Linksys router

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1 Accessing Router Settings - Linksys Routers

Accessing Router Settings - Linksys Routers

This document contains information and examples that help with configuring and obtaining useful information from Linksys router model WRT54G. Even though, the examples and the screenshots presented in this document apply to Linksys router model WRT54G, they can also be applied to different Linksys router models. But, for absolute methods on how to configure your particular router please consult your router's manual.

How to access your router

To access your router configurations the first thing you need to do is to login to your router.

Open your web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari, etc…).
In the address bar type the IP address of your router; generally the default IP address for Linksys routers is 192.168.1.1. (Consult your manual for the appropriate default IP address.)
You will be asked to enter a username and a password to access the router’s settings.
The default username and password are admin, admin respectively unless they have been changed, see figure 1.

Figure 1. (click to enlarge)

How to Check the Basic Wireless Settings

Click on the Wireless tab as shown below. (see figure 2) This will default to the sub-menu Basic Wireless Settings. (if you see a different screen, please click on the Basic Wireless Settings link.)

Figure 2.

The Basic Wireless Settings page allows you to check the following 4 items:

Wireless Network Mode
Wireless Network Name
Wireless Channel
SSID Broadcasting

Wireless Network Mode (B, G or N)

The mode determines the speed (bandwidth) of your wireless network. The different wireless modes are B, G or N and their bandwidths are 11Mbps, 54 Mbps and 600 Mbps respectively. We fully support the B and the G modes, but because the N mode is not fully standardized by the industry our devices (Squeezebox, Squeezebox Boom, Squeezebox Duet or Transporter) may have some connectivity issues with routers that are running in N wireless mode. See table 1 for comparison.

*Table 1. Primary IEEE 802.11 Specification*
	802.11 B	802.11 G	802.11 N
Maximum Data Rate	11 Mbps	54 Mbps	600 Mbps
Practical	1 Mbps	1-10 Mbps	300 Mbps
RF Band	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz Or 5 GHz

Figure 3.

Wireless Network Name (SSID)

The Wireless Network Name (also called "SSID") represents the name that identifies your wireless network to any device connecting wirelessly to your network. The default SSID name for a Linksys router is "Linksys", however some people change that SSID to a unique name. (see figure 4) To setup one of our devices wirelessly, you will need to know the Network Name of your wireless network, so you can make the correct choice during Squeezebox setup.

Figure 4.

Wireless Channel

Wireless devices need to communicate with your wireless router over specific channels. For devices in the USA the common channels are set to 1, 6 and 11. Each of these channels uses a different frequency. (see figure 5.)

If you experience connection trouble caused by interference from other radio sources (e.g. cordless phones, bluetooth, other wifi networks) you may see improvement if you change the channel on which your wireless network broadcasts. For example, if you are using channel 1, try channel 6 or 11.

Figure 5.

Enable/Disable SSID Broadcasting

If Wireless SSID broadcasting is disabled on your network, your Network Name is hidden from wireless devices. Therefore, your Squeezebox will not be able to find your wireless network automatically. In such cases you need to enter your SSID manually during the configuration of your Squeezebox. (see figure 6.)

Figure 6.

How to Check your Wireless Security

If you are using a password on your wireless network, you need to know the type of security and the encryption key or password. You will need that information during the Squeezebox setup. To select or check your wireless security encryption mode, you need to click on the Wireless tab from the main menu bar, and then click on the Wireless Security tab.

Figure 7.

Figure 7 shows the current Security Mode your router is using. The pull-down menu of the Security Mode will show you all the other security modes that are available including a disable option. The security modes that are compatible with Squeezebox devices are listed below in table 2 according to their strength from low to high respectively.

*Table 2*
Mode	Type
WEP	64/128 bits encryption
WPA	Personal (TKIP)
WPA2	Personal (AES)

How to Check your Wireless MAC Filtering

As an additional form of security, some routers have the capability to block wireless devices according to their MAC addresses. One symptom that may occur is a device may try to connect to the wireless router many times unsuccessfully. The router may think it is an intruding device and block the MAC address associated with that device. To check if your router is blocking one of our devices follow these steps:

Click on the Wireless tab on the main menu.
Then click on the Wireless MAC Filtering option from the sub-menu as illustrated in figure 8.

Figure 8.

If the Wireless MAC Filter is disabled as in figure 8, then there is nothing further to worry about concerning the Wireless MAC filtering.

If your router’s MAC Filtering is enabled you will see something similar to the screenshot in figure 9.

Figure 9.

Clicking on the Edit MAC Filter List will allow you to view an edit the MAC addresses the router will block or allow their access, see figure 10.

Figure 10.

To view the list of blocked or allowed MAC addresses, click on the Wireless Client MAC List button. This will give you the following dialog box, see figure 11. Here you can activate or deactivate the MAC filtering for your devices.

Figure 11.

How to Check the Firmware of your Router.

Sometimes connectivity issues arise because your router is not running the latest firmware version. To check what version of firmware your Linksys router is running do the followings:

From the main menu click on the Status button. (see figure 12.)
Then click on the Router button.
Here you can read the current firmware version of your router.
The best way to determine if the current firmware version of your router is the latest firmware is to go to the Linksys website and check what they have posted as the latest firmware for your router model. If you find a firmware version with a number that is higher than yours, please follow Linksys' instructions on how to update your router’s firmware.