With friends and family coming to stay with you during the holidays, that means sharing your internet connection, and if you’re not properly prepared for that, it could mean slow connection speeds, potential security vulnerabilities, and continuous sharing (and resharing) of the Wi-Fi password.
Improve Your Wi-Fi Coverage
If your home is filled with dead zones and areas suffering from slow connections, your guests will have a hard time. So, if you’ve been ignoring weak Wi-Fi coverage because it only affects the guest room, there’s no better time than now to fix it.
In many cases, you can simply move your router to a new location to improve coverage. Try to place it high on a shelf, without any books or other objects obstructing the signal. If possible, it’s best to have it in a central room of the house so it can easily reach all rooms.
If that doesn’t work, you may need to invest in a good Wi-Fi signal booster or a mesh network system, which will rebroadcast the router’s signal to farther rooms, ensuring you always have a strong connection wherever you are. This guide will help you choose the right solution for your problem.
Enable Your Guest Network
Most modern routers offer a feature called a guest network, which allows you to create a separate Wi-Fi network for friends and family to use when they visit. With a guest network, they will be able to access the internet, but they will not have access to network resources like shared folders, printers, and NAS devices. This means you can continue using your regular network while others use the limited network “guest_network_name” (or any name you choose).
To enable the guest network, you will need to access your router’s management interface. Although some routers have their own apps, this is typically done through a web browser. Type in your router’s IP address in the address bar, usually something like 192.168.1.1. (If you’re not sure what your router’s IP address is, our guide on managing router settings can help you find it.)
Your router will prompt you for a password to access the administration tools. If you’re unsure what it is, check the user manual or the manufacturer’s support website. Often, this information can be found on the router’s base itself. For security reasons, you should change these default credentials as soon as you log in so that mysterious individuals cannot attempt to access your router.
From there, look for the options that control your guest network. These settings can vary in location from one router to another, but you can usually find them in the wireless network settings or in a dedicated section for the guest network.
Give your guest network a name, make sure to disable access to the local network (if you have that option), and add a WPA2 or WPA3 password for the network. In fact, you want a strong password, but it’s good to make it easy to remember – you don’t want to be searching for a sticky note with the Wi-Fi password every time a guest comes over.
Share Passwords Quickly and Easily
Giving your guests an easy-to-remember password works well enough, but for extra points, you can share the Wi-Fi password in a smoother way. For example, I love creating a QR code for my network using QiFi – that way, when my friends come over, they can scan the code on the fridge with their phone’s camera instead of having to remember and write down the password.
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If you have an Android 10 or later device, you can do this directly from your phone. Open the settings menu on your phone, look for the network, and tap the sharing button to create a QR code. Those with Apple devices can automatically share network data with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. If you are connected to Wi-Fi and someone in your contacts has Bluetooth enabled and is trying to join, an alert message will appear on your device, allowing you to approve them.
Update Your Router’s Drivers
In preparation for additional devices and users on your home network, it’s a good idea to ensure your router’s drivers are up to date, with all the latest security patches. On some routers, this is done automatically when a new update is released. For others, you will find this option in the device’s web interface or mobile app.
You may also need to go directly to the vendor’s site, download the driver file, and then upload it via the web interface to apply the update. Fortunately, this process is outdated and unnecessary with many of the routers manufactured in the past few years.
While thinking about updates, it’s also good to check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to see if you have the latest drivers for your cable internet, DSL, or fiber optic service. Service providers usually push these updates automatically, but it doesn’t hurt to check twice.
Protect Your Network Resources with Passwords
If you don’t have a guest network option, or if you’ve already provided your regular network to some family members in the past, it’s a good idea to password-protect any shared folders, printers, or servers on your network. This means that anyone without the username and password for certain files and folders will be denied access.
On Windows, you can add a password to a shared folder by opening the “Start” menu, searching for “sharing,” and selecting the “Manage advanced sharing settings” option. Expand the All Networks option and enable password-protected sharing. (This is enabled by default on my device, but it’s good to check again.)
For Mac users, go to System Preferences > Sharing and disable any sharing options you want to keep secure – file sharing, media sharing, printer sharing, etc. Click the “i” icon next to File Sharing, and ensure Everyone is set to “No Access.”
Scan for Malware
Similar to shared resource passwords, it may not be strictly necessary to take this step as long as everyone is on the guest network – but things don’t always go this way. Before allowing anyone to join your home network, you should also ensure that you aren’t infected with malware.
Some routers come with built-in malware protection tools that will automatically scan new devices when they first register and perform regular checks on the entire network. If your router doesn’t have these tools, download one of our favorite malware protection tools and run a scan on all your computers to ensure safety – and also make sure to regularly update your software.
Enable QoS on Your Router
Quality of Service (QoS) is a feature available on many routers that allows you to prioritize different types of traffic. This way, your kids’ online gaming won’t interfere with your guests watching Netflix with you in the living room. To access this feature, visit your router’s web interface as described above and look for QoS settings or bandwidth prioritization.
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Many modern routers make this easy by providing a list of pre-defined services and applications you can prioritize traffic for as high, medium, or low. For example, my Asus router allows me to prioritize video and audio streaming, gaming, web browsing, file transfers, and messaging based on importance. Other routers let you set bandwidth limits and create QoS rules manually port by port. Check your router’s manual or manufacturer.
Banning Unwanted Users
Let’s say you gave your Wi-Fi password to your neighbor the last time they visited, before you knew the best practices in this guide. Now, suppose that neighbor is using your Wi-Fi to watch their Netflix streams – whether intentionally or not. You don’t want them to steal bandwidth from your actual guests.
To be sure, you can find out who is using your network. The admin interface of your router may provide a list of all devices connected to your network, but if it doesn’t, “Wireless Network Watcher” (for Windows) and “Who Is On My WiFi” (for Mac) are great tools that do the same job.
If you see something suspicious – like a laptop or streaming device you don’t recognize – it might be time to change your Wi-Fi password or use your router’s MAC address filtering feature to kick them off the network. If you have a mesh Wi-Fi system, there’s a good chance you can use your phone to block any user with the touch of a button.
Enabling Parental Controls
Many modern routers bundle parental control software or cloud services into the admin interface. If you expect young children as guests, it might be a good idea to explore your router’s settings to see if there are any built-in parental controls.
These settings typically allow you to block internet content by category (like pornographic sites or gambling sites), block specific URLs, or restrict internet access at certain times of the day. They may not be as advanced as dedicated parental control software, but hopefully, there’s something useful in there.
When you’re trying to entertain friends and family in your home, one of the last things you should be thinking about is helping them connect to your Wi-Fi network. With these tips, your network will be more secure and ready for guests to connect. This leaves you with plenty of time to focus on more important things, like what to serve for dinner.
(Editor’s Note: John Delaney also contributed to this article.)
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