TL-WR840N V6.2 User Guide

Chapter 6 Configure the Router in Access Point Mode

This chapter presents how to configure the various features of the router working as an access point.

It contains the following sections:

Status

Operation Mode

Network

Wireless

DHCP

System Tools

Logout

1. Status

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Status. You can view the current status information of the router.

Firmware Version - The version information of the router’s firmware.

Hardware Version - The version information of the router’s hardware.

LAN - This field displays the current settings of the LAN, and you can configure them on the Network > LAN page.

MAC address - The physical address of the router.

IP address - The LAN IP address of the router.

Subnet Mask - The subnet mask associated with the LAN IP address.

Wireless - This field displays the basic information or status of the wireless function, and you can configure them on the Wireless > Basic Settings page.

Operation Mode - The current wireless working mode in use.

Wireless Radio - Indicates whether the wireless radio feature of the router is enabled or disabled.

Name(SSID) - The SSID of the router.

Mode - The current wireless mode which the router works on.

Channel - The current wireless channel in use.

Channel Width - The current wireless channel width in use.

MAC Address - The physical address of the router.

System Up Time - The length of the time since the router was last powered on or reset.

Click Refresh to get the latest status and settings of the router.

2. Operation Mode

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Operation Mode.

3.Select the working mode as needed and click Save.

3. Network

3.1. LAN

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Network > LAN.

3.Configure the IP parameters of the LAN and click Save.

Type - Either select Smart IP(DHCP) to get IP address from DHCP server, or Static IP to configure IP address manually.

MAC Address - The physical address of the LAN ports. The value can not be changed.

IP Address - Enter the IP address in dotted-decimal notation if your select Static IP (factory default - 192.168.0.1).

Subnet Mask - An address code that determines the size of the network. Normally 255.255.255.0 is used as the subnet mask.

Note:

If you have changed the IP address, you must use the new IP address to login.

If you select Smart IP(DHCP), the DHCP server of the router will not start up.

If the new IP address you set is not in the same subnet as the old one, the IP Address pool in the DHCP Server will be configured.

4. Wireless

4.1. Basic Settings

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Basic Settings.

3.Configure the basic settings for the wireless network and click Save.

Wireless - Enable or disable wireless network.

Wireless Network Name - Enter a value of up to 32 characters. The same Name (SSID) must be assigned to all wireless devices in your network.

Mode - You can choose the appropriate “Mixed” mode.

Channel - This field determines which operating frequency will be used. The default channel is set to Auto. It is not necessary to change the wireless channel unless you notice interference problems with another nearby access point.

Channel Width - This field determines which operating frequency will be used. It is not necessary to change the wireless channel unless you notice interference problems with another nearby access point. If you select auto, then AP will choose the best channel automatically.

Enable SSID Broadcast - If enabled, the router will broadcast the wireless network name (SSID).

4.2. WPS

WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) can help you to quickly and securely connect to a network. This section will guide you to add a new wireless device to your router’s network quickly via WPS.

Note:

The WPS function cannot be configured if the wireless function of the router is disabled. Please make sure the wireless function is enabled before configuration.

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > WPS.

3.Follow one of the following three methods to connect your client device to the router’s Wi-Fi network.

Method ONE: Press the WPS Button on Your Client Device

1.Keep the WPS Status as Enabled and click Add Device.

2.Select Press the WPS button of the new device within the next two minutes and click Connect.

3.Within two minutes, press the WPS button on your client device.

4.A success message will appear on the WPS page if the client device has been successfully added to the router’s network.

Method TWO: Enter the Client’s PIN

1.Keep the WPS Status as Enabled and click Add Device.

2.Select Enter new device PIN, enter your client device’s current PIN in the PIN filed and click Connect.

3.A success message will appear on the WPS page if the client device has been successfully added to the router’s network.

Method Three: Enter the Router’s PIN

1.Keep the WPS Status as Enabled and get the Current PIN of the router.

2.Enter the router’s current PIN on your client device to join the router’s Wi-Fi network.

4.3. Wireless Security

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Wireless Security.

3.Configure the security settings of your wireless network and click Save.

