Guest networks are an often underutilized feature of routers, and here's why you should consider activating a guest network today Here are 5 Reasons to Enable the Guest Network on Your Wi-Fi Router.
What is a guest network?
The term "guest network" may seem a bit vague at first, but it's important to clarify its meaning. The concept of a "guest network" can vary significantly from one router to another. At its core, a guest network provides a separate SSID for guests to connect to your home network. While some routers lack guest mode due to hardware or firmware limitations, most modern routers, even budget-friendly models, offer some form of guest mode.
The functionality of this guest mode can range from a basic setup where guests simply connect to a different SSID with a unique IP address to more advanced options. In advanced configurations, you can apply features like parental controls, scheduling, and various network configuration settings to enhance the guest network experience.
Here's Why You Should Enable Your Router's Guest Network
Should I enable Guest Network?
There are a variety of reasons to take advantage of the capacity of your router's guest network, below you'll find what we believe are the most compelling reasons to run a guest network and get more out of your router, and when operating a guest network be sure to follow best practices to make sure it's secure.
1-You can effortlessly modify your guest network password
People hate changing their Wi-Fi passwords, changing the password again was probably not a big deal when we had a few devices in our homes but changing the password now means updating a whole amount of things and if you're the one running the technology in your home It means everyone is knocking on your door to tell you their tablet can't connect to Wi-Fi anymore, the greatest thing about a guest network is that you can give your guests a password and then change it as often as you like leaving the basic SSID password as it is, and guests can Get a new password when they visit and you can leave your main network alone.
2- Guest networks isolate guests from your network
For the most part I'm sure not many of us are really concerned that the guests in our homes are elite intruders trying to infiltrate our home network, and after all if I'm willing to invite you to dinner I'm probably not suspicious of you, but from a point of view In view of security the best practice is to never give anyone (or their devices) access to things they don't need access to, and there is no reason for a guest in your home to have full access to your home network just to scroll through Instagram in your yard or use the connection via Wi-Fi on their phones, and in the end there is usually no reason for your guests to be on the same network as a file server, security cameras, smart home equipment, or access to your stuff.
3- Guest networks can protect you from liability
If your router supports fine-tuning the guest network experience to apply parental restrictions and controls it could be a great way to protect yourself from liability, what kind of liability? The kind of responsibility that comes from people on your network running apps or services that get legal notices or unwanted attention, and of using the settings on your router to disable access to peer-to-peer file-sharing services ( P2P) and so you can be sure that you don't end up getting a letter from your ISP asking why (but in fact your visiting nephew) was sharing copies of the latest Marvel movies, and again you might not think any of your guests would launch a program BitTorrent or a similar client is on your network without asking but in some cases people don't even know, and millions of people have used Popcorn Time for example without the slightest evidence that they are actually using a media player with a built-in BitTorrent client.
4- You can isolate Smart Gear devices from your home network
Smart home devices, often referred to as IoT (Internet of Things) gear, can be quite challenging from both a security and networking perspective. There's a proliferation of white-label and unbranded smart home products available, including items like smart plugs and Wi-Fi light switches. Unfortunately, with many of these products, security can become a concern. They may cease receiving essential security updates and support, or they could potentially be vulnerable to physical hacking.
Are guest networks safe?
This underscores the importance of placing such devices on a separate guest network. This network would allow them to access the internet and perform their intended functions while preventing direct communication with your primary devices, such as computers or home file servers. However, it's worth noting that this approach can sometimes lead to additional complications. Occasionally, isolating a piece of smart home equipment on a separate LAN may disrupt the functionality of the control app or even the device itself, requiring it to be reintegrated into your primary network.
5- You can enable and disable your guest network at any time
Disabling Wi-Fi completely is often the initial step. We have numerous devices, and cutting off internet access to all of them is a drastic approach when trying to restrict access for a particular set of devices or users. However, by utilizing a guest network, you can accomplish this task seamlessly without impacting your main devices or users. For instance, do you wish to deactivate internet access on your nephews' tablets at night's end?
Can I create a guest network?
Do you just want a bunch of your smart devices to access the internet every now and then for updates? While you can accomplish these things with more complex networking tricks and tools grouping them together on a guest network makes it easy to swap out universal access, so whether you want to keep smart home products of questionable pedigree isolated or offer a secure way for your guests to surf the web, offering a guest network to do So that's a great idea.
These are the best features of the guest network on your router. We hope you benefit from them.
