Initial configuration of the Netgear modem
To set up your modem, first make sure the device is plugged in, turned on, and connected to the Internet. The power supply cable goes into the round black input, that of the Internet line (i.e. the wire that comes out of the telephone socket) must be inserted into the gray input while to turn on the modem / router you have to press the button Power which is generally found on the back.
Another operation that I highly recommend you to do is to connect the modem to the computer using a Ethernet cable (which must be inserted in one of the numbered inputs of the device). If you are unable to connect the modem to the computer via an Ethernet cable - because the two devices are far from each other or perhaps because your PC has no Ethernet input - connect the computer to the wireless network of the router. You should find the network name (SSID) and the passkey of the latter in the manual of the device.
You are now ready to start the initial configuration procedure of your modem / router! Then open the program you usually use to surf the Internet (eg. Chrome, Internet Explorer o Safari) and connected to one of the following addresses.
192.168.0.1
192.168.1.1
If neither of the two addresses turns out to be exact and you are unable to view the Netgear configuration panel, try to find out what the exact address of your modem / router is by following the instructions in my tutorial on how to find the router IP address.
After finding the IP address of the router and establishing a connection with it, you will be asked to enter a burning name and password. Generally, the credentials to enter are admin / password o admin / admin, but check in the modem manual, they will definitely be indicated there.
Now begins the actual procedure for configure Netgear modem. Then select theyour language from the menu for choosing the language located at the top right and fill out the first form that is proposed to you: in the field Country you must indicate your country of residence (eg Spain), while in the field ISP you have to select the name of your Internet provider (eg Alice or Wind). So make sure there is a check mark next to the item Yes e pulsing sul pulsating NEXT to start the procedure for automatically configuring the Internet connection.
In case of problems, or if you simply want to configure the Internet connection parameters manually, put the check mark next to the item No. Manual router configurationclick on your button NEXT and fill out the form that is proposed to you with all the parameters of the Internet connection. You can find the Internet connection parameters on your provider's website (here or by simply searching on Google.
Once the Internet connection setup is complete, the Wi-Fi network setup begins. Then enter the name you want to give the wireless network in the field Name (SSID), Choose WPA2-PSK [AES] like security mode and imposes a key (password) safe, therefore meaningless, at least 12-15 characters long and made up of various types of characters (lowercase letters, uppercase letters and numbers). To conclude, click on the button Connect me to the Internet and wait a few seconds for all the modem settings to be saved.
If you have a modem / router with dual-band support, you need to set up two wireless networks: one that operates on the 2.4GHz frequency and one that operates on the 5GHz frequency.
Please note: if the initial modem setup procedure does not start by itself, select the tab Advanced which is located at the top left and presses the button Setup Wizard to start it "manually".
How to open Netgear modem ports
Now let's move on to one of the most useful and sought after procedures on the Internet, those for open the Netgear modem ports. Opening the modem ports means freeing the communication channels that some software (for example P2P ones, such as eMule and uTorrent) and some devices use to communicate externally. If these communication channels remain blocked, the software and devices in question cannot perform their duties properly and this leads to problems such as slow downloads in P2P programs, the inability to use online multiplayer on video game consoles, and so on. .
To open the ports in your modem / router, access the device administration panel, select the tab Advanced located at the top left and selects the items Advanced Setup> Port Forwarding / Activation from the sidebar. On the page that opens, press the button Add personalized service and fill out the form that is proposed to you following the instructions you find below.
- In the field Service name you have to set a name for the rule that you are going to create for opening the doors (eg eMule if you have to open the doors of eMule).
- In fields External starting door e Final external door you must enter the number of the door to open.
- In the field Internal IP address you have to type the IP address of the computer in use (eg 192.168.0.11). If you do not know what the IP address of your computer is, you can find it in the table located at the bottom right or by following the instructions contained in my tutorial on how to view the IP address.
Once you have filled in all the fields of the form, click on the button Apply and the doors you select will be opened instantly.