Disable Wireless Security - The wireless security function can be enabled or disabled. If disabled, wireless clients can connect to the router without a password. It’s strongly recommended to choose one of the following modes to enable security.

WPA-PSK/WPA2-Personal - It’s the WPA/WPA2 authentication type based on pre-shared passphrase.

Authentication Type - Select Auto, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK.

Encryption - Select Auto, TKIP or AES.

Wireless Password - Enter ASCII or Hexadecimal characters. For Hexadecimal, the length should be between 8 and 64 characters; for ASCII, the length should be between 8 and 63 characters.

Group Key Update Period - Specify the group key update interval in seconds. The value can be 0 or at least 30. Enter 0 to disable the update.

WPA /WPA2-Enterprise - It’s based on Radius Server.

Authentication Type - Select Auto, WPA or WPA2.

Encryption - Select Auto, TKIP or AES.

Radius Server IP - Enter the IP address of the Radius server.

Radius Server Port - Enter the port that Radius server used.

Radius Server Password - Enter the password for the Radius server.

Group Key Update Period - Specify the group key update interval in seconds. The value should be 30 or above. Enter 0 to disable the update.

WEP - It is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Authentication Type - The default setting is Auto, which can select Shared Key or Open System authentication type automatically based on the wireless client’s capability and request.

WEP Key Format - Hexadecimal and ASCII formats are provided here. Hexadecimal format stands for any combination of hexadecimal digits (0-9, a-f, A-F) in the specified length. ASCII format stands for any combination of keyboard characters in the specified length.

WEP Key (Password) - Select which of the four keys will be used and enter the matching WEP key. Make sure these values are identical on all wireless clients in your network.

Key Type - Select the WEP key length (64-bit, 128-bit or 152-bit) for encryption. Disabled means this WEP key entry is invalid.

64-bit - Enter 10 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f and A-F. Null key is not permitted) or 5 ASCII characters.

128-bit - Enter 26 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f and A-F. Null key is not permitted) or 13 ASCII characters.

4.4. Wireless MAC Filtering

Wireless MAC Filtering is used to deny or allow specific wireless client devices to access your network by their MAC addresses.

I want to:

Deny or allow specific wireless client devices to access my network by their MAC addresses.

For example, you want the wireless client A with the MAC address 00-0A-EB-B0-00-0B and the wireless client B with the MAC address 00-0A-EB-00-07-5F to access the router, but other wireless clients cannot access the router.

How can I do that?

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Wireless MAC Filtering.

3.Click Enable to enable the Wireless MAC Filtering function.

4.Select Allow the stations specified by any enabled entries in the list to access as the filtering rule.

5.Delete all or disable all entries if there are any entries already.

6.Click Add New and fill in the blank.

1 )Enter the MAC address 00-0A-EB-B0-00-0B / 00-0A-EB-00-07-5F in the MAC Address field.

2 )Enter wireless client A/B in the Description field.

3 )Select Enabled in the Status drop-down list.

4 )Click Save and click Back.

7.The configured filtering rules should be listed as the picture shows below.

Done!

Now only client A and client B can access your network.

4.5. Wireless Advanced

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Wireless Advanced.

3.Configure the advanced settings of your wireless network and click Save.

Note:

If you are not familiar with the setting items on this page, it’s strongly recommended to keep the provided default values; otherwise it may result in lower wireless network performance.

Transmit Power - Select High, Middle or Low which you would like to specify for the router. High is the default setting and recommended.

Beacon Interval - Enter a value between 40-1000 milliseconds for Beacon Interval here. Beacon Interval value determines the time interval of the beacons. The beacons are the packets sent by the router to synchronize a wireless network. The default value is 100.

RTS Threshold - Here you can specify the RTS (Request to Send) Threshold. If the packet is larger than the specified RTS Threshold size, the router will send RTS frames to a particular receiving station and negotiate the sending of a data frame. The default value is 2346.

Fragmentation Threshold - This value is the maximum size determining whether packets will be fragmented. Setting a low value for the Fragmentation Threshold may result in poor network performance because of excessive packets. 2346 is the default setting and is recommended.

