It is one thing to choose a correct Nighthawk WiFi router as per your requirement, but it is equally important to spend same time on Nighthawk router setup.
Most of the times, the ISP officials may not give you the deep knowledge about wireless security and they themselves have no idea about your network configuration and setup at your home or office. If you have recently bought a Netgear Nighthawk router, then you would need to configure it yourself. Let us look at some of the most important features that you need to configure your Nighthawk router.
Netgear Nighthawk Router Login
At this point, we will be going to assume that you have set up the cables between the modem and the Nighthawk router correctly. Both modems and routers do not have any LCD displays or controls that allow you to configure the settings externally. To configure the Nighthawk router, the user has to pass Nighthawk router login security. Here, the user has to mention correct default Nighthawk login credentials.
Enter Authentication Details for Nighthawk Router Account
Nighthawk routers require you to authenticate using a web login while the use of PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet). When you first buy your new Nighthawk router, you might have to enter these details manually into the router for once.
If your Internet Service Provider does not use PPPoE, you can prefer DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) for your Netgear Nighthawk router setup and if your ISP assigns you private IP address, you can choose the Static IP option to set up your WiFi router.
Enable MAC Address Cloning
Every network device has its own MAC address, which is unique. ISPs seal internet access to MAC address on their clients’ computer. So, when you configure a new WiFi router, the ISP detects a different MAC address and blocks internet access to that particular connection.
MAC cloning feature allows new routers to be recognized by Internet Service Providers.
Fortunately, Nighthawk routers have a MAC address cloning feature that permits you to manually add the MAC address of your computer and other network devices. Nighthawk routers have a MAC address auto-detect feature. Enable it if you find your Internet connection not working the moment you install Nighthawk router.
Secure your Home WiFi Network
WiFi security is quite important if you do not want your computer to be exposed and if you do not want random users to use your Internet connections. Nighthawk router comes with no passwords set for the wireless network, which makes it easy for you to get online but at the same time, also easy for unauthorized users to gain access on your home network. Setting a complicated security passphrase key is a must.
The time you install the Nighthawk router, ensure that you have WPA2-Personal security mode ON. Enter a long and complicated password containing uppercase, lowercase, special characters, and numbers.
Enable MAC Filtering
MAC filtering allows specific network devices to connect to your wireless home network. Create an ‘Allow Devices’ list and manually enter the MAC addresses of your known network devices. The MAC filtering feature blocks devices whose MAC addresses are not present in the ‘Allow Devices’ list. If you want to disable these all protocols and features you can reset Nighthawk router with the help of reset button.