Another parameter that often needs to be activated to make P2P software and devices such as video game consoles work properly is UPnP. To activate it on your Netgear modem / router, click on the tab Advanced located at the top left, select the items Advanced configuration> UPnP from the sidebar, put the check mark next to the item Enable UPnP and click on the button Apply per salvare i Cambiomenti.
Change the Netgear modem password
Do you want to prevent someone from connecting without permission to your wireless network? Then use a strong passkey and a fairly secure encryption mode.
To adjust these parameters (if you have not already done so during the initial modem configuration procedure), connected to the Netgear administration panel, select the tab Advanced located at the top left and selects the items Installation> Wireless Setup from the sidebar.
On the page that opens, make sure there is a check mark next to the item Enable SSID broadcast (so that the wireless network is visible for the devices that must connect to it) and fill out the form that is proposed to you following the instructions I am about to give you.
- In the field Your name set the name of the wireless network (you can also leave the default one, no problem).
- In the field Agents select your geographical area (eg Europe).
- In the field Channel set the channel that the wireless network should use (I'll explain what it is in a little while).
- In the field mode you must select the maximum possible value (eg Up to 150 Mbps).
- In the field Security options you have to select the item WPA2-PSK [AES], which would be the most secure way to encrypt Wi-Fi networks at the moment. If you have very old devices on which the Wi-Fi connection doesn't seem to be working properly, select WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] which is an equally secure encryption method but also compatible with older devices.
- In the field Password you must enter the access key to the Wi-Fi network. The key does not have to be meaningful, it must be at least 12-15 characters long and must include lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers.
Once you have filled out the form, click on the button Apply and the changes will take effect immediately. All devices connected to the modem via Wi-Fi will automatically disconnect, you will need to establish a new connection using the new key you just set.
If you have a modem / router with dual-band support, you need to configure the password for two networks: the one that operates on the 2.4GHz frequency and the one that operates on the 5GHz frequency.
Another security setting that I highly recommend you change is the password required to access the modem administration panel. By changing this parameter, you will prevent someone from entering the device management panel too easily and changing its settings without your knowledge.
To change the password required to enter the Netgear modem administration panel, select the tab Advanced located at the top left and choose the items Administration> Set Password from the sidebar. Then type the Old Password and New password access to the modem in the appropriate text fields and click on the button Apply per salvare i Cambiomenti.
Other useful settings
Finally, let me recommend other useful operations that may help you configure Netgear modem according to your needs.
- Changing the Internet Connection Parameters - if you want to change the Internet connection parameters without resetting the rest of the modem settings, access the device administration panel, select the tab Base located at the top left and click on the button xDSL.
- Change the Wi-Fi channel - as I also explained to you in my guide on how to change the Wi-Fi channel, in some cases it is necessary to manually configure the radio channel used by the Wi-Fi connection to avoid interference (and therefore slowdowns of the connection itself). To change the Wi-Fi channel on your modem, access the device's administration panel, select the tab Base located at the top left and click on the button wireless located in the sidebar. Then expand the drop-down menu Channel and choose the channel to use for the Wi-Fi network. If you have a dual-band modem you can set the channel for both 2.4GHz network and 5GHz network.
- Set up parental controls - if you want to restrict Internet access or block certain sites, enter the configuration panel of your modem, select the tab Base located at the top left and click on the button Parental controls located in the sidebar.
- Restart the modem - to restart the modem remotely, go to the tab Advanced in the admin panel, select the items Administration> Status of the router from the sidebar and presses the button Restart.
- Update the modem firmware - updating the modem firmware is a very important operation, it allows you to maintain a high level of safety and performance of the device. To do this, go to the menu Advanced> Administration> Firmware Update on the Netgear panel and start searching for a new software version.
As easily understood, the ones we have just seen together are just some of the parameters that can be changed in a Netgear modem / router, the most important ones.
If you want to learn more about the subject and / or want to find out how to adjust other parameters of your modem, connect to the Netgear website, search for the device name in the bar located at the top left and download the manuals available for download.
How to configure Netgear modem
