This guide looks at exploring the modem Wi-Fi setup for the Netcomm NF4V modem. We have also presented an audio version of the instructions to assist you in your Wi-Fi Setup below. 

Wi-Fi Setup

• How to setup my Wi-Fi and change my Wi-Fi password?
  1. Firstly, connect your modem to your computer using an Ethernet cable as shown below. The Ethernet cable will go from one of the yellow LAN ports of the modem to the ethernet plug on your computer.

  

  2. Open your web browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) and type in the address bar 192.168.1.1, then press ‘Enter’ on your keyboard.

  

  3. A box will appear requesting a Username and Password. Try the details below:

  1. Username: admin
  2. Password: last 6 characters of MAC address (this information is located on the bottom of your modem)

  4. Once logged in click ‘Wireless'on the left.

  

  5. Ensure ‘Enable Wireless’ is ticked and enter your preferred Wi-Fi network name in the ‘SSID’ field. Click ‘Apply/Save’ to save your changes.

  

  6. Choose ‘Security’ under the ‘Wireless’ section. Select Network Authentication type as ‘WPA2-PSK’ and enter your desired Wi-Fi password in the WPA/WAPI passphrase section. Ensure your password is secure and at least 8 characters long. Click ‘Apply/Save’ to finish your Wi-Fi setup.

  

• Step by step video tutorial

Connecting your Android to your wireless network for the first time is a straightforward process.

Step-by-step guide

1. From your Home screen, open Apps and then Settings.
   
2. Under Wireless and Networks, make sure Wi-Fi is turned on. Then press Wi-Fi.
   
   
   
   
3. You may have to wait a moment as your Android device detects wireless networks in your area, and displays them in a list. To rescan for available networks at any time, select Scan.
   
   
4. Press the name of your network, and enter the password when requested.
   
   
5. Press Connect.
   
   

If you need further assistance, please speak with the supplier of your android device.

Connecting your iPhone to your wireless network for the first time is a straightforward process.

Step-by-step guide

1. From your Home screen, open Settings and then Wi-Fi.
    
2. Turn on Wi-Fi. Your device will then automatically search for any of the available Wi-Fi networks in your area.
   
3. Press the name of your network, and enter the password when requested.
   
   
4. Underneath the Wi-Fi heading on the right of the screen, you should see your wireless network with a blue tick. This means that you're connected!
   
   

If you need further assistance, please see the Apple Support site.

Have a read of Things to consider when setting up the best Wireless network before you reconfigure your router.

Now you have read through that and your router is the best possible location and all steps taken to mitigate impacting factors but you're still experiencing problems try reading through the below to get an understanding of how to optimise your Wi-Fi routers configuration.

What is important to understand

Band: Is a specific range of frequencies, each frequency will have different range and performance. An example of a Band is 2.4GHz or 5GHz.

Channel: Slices of the frequencies spectrum, channels can overlap, always try to select a channel which has less access points configured to it, the less access point within a channel the better for your Wi-Fi performance will be.

MHz: Increasing the MHz will generally not improve the speed of your Wi-Fi network but allow for greater signal strength.

Unfortunately, increasing the Mhz often leads to greater interference as the signal gets spread across more channels within the Wi-Fi band.

You need your Wi-Fi signal be as isolated as possible, spreading your Wi-Fi signal across more channels is not good idea when there are a lot of other Wi-Fi access points in your area.

When using 2.4GHz we recommended leaving the MHz to 20.

2.4GHz: The entire 2.4GHz spectrum is 100MHz wide, there are a total of 13 channels and adjacent channels will overlap and interfere with each other. 2.4Ghz has 3 non-overlapping channels 1, 6 and 11. 2.4GHz has a greater range than 5Ghz.

5GHz: For the best throughput using 5GHz use a device which can support 802.11AC.

20, 40 & 80Mhz are available, depending on the MHz you choose will determine how many overlapping channels there are and that can lead to interference.

