Our home network is one of the most important parts of an internet connection. It is very important that we always pay attention to all that is happening within our network as with each passing day, there are several issues that are arising from cybersecurity attacks like ransomware and wanna cry.
Everyone believes that they can never suffer from a network malfunction but the truth is, it is very easy for any network administrator to send a bug to your device and bring your network down. In this article, we shall look at the 10 most common networking mistakes to avoid.
Table of Contents
1. Failing to determine a network’s need before getting a new
Today almost everyone is using a wireless router to access the internet but not many people understand their true requirement. Everyone is just worried about getting the internet over for their devices like tablets and smartphones. Nobody takes things in mind such as the coverage they need, how many devices can be connected and also types of walls/floor they have in their home. The best way to fix such a problem is pre-planning along with required research over the things that are important when setting a new network.
2. Not recording older router settings before upgrading
This is something very common. It happens when you are all excited to try a new router and in the flow, you forget to note down all the important details like the usernames, passwords and other settings of the old router which will have to be replicated for the new router as well. Once when you can’t remember it then it leads to extra time and efforts to configure the new router. A better option is to create an excel sheet where you store all your data.
3. Poor positioning of the router
Another very underrated problem that causes the maximum trouble is the wrong placement of your wifi router. If you place it just at the end of a room then you are inviting trouble as more the number of physical obstacles in the pathway, the harder it is for the signals to reach your devices. Make sure to place the router in the middle of your room so that all the signals can reach your devices. If not then you can see for some wireless extenders that can boost the dead spots.
4. Connecting a new wireless router
A lot of the home network modems have the tendency to lock to the very first media access control address that they see on their radar. This doesn’t give another IP address to a new router unless and until a new power cycle occurs. The fix to this problem is to power down the modem when you are connecting a new system. Power up, wait for 2 minutes and then power up the router.
5. Leave everything in default mode
This is one of the biggest mistakes that users do. They will configure the router and in the process of doing so they will actually mess up a lot of the settings. At the same time, many times people start using the wifi router the way it came to them. Every router comes with a default username and password like Comcast also called Xfinity routers which come with a default username. In such a case, anyone can easily access your router and drink all the internet juice so the fix is to always change the default settings that are necessary, rest leave it the way it was.
6. Not enabling device sharing options
Whenever you add a new device to the network, it comes with a pop-up box which asks users if the connection they are trying is either public, work or home. If you choose public, the system prevents sharing features on that device. The fix is when connecting machines, make sure the policy is set as home which allows sharing.
7. Degrading router’s performance by older wifi devices
A lot of the new users upgrade their networks to routers running the latest industry standards such as 802.11n or 802.11ac but what they don’t understand is that all the older routers shall access the network. It will lead to failure in the performance. Wireless systems act on something called lowest common denominator. The fix to this problem is to remove any older client that you have on the network.
8. Not checking the router for firmware updates
Even though with modern systems, it is very easy to know and set the updates automatically but most of the routers today are still not aligned to update their drivers. There are a lot of important functions, updates and new settings which can highly enhance the router’s performance. The fix to this issue is updating the manufacturer’s software. Some router have updates as the software in them keeps checking else in other cases, it happens manually.
9. Jumping too soon to the hard reset option
Almost every router has a hard reset button. It’s basically a small area wherein case if your router hangs or is not working properly then you can use it to relaunch the router from the very beginning. A hard reset brings back the factory settings back. It can be pushed with a small needle or a paperclip. The fix to this is that whenever you are doing a hard reset. Make sure to prepare documents which have everything written on a piece of paper.
10. Plugging an ethernet cable from the modem to router
It may appear as a very lame mistake but this happens as not everyone is technically advanced to do as per the rulebook. A lot of people plug the cable into incorrect ports which prevent the router from getting hold of the internet. The fix to this is either you should go by the manual or you can see for the WAN/internet ports separately. You can even search for assisting YouTube videos to avoid fixing the wrong holes.