Home Wi-Fi Settings 101: Tips on Best Setup | Dong Knows Tech (2024)

When configuring a home router, you’ll run into many Wi-Fi settings with cryptic names.

If you have no idea what they mean and find it hard to know the correct value to enter, you’re not alone. I myself have a hard time remembering all those acronyms or keeping tabs on various ways different networking vendors call the same things.

The point is, at the very least, we need to appreciate the inconsistent wording in home networking and Wi-Fi. There are also good and bad setting combos.

This post will explain the common ones among these pesky Wi-Fi settings in friendly language. When you’re done, you’ll be able to configure your home network more confidently.

It’s worth noting, though, that many of these settings are like switches and buttons under the hood of a car. And as such, you generally should leave them alone. But an inquiring mind will still find this post a satisfying read.

Note: In this post, we’re talking about Wi-Fi settings, not the features of a Wi-Fi router. If you want to learn what your router can do besides hosting wireless and wired connections—being a mini NAS server, managing Quality of Service (QoS), hosting a virtual private network (VPN), handling Dynamic DNS, etc.—check out the Related Posts box below.

Dong’s note: I first published this piece on September 26, 2022, and updated it on June 17, 2023, with up-to-date information.

Wi-Fi Settings: The not-so-common applicability

All Wi-Fi broadcasters (routers and access points) share the same principles of the Wi-Fi standard(s) they support. Yet, they don’t offer the same level of hardware customizability—you make some do more than others. However, they all have a set of common settings.

Beyond that, you’d need a standard router with a web user interface to access other Wi-Fi intricacies. Even then, different vendors offer different levels of in-depth customization.

So, it’s normal if your beloved router doesn’t have everything I’m about to mention or if it has something else that I will miss. In any case, I’ll update this post as I see fit.

Let’s dive in!

Common Wi-Fi settings

Again, these settings are available in most routers, but the details or even the naming of each vary.

Radio (a.k.a Wi-Fi band)

Radio is the hardware that broadcasts the Wi-Fi signals. Generally, each Wi-Fi band—2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz—is a piece of radio hardware. So a Dual-band router has two pieces, and a Tri-band router has three, etc.

In some broadcasters, this setting allows you to enable or disable a band. When all radios are turned off on a Wi-Fi router, it’s now a non-Wi-Fi router—or just a router. Others allow for turning these bands off on a schedule.

Why would anyone want to turn a Wi-Fi band off? To avoid interference (especially applicable in a double-NAT situation), reduce energy consumption, or just because you can.

In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this setting.

Wi-Fi standard (a.ka. Wi-Fi mode or Wireless Mode)

As the name suggests, this setting dictates to clients which Wi-Fi standard or standards a band accepts, including 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4), 802.11g, 802.11a, and/or 802.11b.

The recommended default value (Auto) means the band will handle all clients of all Wi-Fi standards it supports.

Forcing a band to work with one standard means it will not allow clients of other standards to connect.

In reality, this setting is only effective when you pick the latest standard to reserve the band exclusively for fast clients. If you enforce a lower standard, a client of a higher stand can still connect since it’s backward compatible, albeit at a slower speed grade.

Wi-Fi name (a.k.a SSID)

Wi-Fi name—often network name, wireless name, etc., or just name—is the friendly moniker of the Service Set Identifier (SSID) a Wi-Fi band uses to broadcast the signals.

An SSID appears each time you want to connect a Wi-Fi client (like a laptop or a phone) to a new network for the first time. As a name, you can make it anything you want, but it’s best to use plain text with no space or special character and keep it short and sweet.

Dong-Knows-Tech is an excellent example of an SSID—you should use it!

By default, an SSID is shown publicly, but you can choose to hide it (for security or privacy reasons). If so, you’ll need to program the SSID into the device manually each time you connect a new client to the network.

An SSID can be open and allow any device to connect. But often, it has access restrictions, such as via a password. More on this in the Wi-Fi Security section below.

Virtual Wi-Fi networks (SSIDs): Guest, IoT, MLO, etc.

Generally, one Wi-Fi band has one SSID, but in many cases, you can create multiple virtual SSIDs for a single band. Following are the popular examples of virtual SSIDs:

• Guest Wi-Fi network: Often automatically formed by adding “-Guest” as the suffix to the main SSID’s name. This is an isolated network designed to allow Internet access but not local resources, such as shared folders or printers.
• IoT network: Often automatically formed by adding “-IoT” as the suffix. This is a virtual non-isolated Wi-Fi network supposedly designed for Internet of Things devices. An IoT network was first offered based on a half-truth pretense that IoT devices should be connected to an isolated network for “better security”. Later on, it was adopted as a practice to handle low-power Wi-Fi smart devices that would otherwise hinder the performance of the main SSID.
• MLO network: This SSID is often automatically formed by adding “-MLO” as the suffix. Available only in Wi-Fi 7, it combines multiple bands into a single network and allows supported devices to connect using more than one band at a time, according to the standard’s multi-link operation feature.

Generally, you can rename these virtual SSIDs to your liking—the suffixes are not required. Some even allow additional settings such as bandwidth limits or scheduled availability.

