Router & Mesh Setup Assistant

How to set up a router

Choose the brand on the hardware, then the closest product family. The exact model number is on the label underneath the router. Follow that vendor’s app, or the local admin page when the setup guide lists one. Type the router password only on the vendor’s own page or in the official app.

How to install mesh

Set up the primary unit first. Pair one satellite at a time near the primary, then move it. Place a satellite where it still receives a reliable connection from the primary router, rather than directly inside the weakest coverage area. Confirm each node in the vendor app. The mesh setup checklist covers the shared install steps.

Router mode and access-point mode

Router mode is the usual choice when this device replaces the ISP gateway. Access-point mode is the usual choice when another router already provides the internet. If both the ISP gateway and this system route, devices sit behind two routers. Bridge the ISP gateway or put this system in access-point mode. Change one of those, using the model guide, and leave the other as it is. Either change turns routing off on one of the two devices. This site does not switch the mode.

How to find a default gateway

Use the address on the router label, or the gateway your operating system shows. Windows lists Default Gateway. macOS and iPhone/iPad list Router. Android may list Gateway or Router, and the menu names differ by phone. The assistant shows a brand address only when that address is already in the setup guide. It does not detect your gateway.

How to improve mesh coverage

Move a satellite before you add another node, and keep nodes in the open at about table height. The floor planner’s colors are an estimate, not a measured signal map. After you move a node, measure the room.

• Floor planner
• Placement guide
• Room test
• How to improve Wi-Fi
• Backhaul advisor

Common problems

If a login page will not open, join that router’s Wi-Fi, compare the address with the label, and allow the browser’s local-network prompt. eero and Google Nest Wifi are set up in their apps. If a mesh node will not connect, pair it beside the primary, then move it to a spot that still hears the primary. If Wi-Fi is slow, run a speed test and a room test. If a computer wired to the primary node is already slow, another node will not fix the ISP link. For double NAT, change either the ISP gateway or this system, not both, using the model guide.

• Speed test
• Network health
• DNS timing
• Latency
• Jitter
• Request loss
• Wi-Fi speed test
• Internet troubleshooter
• Mesh troubleshooter