DTIM Interval - This value determines the interval of the Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM). A DTIM field is a countdown field informing clients of the next window for listening to broadcast and multicast messages. When the router has buffered broadcast or multicast messages for associated clients, it sends the next DTIM with a DTIM Interval value. You can specify the value between 1-255 Beacon Intervals. The default value is 1, which indicates the DTIM Interval is the same as Beacon Interval.

Enable Short GI - It is recommended to enable this function, for it will increase the data capacity by reducing the guard interval time.

Enable Client Isolation - This function isolates all connected wireless stations so that wireless stations cannot access each other through WLAN. This function will be disabled if WDS/Bridge is enabled.

Enable WMM - WMM function can guarantee the packets with high-priority messages being transmitted preferentially. It is strongly recommended to enable this function.

4.6. Wireless Statistics

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Wireless Statistics to check the data packets sent and received by each client device connected to the router.

MAC Address - The MAC address of the connected wireless client.

Current Status - The running status of the connected wireless client.

Received Packets - Packets received by the wireless client.

Sent Packets - Packets sent by the wireless client.

SSID - SSID that the station associates with.

4.7. Throughput Monitor

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to Wireless > Throughput Monitor to view the wireless throughput information.

Rate - The Throughput unit.

Run Time - How long this function is running.

Transmit - Wireless transmit rate information.

Receive - Wireless receive rate information.

Click Start/Stop to start or stop wireless throughput monitor.

5. DHCP

By default, the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Server is enabled and the router acts as a DHCP server; it dynamically assigns TCP/IP parameters to client devices from the IP Address Pool. You can change the settings of DHCP Server if necessary, and you can reserve LAN IP addresses for specified client devices.

5.1. DHCP Settings

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to DHCP > DHCP Settings.

3.Specify DHCP server settings and click Save.

DHCP Server - Enable or disable the DHCP server. If disabled, you must have another DHCP server within your network or else you must configure the computer manually.

Start IP Address - Specify an IP address for the DHCP Server to start with when assigning IP addresses. 192.168.0.100 is the default start address.

End IP Address - Specify an IP address for the DHCP Server to end with when assigning IP addresses. 192.168.0.199 is the default end address.

Address Lease Time - The Address Lease Time is the amount of time a network user will be allowed to connect to the router with the current dynamic IP Address. When time is up, the user will be automatically assigned a new dynamic IP address. The range of the time is 1 ~ 2880 minutes. The default value is 120.

Default Gateway (Optional) - It is suggested to input the IP address of the LAN port of the router. The default value is 192.168.0.1.

Default Domain (Optional) - Input the domain name of your network.

DNS Server (Optional) - Input the DNS IP address provided by your ISP.

Secondary DNS Server (Optional) - Input the IP address of another DNS server if your ISP provides two DNS servers.

Note:

To use the DHCP server function of the router, you must configure all computers on the LAN as Obtain an IP Address automatically.

When you choose Smart IP(DHCP) in Network > LAN, the DHCP Server function will be disabled. You will see the page as below.

5.2. DHCP Clients List

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to DHCP > DHCP Clients List to view the information of the clients connected to the router.

Client Name - The name of the DHCP client.

MAC Address - The MAC address of the DHCP client.

Assigned IP - The IP address that the outer has allocated to the DHCP client.

Lease Time - The time of the DHCP client leased. After the dynamic IP address has expired, a new dynamic IP address will be automatically assigned to the user.

You cannot change any of the values on this page. To update this page and show the current attached devices, click Refresh.

5.3. Address Reservation

You can reserve an IP address for a specific client. When you specify a reserved IP address for a PC on the LAN, this PC will always receive the same IP address each time when it accesses the DHCP server.

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to DHCP > Address Reservation.

3.Click Add New and fill in the blanks.

1 )Enter the MAC address (in XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX format) of the client for which you want to reserve an IP address.

2 )Enter the IP address (in dotted-decimal notation) which you want to reserve for the client.

3 )Leave the Status as Enabled.

4 )Click Save.

6. System Tools

6.1. Diagnostic

Diagnostic is used to test the connectivity between the router and the host or other network devices.

