Preliminary operation
Before explaining how to proceed in order to configure the modem, it is a good idea to check that the device in your possession is correctly connected to the telephone socket and to the computer and that it is switched on.
To do this, make sure that the telephone cable is plugged into the wall socket and into the appropriate input attached to the modem, that the appropriate light is on on the device (it is usually colored green o yellow) in correspondence with the icon indicating the power supply (and if not, press the relative power button) and that the Ethernet cable has been inserted into one of the numbered ports of the modem and into the LAN port of the computer.
If the modem is wireless, check instead that your computer is connected to the Wi-Fi network generated by the device. To do this, make sure that the Wifi connection is present next to theclock in the dedicated area of the PC or Mac system tray.
Access to the control panel
Once the operations have been carried out, turn on the above, positioning in front of the computer and start your favorite Web browser or the one you generally use to surf the Internet. Then connect to the IP address of the modem by typing it in the address bar and then pressing the button Submit on the keyboard.
Usually the modem's IP address is 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. To find out the exact IP address of the modem, try looking at the back of the device, a label should be attached to it. Otherwise, the IP address may be written on the modem user manual included in the sales package.
If the IP address of the modem is not indicated either on a possible label stuck on the device or on the user manual, you can locate it directly from the computer by following the steps indicated below.
- If you are using Windows, you can know the IP address to access the modem control panel by typing cmd in the search field accessible by clicking on the button Home on the taskbar or in the appropriate field accessible from the top right of the Start Screen. Afterward, press Submit to start the program that has been selected automatically. In the window that will open at this point, type the command ipconfig and then press the button Submit on your PC keyboard to get the complete list of addresses related to your connection. You will find the IP address of the modem next to the entry Default gateway.
- If you are using macOS, you can know the IP address through which to be able to access the modem management panel by clicking on the icon System preference (you can find the icon on the Dock, in the folder Applications or you can access it using the Launchpad) and then pressing on the item Network. In the window that will be shown to you at this point, select the name of the connection in use and click on the button Go ahead ... which is located at the bottom right. Then clicking on the tab TCP / IP you will find the address you need to connect to indicated next to the wording Router.
You will be prompted to enter a username and password to access the modem control panel. Usually the combination to use is admin/admin o admin/Password but sometimes you have to use other settings. If so, you can take a further look at the modem user manual to find out the right combination to use. If you have difficulty identifying your modem username and password, you can consult my tutorial on how to find the modem and router password.
Configuration
Once logged in to the modem control panel, the initial configuration procedure of the device for your Internet connection should start automatically. However, please note that for some modem models this does not happen. If the automatic configuration procedure does not start by itself, then try to locate the button to start it, for example Configure, Setup o Wizard, and click on it.
At this point, the process to configure modemr it is usually very simple. Just set a new password to access the latter (if required) and set all the parameters relating to your connection.
In most cases, the procedure for configuring the modem is able to automatically identify the necessary parameters to be able to surf the Internet using the connectivity service made available by your telephone company. If this is not the case, proceed by selecting PPPoe / LLC or PPPoA / VC-Mux as a type of connessione, 8 e 35 or, in some cases, 36 eat value VPI and VCI and - only if necessary - enter the username and password to access the connection.
To make sure that everything went well, check that the modem configuration panel indicates that an Internet connection has been established and that the lights on the modem are on and colored green.
If at the end of the wizard your modem does not connect correctly to the Internet (remember that sometimes it takes several minutes for all the lights to become greens), try to change from PPPoe / LLC a PPPoA / VC-Mux (or vice versa) and / or contact your provider's customer service to find out which exact parameters to use.
Subscription registration and services
Some operators, after having configured a new modem, require the execution of a simple procedure for registering the Internet subscription in place. To do this, open a new tab of your favorite Web browser and wait a few moments for the appropriate page for registering your subscription and associated services to appear. If this page does not appear automatically, try reloading the current browser tab by clicking on the appropriate button in the shape of arrow placed at the top.
Now follow the online wizard that is shown on the screen by typing in all the data requested (e.g. the number of the telephone line on which the subscription has been activated, your e-mail address, your social security number, etc. ). He then accepts the conditions of the contract.
In some cases, after doing this you will need to temporarily disconnect from the internet. To do this, just turn the modem off and on again. Then wait for all the lights on the device to be colored again green after which you can finally start surfing online with your modem just configured the line in use.
Afterward, try typing www.configurehow.com in the address bar of your favorite browser. If everything went well, my site will be loaded correctly confirming that the procedure by which to configure the modem is actually successful.
Other settings
Now that you have finally done all the basic configuration steps for your modem and now that you have managed to establish an Internet connection, you can move on to step two with the slightly more advanced settings. Nothing complicated, do not worry.
Earlier I told you that modem configuration panels are commonly accessed using the combination admin/admin, this is a good reason to change this setting and use custom authentication data.
To do this, go to the section Safety, Maintenance o Administration of the modem, locate the form to change the user name and password to access the device panel (not to be confused with the password for the Wi-Fi connection, which is another thing), fill in the latter with data not easily identifiable and click on the button to save the settings. For more details, check out my guide on how to change modem passwords.
Other settings that I suggest you change in your modem are those relating to firewalls and the ports to be opened in the latter to use eMule, uTorrent and other P2P programs.
For example, if you are using a modem Netgear with interface Genie you can change the firewall settings simply by going to the section Advancedby clicking on the item Protection placed on the left side, then pressing on Firewall rules e clicking on your button + Add, to use one of the available presets, or on the button + Add personalized service, to set up a new custom service first. For more information, feel free to consult my guide on how to open router ports.
In the most modern Wi-Fi modems, the security key for the wireless network must also be configured. In order to prevent unauthorized third parties from happening to your Wi-Fi network and exploiting the Internet connection without your knowledge, I therefore recommend that you use a type key WPA2 / AES very long and that does not make any sense. If you want to learn more, see my guide on how to set wireless network passwords.
After making all the changes, don't forget to click the button Apply, Save o Save Changes to save the new settings in the modem control panel. Note that in some cases the modem may restart automatically.
Finally, I also point out that you can view the statistics relating to your connection in the section at any time State control panel of the modem and that you can reset the device by pressing with the tip of a pen or with a paper clip the appropriate button located on the back or on the side of the same and continuing to hold down for about ten seconds, practically until you see the modem lights go out and / or start flashing.
How to configure modem