Below is a graph relevant to our NF18AC router and the 5GHz band. You can see how increasing the MHz spreads the signal, any Access points which are configured to channels falling within that MHz spectrum will also broadcast data leading to interference.

Channel 165 is not available. See how the MHz setting overlaps.

Device compatibility your wireless device will need to be compatible with the Band you want to connect too, some older devices will not be able to use 5GHz has it has limited compatibility, devices that can use the below standards only.

• 802.11a
• 802.11n
• 802.11ac

How to select the best channel.

For the most part allow your router to determine the best channel by select AUTO under the channel configuration maybe enough but if you would like to optimise then you’ll need to download a Wi-Fi analyser to your mobile device. Slingshot does not support these applications.

Go to Google play or OS X store to download a Wi-Fi analyser to your mobile device, Run the application and decide the best channel for your access point.

Try another mobile device application called Wi-Fi SweetSpots to help determine the signal reach of your Wi-Fi access point throughout your home.

Ways to boost your Wi-Fi signal.

• A Wi-Fi mesh network
• Wi-Fi Extenders/Repeater/Expander
• Wi-Fi amplifier
• Minimise interference
• Firmware version
• Power cycle your router (doing this from time to time can help).

Need further help? Use our contact form

This guide looks at exploring the modem Wi-Fi setup for the Netcomm NF18 modem. With the Netcomm NF18 modem, we provide two simple methods to setup your Wi-Fi.

Method 1: Slingshot My Account

1. Login to your Slingshot My Account. If you do not know your password, you can click the ‘Forgot Your Password’ link near the bottom of the page.

2. Once you are logged in, select ‘My WiFi’ from the top.

3. Enter your desired Wi-Fi network name in the 'Wireless Network Name' field and password in the 'Wireless Network Password' section. We recommend ensuring your password is 8 characters long with 1 capital letter and 1 number, to make it secure.

4. Click 'Save Changes' and you will receive confirmation of the changes you have made.

Method 2: Modem Interface

1. Firstly, connect your modem to your computer using an Ethernet cable. The Ethernet cable will go from one of the yellow Lan ports of the modem to the ethernet plug on your computer.

2. Open your web browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) and type in the address bar 192.168.1.1, then press Enter on your keyboard.

3. A box will appear requesting a Username and Password. You will be able to find the login information on the bottom of your modem labelled as Gateway Login Details. 

4. Select Wireless and choose 2.4 GHz from the selection below.

5. Ensure Enable Wireless is ticked and enter your preferred Wi-Fi network name in the SSID field. Click Apply/Save to save your changes.

6. Select Security in the 2.4 GHz section on the left under 2.4 GHz. In the WPA/WAPI Passphrase section, enter your preferred Wi-Fi password and click Apply/Save.

7. Complete steps 4 through 6 for the 5 GHz option as well. Ensure your Wi-Fi username (SSID) and password are identical to what you selected for the 2.4 GHz option. Your device will automatically connect to the most appropriate network.

This guide looks at exploring the modem Wi-Fi setup for the Netcomm NB604N modem. We have also presented an audio version of the instructions to assist you in your Wi-Fi Setup below. 

Wi-Fi Setup Method

• How to setup my Wi-Fi and change my Wi-Fi password?
  1. Firstly, connect your modem to your computer using an Ethernet cable as shown below. The Ethernet cable will go from one of the yellow LAN ports of the modem to the ethernet plug on your computer.

  

  2. Open your web browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) and type in the address bar 192.168.1.1, then press ‘Enter’ on your keyboard.

  

  3. A box will appear requesting a Username and Password. Try the details below:

  1. Username: admin
  2. Password: admin

  If admin does not work as the password, please try the last 6 characters of your MAC address. This information is located on the bottom of your modem.

  4. Once logged in click ‘Wireless'on the left.

  

  5. Ensure ‘Enable Wireless’ is ticked and enter your preferred Wi-Fi network name in the ‘SSID’ field. Click ‘Apply/Save’ to save your changes.

