatively, you can enable it and configure WPA-WPA2 protection just like you do it for wireless protection of the main network. Access Time Set the time when access is possible. That is, when and for how long it is available. I am sure you will find your way through this particular setting. It's quite easy. All these settings deal with the router's wireless network. You can use them to regulate all aspects of your Wi-Fi network. If you have any questions while you are configuring the Wi-Fi network for your router, you are free to comment and ask your questions here. Hit the Like button below, and subscribe to Hetman Software channel if you find this video useful. Thank you for watching and good luck.