Manage Wi-Fi on your Home Hub 3000

To access the settings for your primary Wi-Fi network:

1. Open your web browser.
2. Enter bell.ca/homehub (or 192.168.2.1) in the address bar.
3. Click on the Manage my Wi-Fi tile.
4. Enter your administrator password. Unless you have changed it, the default password is “admin”.

On the Wi-Fi settings page, you can edit the following:

Turning on your Wi-Fi network

Turn your primary or guest Wi-Fi networks on or off using the toggle button next to their respective sections.

Network name (SSID) and password

The network name (SSID) is used to identify (or name) your network. When connecting with a device, you will see this name in the list of available Wi-Fi networks. Once your network is selected, you will need to enter its password from the device.

A network name and password are already provided and you will find them on a sticker on the back of the modem. You can also create your own to more easily identify your network.

IMPORTANT: When changing the network name or password, existing Wi-Fi devices will no longer find your network. Each device will need to reconnect to your network using the new settings.

1. Open your web browser.
2. Enter bell.ca/homehub (or 192.168.2.1) in the address bar.
3. Click on the Manage my Wi-Fi tile.

• Keep a common network name (SSID) and password for both 2.4 and 5.0 GHz bands. This feature simplifies your Wi-Fi experience by using the same name for your Wi-Fi networks. This allows Wi-Fi devices such as a tablet or a laptop to automatically select the most appropriate band.
  • Checked (recommended): Use a common network name (SSID) and password for both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz.
  • Unchecked: Configure two unique network names (SSID) and passwords so that you can distinguish the two bands (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) and decide which one to connect to.
• Your Wi-Fi network is available in both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Which is better?

IMPORTANT: When changing the network name (SSID) or password, you will need to reconfigure all wireless devices connecting to your home network with the new settings.

• Network name (SSID): Identifies your Wi-Fi network.
  • The network name (SSID) is used to identify (name) your network. When attempting to connect with a device, you will see this name in the list of available Wi-Fi networks.
  • A network name (SSID) and password (WPA2 key) is already provided and you will find them on a sticker on the back of the modem. You can also create your own to more easily identify your network.
• Broadcast SSID: Displays your network name (SSID) so wireless devices can detect your Wi-Fi network.
• Password: Allows you to connect to the Wi-Fi network.
• Security mode: Encryption type used. Devices will need to use the same encryption type to connect to your Wi-Fi network.
• Interface type: 802.11 standards (b, g, n, ac).
• Channel: Broadcast channel.
• Transmit power: Power level of the antennas used to transmit the Wi-Fi signal.

Your primary Wi-Fi network supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz wireless bands. These are frequencies at which your modem transmits its Wi-Fi signal. Your Home Hub 3000 can transmit both at the same time to optimize your Wi-Fi performance or you can choose to use only one or the other.

Advantages

• Superior reach (Wi-Fi distance).
  • The higher the frequency, the shorter the range. Therefore, 2.4 GHz has a longer Wi-Fi reach (distance) over 5.0 GHz. The reach of both 5.0 GHz and 2.4 GHz should be sufficient to cover the area of a typical home.

Disadvantage

• Greater chance of interference which will affect Wi-Fi performance.
  • Many wireless products in the market (cordless phones, baby monitors, etc.) today use 2.4 GHz and as a result you are more likely to pick up interference from these devices.
  • High interference can cause slow speeds when connected wirelessly and can also cause frequent disconnects.

Advantages

• Less likely to become congested.
  • Less vulnerable to wireless interference as opposed to 2.4 GHz.
• Higher throughput (data transfer rate) than 2.4 GHz.

Disadvantage

• Shorter Wi-Fi reach (distance), but that may not be an issue in a typical home.

Recommendation: Set both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz to On and let the connecting device (such as a laptop) automatically manage which band to connect to based on signal strength.

You have two options to connect to the Wi-Fi network:

• Connect using WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). This method does not require you to share your password with anyone.
  • WPS will only connect a device to the primary Wi-Fi network.
• Manually enter your Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password in the connecting device.
  • Select the network name (SSID) of the network you wish to connect to. It can be a primary or guest Wi-Fi network.
  • Enter the password for the network.

1. Press the WPS button on your modem or the virtual button within the modem management pages. Both buttons are represented by the following WPS symbol:
2. You have two minutes to press the WPS button on the device you are trying to connect.

Note: The timer on the WPS management page will indicate how much time is remaining. After the two minutes has expired, you will need to press the WPS button again on your modem.

Security mode allows you to select the encryption type and authentication mechanism for your connections. Choose from the available options in the drop-down menu.

Recommended: We recommend WPA2-PSK (AES) to protect your Wi-Fi network.

• No security: Setting the security mode to No security leaves your Wi-Fi network open. Any device within range will be able to connect and you leave yourself vulnerable to attacks. This is not recommended.
• WPA2-PSK (AES): WPA2 is the newer and stronger security standard.
  • It is our recommended security setting
  • Enables you to get the optimal performance of the 802.11 n and ac interface types
  • Use a word or phrase (no spaces) as a password, between 8 to 26 characters
• WPA-PSK (TKIP): The initial version of WPA, it is more secure than the older WEP protocol. You can create your own password instead of using random letters and numbers like WEP does.
  • Use only if your devices do not support the newer WPA2 protocol
  • May only operate at slower speed since it is not compliant with the N or AC interface types
  • Use a word or phrase (no spaces) as a password, between 8 to 26 characters
• WEP: Provides some security but is not as secure as WPA or WPA2.
  • 64-bit: password consists of 10 random hexadecimal characters (0-9, A-F)
  • 128 bit: password consists of 26 random hexadecimal characters (0-9, A-F)

Note: With Windows XP SP2 or lower, WEP may be the only available option due to system requirements.

Note: Devices connecting wirelessly must use the same encryption type.