Except for MLO, all virtual SSIDs share the same characteristics set by the band’s main SSID, including channel and bandwidth—more below.

Wireless scheduler (a.k.a SSID schedule)

This setting allows users to turn off an SSID based on a schedule in case it’s not needed or wanted at a particular time, such as when you want the household to stay offline.

Smart Connect: Lumping all bands into a single SSID

Smart Connect is a technique applicable to broadcasters with more than one Wi-Fi band (Dual-band, Tri-band, or Quad-band), allowing the use of a single SSID for all of these bands.

For Smart Connect to work, the hardware uses Smart Connect Rule, a.k.a Band Steering, to determine to which band a client will connect.

Band Steering (a.k.a Smart Connect Rule)

Band Steering, which is applicable when Smart Connect is used and enabled, automatically steers clients to the band with the most bandwidth available.

The idea is that the clients will connect at the fastest speed possible by connecting to the best band in real-time.

In reality, Band Steering doesn’t work well in home routers, and the clients might end up connecting to the slowest band (2.4GHz) simply because this band has the highest signal strength thanks to the extensive range.

Band Steering works better in enterprise applications where the system can dedicate more resources to the task.

Generally, Smart Connect is a convenient way to stay connected if you don’t mind not connecting to the fastest band (5GHz or 6GHz) at all times. Additionally, in many cases (not all), Smart Connect doesn’t allow for customizing each band individually. If so, all bands will use compatibility-favored settings and not the settings optimized for best performance.

“Dumb” Connect: Using separate SSIDs across the bands

If you want more control over which band or bands your device uses, turn Smart Connect off and separate the bands using different SSIDs.

In this case, if you give two or more SSIDs the same name and password, you’ll get a similar effect as Smart Connect. Generally, a client would pick whichever band (sharing the same SSID) is faster and has stronger signals above a certain dBm threshold to connect. The success rate will vary depending on the clients.

Using a unique SSID for a particular band is the only way to make sure you can connect a particular device to it at all times. It also allows for the most in-depth settings, including the settings for the fastest performance.

Wi-Fi Channel

A Wi-Fi band is a large segment of radio frequency. By default, each Wi-Fi channel, often shown as options in a drop-down menu, is a 20MHz portion of the band, represented by a number. And Wi-Fi band includes many channels.

That brings us to a few sub-settings:

Channel Width (a.k.a Bandwidth)

The name says it all. This setting determines the width of the channel being used, measured in MHz. The wider the channel, the larger portion of the Wi-Fi band it occupies, and the more bandwidth it has—it’s faster.

Depending on the Wi-Fi standards and bands, a Wi-Fi channel is 20MHz (default), 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 240MHz, or 320MHz wide. The wider, the more bandwidth but the less compatible a broadcaster becomes. When possible, pick a width that fits your needs, or you can use the hardware’s Auto setting to apply the appropriate value in real time.

A wider channel consists of a few contiguous narrower (20MHz) channels, which brings us to the Control Channel and Extension Channel settings.

Control Channel

That’s the particular 20MHz channel that you pick on the list. If you leave the value at Auto, the broadcaster will pick one automatically for you.

Extension Channel

This setting dictates the direction—up, down, or both—the hardware will use to extend the Control Channel by combining it with adjacent channels to fulfill the Channel Width setting above.

When applicable, depending on where the Control Channel is on the spectrum, you can choose the value of the Extension Channel to be Above or Below, or you can leave it at Auto.

Generally, you want to pick the Control and Extension channels that form a channel whose width is not or least overlapped with other broadcasters within the vicinity—it’s a way to make your network more reliable. When in doubt, use the Auto settings to allow the hardware to pick the optimal one in real time.

DFS channel (a.k.a DFS channel selection or DFS)

Short for Dynamic Frequency Selection, DFS signifies channels shared with non-Wi-Fi applications, such as RADAR.

When the broadcaster is elected to use DFS channels, it takes the backseat, meaning it will automatically switch to a different channel if another application needs that DFS channel.

The use of DFS increases the width of the channel and, therefore, Wi-Fi bandwidth but can also cause intermittent brief disconnections.

Wi-Fi Security

Since Wi-Fi signals are democratically broadcast in the air, by default, all devices can connect to them, which can be a security issue. To restrict the connections, all Wi-Fi broadcasters have a security measure that includes the following settings:

Authentication Method (a.k.a Security Option or Security Level)

This is the type of security the hardware uses among these:

• Open (or Open System, or Enhanced Open): No security. This setting is available in all Wi-Fi standards and hardware and allows any clients to connect to the broadcaster. It’s applicable when you don’t need to restrict access to any client or if you have different types of restriction, such as isolation (like a Guest network).
• WEP: Short for Wired Equivalent Privacy, which is a dated and obsolete security method used in legacy hardware (Wi-Fi 4 and older).
• WPA: Short for Wi-Fi Protected Access which replaces WEP as a better security method. Starting with Wi-Fi 5, WPA is required. With WPA, we have the following sub-settings:
  • WPA Encryption: When WPA is used, there are two options for its encryption, including Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The latter is more secure and the only option in WPA2 and WPA3.
  • WPA-Personal vs. WPA-Enterprise: WPA (all versions) works in the Personal (default) or Enterprise mode. The former applies to most situations and requires a Pre-Shared Key; the latter is for Enterprise applications and requires a RADIUS server. More on these below.
  • Group Key Rotation Interval (a.k.a. Key Rotation) is a WPA security feature that automatically refreshes the encryption key to prevent “guessing”. The default value is 3600 seconds (1 hour).
• WPA2: Commercially available in 2006, WPA2 is an improved version of WPA that requires the use of the AES encryption method and introduces the Counter Cipher Mode with Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) as the replacement for TKIP. All Wi-Fi 5 and new devices support WPA2.
• WPA3: The latest security method that was introduced in 2018 to do away with WPA2. It was first introduced with Wi-Fi 6. Some latest Wi-Fi 5 hardware also supports this method as an option. Starting with Wi-Fi 6E, WPA3 is mandatory.

When picking a security option, remember that the higher the WPA version, the more secure the Wi-Fi network becomes, yet the less compatible (with older clients) it becomes.

For example, WPA3 is only universally supported in Wi-Fi 6E clients. If you use this standard, it’s a sure thing that many existing clients will not be able to connect to your Wi-Fi network. So better security isn’t necessarily always “better” in real-world usage.

In most cases, you can and should choose a mix of these standards — WPA/WPA2/WPA3—and allow the broadcasters to use appropriate levels with applicable clients. When in doubt, pick WPA. It’s secure enough.

WPA Pre-Shared Key (a.k.a Wi-Fi Password)

WPA Pre-Shared Key—often network key, network password, or just password—is a secret string of text and numbers that allows a client access to the Wi-Fi network. In short, it’s the password you’d need to type in before you can connect a client to a secure Wi-Fi network.

RADIUS

Short for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, RADIUS is a server that provides enterprise-grade authentication instead of a password. When RADIUS is used, a user will use a username and password to connect to a Wi-Fi network, similar to logging in to an email account or a business domain server.

WPS

Short for Wi-Fi Protected Setup, WPS is a quick method to add a client to a broadcaster—via a hardware button or a button within the router’s interface. This method is also often used to link a Wi-Fi broadcaster

to an existing one to form a mesh system.

The idea is that you push the hardware or software WPS button on the router (if available) and, within 120 seconds, push the same button on a client. The two will automatically connect, saving you from having to enter the Wi-Fi password.

WPS makes life easier—especially when you need to add an Internet of Things (IoTs) device, such as a printer, to the network—but has been proven to be a security loophole in specific situations.

For practical and security reasons, the WPS button is not available in all Wi-Fi hardware, but in most home Wi-Fi routers, it’s available as an option within the web user interface or mobile app.

Less common Wi-Fi settings

Many broadcasters lack these settings, and in those that do, the default values are the “safest”—you might want to leave them alone.

Airtime Fairness

This setting, when turned on, improves the performance of fast Wi-Fi clients at the expense of slower ones. Depending on the situation, it might also cause a broadcaster to overwork.

I detailed Airtime Fairness in this post. Generally, I recommend leaving this setting off (default), starting with Wi-Fi 6.

SSID Isolation (a.k.a AP or network Isolation/Isolated)

Isolation makes connected devices unable to talk to one another locally. All they can access is the Internet. By default, isolation is turned off, except for Guest networks where this setting is turned on.

Roaming Assistant (a.k.a Roaming or Handoff or Seamless Handoff)

This setting is similar to the Band Steering above but at the broadcaster level. It’s applicable only to a network that includes multiple broadcasters, such as a mesh Wi-Fi system.

Handoff is called differently between vendors, but the principle is generally the same—it helps a Wi-Fi device pick the best (often the closest) broadcaster to connect to as you move around a large area.

Here’s a detailed post on roaming assistants for those using an Asus AiMesh system. Generally, the default (best) setting for roaming is -70 dBm.

Broadcasting power (a.k.a TX Power, Transmit Power)

Generally, a Wi-Fi band broadcasts at the maximum power allowed by the region—in the US, that’s 30 dBm or 1 watt. This setting allows for adjusting the power to any level below that. Lower levels shorten the range of a broadcaster.

Wi-Fi 7 has the Automated Frequency Coordination feature that allows for higher broadcasting power.

USB Mode (a.k.a Downgrade USB…)

Applicable to a router with a built-in USB 3.0 port. This setting toggles between USB 3.0 mode (default) and USB 2.0. The latter helps improve the performance of the 2.4GHz band.

If you want to use a router’s USB port to host a storage device, USB 3.0 mode is recommended (at the expense of the 2.4GHz band’s performance.)

Other less common Wi-Fi settings

The table below includes less common Wi-Fi settings. In most cases, you should leave them alone.

The takeaway

There you go. This post will come in handy if you want to tinker with your router. These are generally all of the Wi-Fi settings you’d need to know in a home network.

The rule is to back up your router’s settings before messing around.

When you’re at it, remember that the best can indeed be the enemy of the good. Not so sure? Leave the default values alone.