  

  6. Choose ‘Security’ under the ‘Wireless’ section. Select Network Authentication type as ‘WPA2-PSK’ and enter your desired Wi-Fi password in the WPA/WAPI passphrase section. Ensure your password is secure and at least 8 characters long. Click ‘Apply/Save’ to finish your Wi-Fi setup.

  

• Step by step video tutorial

Connecting your iPad to your wireless network for the first time is a straightforward process.

Step-by-step guide 

1. From your Home screen, open Settings.
    
2. In the top of the navigation menu, tap on Wi-Fi. Make sure the Wi-Fi is turned on.
   
3. A new screen will slide in from the right, showing a list of available wireless networks. Press the name of your network, and enter the password when requested.
   
   
   
   
4. Underneath the Wi-Fi heading on the right of the screen, you should see your wireless network with a blue tick. This means that you're connected!

If you need further assistance, please see the Apple Support site.

Wireless is a popular option for end users due to portability and convenience however it’s not designed for performance.

To create a good wireless network there are many things to consider when setting up your wireless access point to help minimize degraded wireless service.

Below is a list of considerations:

1. Distance to the wireless access point is a critical factor to the wireless performance, the closer you are the better it will perform.
2. Position, it is best to have your router placed up high and centralised in the home.
3. Devices, using a modern device which is reputable is highly likely going to out preform cheap no brand devices. The device specification is critical to your end experience being positive. Older devices can cause your wireless access point to slow down for every device.
4. Other access points, if you live in an apartment with lots of other access point around you it may make it difficult for you to use your wireless smoothly due to the wireless network noise.
5. Building material, if you home is made of concrete or brick it may cause the wireless not to travel well, you may need to consider other hardware options to help meet your needs i.e. Ethernet patching and powerline adapters.
6. Number of users, understand your bandwidth needs, the capacity of your wireless access point and the activity of the wireless users – this should help you understand how to design your wireless access points.
7. Save your bandwidth, if you have a ethernet capable devices then it’s recommended to connect them via ethernet to help free up the available wireless bandwidth i.e. smart televisions, gaming consoles and PCs. Leave the wireless for your mobile devices if possible.

• In order to set up your wireless network, you need to be either connected to the wireless network, or be connected to the modem via Ethernet cable.
• In a web browser go enter https://192.168.178.1 into the URL bar to access the modem's interface.
• It will now prompt you to enter a password. Please set up a desired password. You can choose a secure password from a combination of lower & upper-case alphabets with numbers & special characters.
• From the left-hand menu select Wireless, and then Radio Network
• Scroll Down and you'll notice two frequency band, 2.4 GHz and 5GHz.
• Under SSID of each band enter the new name that you'd like for your modem's wireless network.
• please click "Apply" button located at the bottom of the page.
• TIP - You can add 2.4 or 5 at the end of respective network's SSID so that you know which frequency you are connecting to.
• Then go to “Security” option under Wireless.
• Select WPA Mode as WPA2 (CCMP)
• Choose a Network Key – This is your Wi-Fi password. To ensure a secure password please type password of minimum 8 characters long.
• Click Apply/Save at the bottom of the page.

You should now be able to connect to your wireless network. Open your device's wireless settings, look for the network name (SSID) you entered earlier, and when prompted enter your newly created password.

Apple recommends that you use channels that are available for use in your country. In New Zealand, these channels are 1-11 for a standard 2.4 Ghz wireless connection with the bandwidth setting of 20 Mhz.

For a 5 Ghz wireless connection it is best to leave the channel selection on your wireless router to Auto.

Your wireless range and performance will vary from house to house and from environment to environment.

It is dependent on several factors, such as the layout of your house, obstructions, height and age of your router as well as if other routers and access points are visible in the area.

In ideal situations for older wireless networks on the 2.4 GHz Radio this can be anywhere between 25m to 50m, obstructions such as brick or concrete walls, piping, electrical wires, hot water cylinders, fridges, microwaves and other wireless routers can reduce your wireless coverage, resulting in slow or poor signal strength.

