How to Set Up a New Router With Your Modem, Step by Step

Setting up a new router takes about fifteen minutes, and most of it is waiting for lights to settle. The parts that go wrong are predictable: a missing login from the provider, the new router fighting with the old provider box, or every device in the house refusing to reconnect. This guide goes through the setup in the order that avoids those problems.

Before You Start

Find out three things first; they decide how smooth the rest will be.

What kind of box your provider gave you. A plain modem or fiber ONT is the easy case: the new router simply connects to it. A gateway — a modem and a router in one — means you will end up with two routers in a row unless you switch the gateway to bridge mode or turn your new router into an access point. If you are not sure which one you have, see modem vs router vs gateway.

How your provider connects you. Cable and most fiber connections give the router an address automatically, so there is nothing to type. DSL and some fiber providers use PPPoE, which needs a username and password from the provider; look for them in your welcome letter or online account before you start. A few fiber providers also require a VLAN number.

Your current Wi-Fi name and password. If you give the new router exactly the same network name, password and security type, phones, TVs, printers and smart plugs reconnect on their own. Otherwise you will have to reconnect every device by hand.

Step 1: Pick the Spot

Place the router where the signal can reach the rooms you use: high up, in the open and as central as the cables allow, not on the floor, in a cabinet or behind the TV. The router has to sit near the modem only if you connect them with a short cable; a longer Ethernet cable lets you move the router to a better spot. More placement tips are in how to boost your Wi-Fi signal.

Step 2: Connect It to the Modem

1. Turn off the modem and unplug the old router if you are replacing one.
2. Connect an Ethernet cable from the modem’s Ethernet port to the new router’s WAN or Internet port. It is usually set apart from the other ports and often has a different color.
3. Turn on the modem and wait until its lights show a connection, which can take a couple of minutes.
4. Turn on the router and wait for its lights to settle.

Turning the modem off before connecting the new router matters with cable modems in particular: some only hand out the connection to the device they saw first and need a restart to accept a new router.

Step 3: Open the Setup

Most new routers offer two ways to set them up, and either works.

The app. TP-Link, NETGEAR, ASUS, Linksys, eero and others have phone apps that walk you through the setup. Connect your phone to the router’s default Wi-Fi network — its name and password are printed on the label — and follow the app.

The browser. Connect a computer to the router with a cable or to its default Wi-Fi network, then open the address from the label in a browser, for example 192.168.0.1 or a name like tplinkwifi.net. If the label is missing, find your router’s IP address on your computer. New routers usually start a setup wizard automatically and ask you to create an admin password; older models use a default login listed in our default router logins.

Step 4: Set the Internet Connection Type

The wizard asks how the router should connect to the internet. The usual choices are:

• Dynamic IP (also called DHCP or Automatic) — for cable and most fiber connections. Nothing else to enter.
• PPPoE — enter the username and password from your provider.
• Static IP — only if your provider gave you a fixed address with its settings.

Many wizards detect the type themselves. If you are unsure, start with Dynamic IP; if the router reports no internet afterwards and your provider uses DSL, switch to PPPoE.

Step 5: Name the Wi-Fi and Set a Password

If you are replacing a router, enter the old network name and password exactly, including capital letters, so your devices reconnect without your help. If you are starting fresh, pick a name that does not reveal your address or family name and a long password; our Wi-Fi password generator creates one, including an easy-to-type variant for TVs.

For security, choose WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode or WPA3 if all your devices support it; leave out WEP and open networks. Some routers ask whether to combine 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz under one name. A single name is convenient; separate names help when an older device misbehaves. 2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz explains the difference.

Step 6: Secure and Update the Router

Set a strong admin password. The admin password protects the settings page; it is separate from the Wi-Fi password. If the router still uses a default login, change the router admin password now.

Update the firmware. A router can sit in a warehouse for months, and its first firmware is rarely the latest. Many setup apps offer the update at the end; otherwise follow how to update router firmware.

Review a few defaults. Remote management from the internet should be off unless you really need it. WPS, the push-button pairing feature, is convenient but has had security weaknesses; turn it off if you do not use it. If guests visit often, a guest network keeps their devices away from yours.

If It Does Not Work

The router says there is no internet. Restart the modem, wait for its lights, then restart the router. Check that the cable goes into the router’s WAN or Internet port, not one of the LAN ports. If your provider uses PPPoE, recheck the username and password. Some cable providers also tie the service to the first device the modem saw, so a call to the provider may be needed after a router change.

Some things work, port forwarding and games do not. If the provider’s box is a gateway, you probably have double NAT. Put the gateway in bridge mode, or the new router in access point mode; how to port forward shows how to check.

A device will not reconnect. On that device, forget the old network and join again with the new password. Very old devices may not support WPA3; mixed WPA2/WPA3 mode keeps them working.

You cannot open the settings page. Make sure you are connected to the new router, not to the old one or the gateway, and that the address matches the router’s gateway address on your device.