Guest Wi-Fi network

A guest network is treated as a feature “for guests” and therefore rarely switched on. In reality its main value is not guests at all: it separates your work computer from a dozen devices nobody has ever updated.

What to move there

• Smart devices. Plugs, bulbs, the robot vacuum, the television, the speaker. They get rare updates and have weak protection — why that matters.
• Visitors' devices. A guest password costs nothing to share and nothing to change.
• Anything you do not control. A child's console, an old tablet, equipment somebody lent you.

The main network keeps the work computer, the family's phones, the network drive and the printer — the things that should see each other.

Ten-minute setup

1. Enable the guest network on the router

   The control panel is usually at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. The section is called “Guest network”.

2. Give it its own name and password

   Better not the same name as the main one with “guest” appended — that is easy to confuse. Take the password from the Wi-Fi key generator: long, but without symbols old devices reject.

3. Check the isolation

   The step people skip. There should be a checkbox along the lines of “isolate from the local network” or “block access to local resources”. Without it a guest network differs from the main one only by name.

4. Move the smart devices over

   Each has to be reconnected — the longest part. Do them one at a time, starting with those furthest from the router.

5. Make a QR code for guests

   So you do not have to read the password aloud: the connection code is built in the browser and sent nowhere.

Why this beats a complex password

Password length protects against guessing from outside. Separating networks protects against what is already inside. Different problems, and only the second solves the second one.

The other router settings worth checking at the same time are covered in home network security.