Secure your home router in 15 minutes

Every phone, laptop, smart TV and doorbell in your home reaches the internet through one box: the router. If it is weak, everything behind it is exposed. The good news is that securing it takes about fifteen minutes and no technical background. Grab the router's label and a laptop or phone connected to your Wi-Fi.

1. Log in to the router

The address and default login are usually printed on a sticker on the router, often something like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Many providers also have an app. If you are not sure, our note on modems, routers and access points explains what you are looking at.

2. Change the admin password

This is the password for the router's settings, not your Wi-Fi. If it is still the default, anyone who connects to your network could change your settings. Choose a long, unique password and save it in your password manager. See strong passwords made easy.

3. Update the firmware

Routers get security fixes like phones do. Look for Firmware, Software update or Maintenance, install any update and turn on automatic updates if offered. If your router has not had an update in years, ask your provider for a newer model: an unsupported router is one of the biggest risks in a home.

4. Check the Wi-Fi security

• Use WPA3, or WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode if some older devices cannot connect. Never use WEP or an open network.
• Set a long Wi-Fi password, at least 12 characters, ideally a phrase of several words.
• Rename the network if its name reveals your surname, flat number or router model.

Our Wi-Fi basics note explains what these settings mean.

5. Switch off what you do not use

• WPS (the push-button or PIN connection): convenient, but the PIN version has a long history of weaknesses.
• Remote management from the internet: unless your provider needs it, turn it off.
• UPnP: lets devices open holes in your firewall automatically. Turn it off unless a game console or app stops working without it.

6. Give guests and gadgets their own network

Most routers offer a guest network. Use it for visitors and, if possible, for smart-home gadgets such as plugs, bulbs and cameras. If one of them is ever compromised, it cannot reach your laptop or phone.

7. Look at what is connected

Open the list of connected devices. Do you recognise everything? If not, change the Wi-Fi password, which disconnects everyone, and reconnect only your own devices.

Make it a habit

Put a reminder in your calendar every three months to check for updates and look at the device list. Fifteen minutes four times a year protects everything in your home. For more, read are smart home devices safe?