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > Diagnostic.

Diagnostic Tool - Select one diagnostic tool.

Ping - This diagnostic tool troubleshoots connectivity, reachability, and name resolution to a given host or gateway.

Tracerouter - This diagnostic tool tests the performance of a connection.

Note:

You can use ping/traceroute to test both numeric IP address or domain name. If pinging/tracerouting the IP address is successful, but pinging/tracerouting the domain name is not, you might have a name resolution problem. In this case, ensure that the domain name you are specifying can be resolved by using Domain Name System (DNS) queries.

IP Address/Domain Name - Enter the destination IP address (such as 192.168.0.1) or Domain name (such as www.tp-link.com).

Pings Count - The number of Ping packets for a Ping connection.

Ping Packet Size - The size of Ping packet.

Ping Timeout - Set the waiting time for the reply of each Ping packet. If there is no reply in the specified time, the connection is overtime.

Traceroute Max TTL - The max number of hops for a Traceroute connection.

3.Click Start to check the connectivity of the internet.

4.The Diagnostic Results page displays the diagnosis result. If the result is similar to the following figure, the connectivity of the internet is fine.

6.2. Firmware Upgrade

TP-Link is dedicated to improving and richening the product features, giving users a better network experience. We will release the latest firmware at TP-Link official website
www.tp-link.com. You can download the lastest firmware file from the Support page of our website and upgrade the firmware to the latest version.

1.Download the latest firmware file for the router from our website www.tp-link.com.

2.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

3.Go to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade.

4.Click Choose File to locate the downloaded firmware file, and click Upgrade.

6.3. Factory Defaults

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > Factory Defaults. Click Restore to reset all settings to the default values.

Default Username: admin

Default Password: admin

Default IP Address: 192.168.0.1

Default Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

6.4. Backup & Restore

The configuration settings are stored as a configuration file in the router. You can backup the configuration file in your computer for future use and restore the router to the previous settings from the backup file when needed.

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > Backup & Restore.

To backup configuration settings:

Click Backup to save a copy of the current settings in your local computer. A “.bin“ file of the current settings will be stored in your computer.

To restore configuration settings:

1.Click Choose File to locate the backup configuration file stored in your computer, and click Restore.

2.Wait a few minutes for the restoring and rebooting.

Note:

During the restoring process, do not power off or reset the router.

6.5. Reboot

Some settings of the router will take effect only after rebooting, including:

Change the LAN IP Address (system will reboot automatically).

Change the DHCP Settings.

Change the Working Modes.

Change the Web Management Port.

Upgrade the firmware of the router (system will reboot automatically).

Restore the router to its factory defaults (system will reboot automatically).

Update the configuration with the file (system will reboot automatically).

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > Reboot, and you can restart your router.

To reboot the router manually:

Click Reboot, and wait a few minutes for the router to rebooting.

To set the router reboot every a couple of hours:

1.Select Timeout from the Auto Reboot Time drop-down list.

2.Specify a time interval. The router will reboot automatically after every this interval.

3.Click Save.

To schedule the router to reboot at a specific time:

1.Select Schedule from the Auto Reboot Time drop-down list.

2.Specify the Day(s) and Time for the router to reboot.

3.Click Save.

6.6. Password

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > Password, and you can change the factory default username and password of the router.

It is strongly recommended that you change the default username and password of the router, for all users that try to access the router’s web-based utility or Quick Setup will be prompted for the router’s username and password.

Note:

The new username and password must not exceed 15 characters and not include any spacing.

3.Click Save.

6.7. System Log

1.Visit http://tplinkwifi.net, and log in with the username and password you set for the router.

2.Go to System Tools > System Log, and you can view the logs of the router.

Loge Type -By selecting the log type, only logs of this type will be shown.

Log Level - By selecting the log level, only logs of this level will be shown.

Refresh - Refresh the page to show the latest log list.

Clear Log - All the logs will be deleted from the router permanently, not just from the page.

7. Logout

Click Logout at the bottom of the main menu, and you will log out of the web management page and return to the login window.

 
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