For newer networks on 5GHz Radios or Wireless AC this can be shorter, however it’s speed will be greater than if you were on a 2.4 GHz connection.

To help address some of these issues we recommend trying to position your router somewhere close to the middle of your house in an open area at about waist height.

If you find that you are still having wireless issues then we suggest looking into either getting a wireless extender, which works with your wireless connection to repeat it in another area of your house or investing in a Mesh Network which works independently of your wireless network however it would provide the best coverage and control of your home network.

A Wifi standard is an approved method to transmit data, both the receiver and the sender will need to communicate using the same standard otherwise communication is lost.

Older standards will not be able to broadcast and receive as well as new standards due to being developed for the available technology at the time and most older standards have now been retired from the market due to their redundancy.

Standards can have different pros and cons like one is good for long range and others offer higher bandwidth at close range.

Below are two examples of modern IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 Standards available in the Market.

802.11n - Maximum theoretical throughput up to 300Mbps and with a range up to 54 metres, can be affected by building material, other access points, number of wireless clients.

802.11ac – maximum theoretical throughput up to 1300Mbps and is backwards compatible to other standards 802.11b/g/n. Range is up to 51 metres, however it broadcasts at 5Ghz which is a long wave length and any sort of interference will be noticed and drop the performance significantly, for best performance it is preferred to be near the router with no walls between you and the router.

All standards will only preform as well as the hardware it is hosted on.

A Mesh wireless network is a series of wireless radios and nodes that communicate with each other, think of it as multiple wireless routers all working together to help provide greater coverage in your home.

A Mesh WIFI network is a great alternative to setting up a Wireless extender if you want to expand your wireless network to avoid any dead spots, unlike with wireless extenders it also helps increase your wireless speeds too.

Mesh WIFI networks works alongside and separately from your home router so this would mean that you would need to invest into your own third-party equipment.

1. Optimizing
2. Troubleshooting
   1. Slow Wi-fi
   2. Disconnections
3. Drastic Measures
   1. Wi-fi range extenders
   2. Powerline
   3. Purchasing a new Modem

Wi-Fi networking has become an integral part of our home internet experience. For most users everything just seems to work right out of the box, which is awesome! For a few of us, though, the Wi-Fi can take some tinkering to get right. We might experience patchy or flaky Wi-Fi that works sometimes or in some places, but not in others, or we might have a strong Wi-Fi signal but still have a slow online experience.

Optimising and troubleshooting a Wi-Fi network can be a complicated task, and for a variety of reasons Slingshot’s helpdesk staff are only able to offer limited support. That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide to help everyone get the most out of their home network.

We also recommend planning out your Wi-Fi network before having Fibre installed, because you are limited in where your gateway can be placed after the ONT has been installed. Do not sign off on the install plan for your fibre connection until you’re happy with where the technician is going to install the ONT and gateway.

You should be aware that Slingshot contact centre staff are not able to offer assistance with Wi-Fi issues beyond basic configuration. Everything in this guide is advanced set up. If you need further help you might have to bribe your friend that works in IT with a box of beer to come and have a look.

Optimising

Setting up your Wi-Fi network correctly can take some time and patience, but it’s worth it in the long run. We will need to take a number of things into consideration when we design our home networks. These are:

• Primary use
• Household coverage
• Number of users

Primary use will dictate where the modem or gateway will live in your house. The shape and construction of your house may require fine tuning of the modem placement. And the number of users will determine if more advanced options, like multiple networks, are necessary.

Our first consideration must be “what will my primary use of the internet be?” If you have a big fancy smart TV (or Chromecast, or Apple TV, etc.) and you will usually be watching HD video streamed from the internet then you will want your modem to be in the same room as your TV. For most people this will be the lounge or living room, but it could be in your bedroom or home theatre. If you are primarily a gamer then the modem needs to be in the same room as your PC or console. In fact, for gaming, you should use a physical Ethernet, or network, cable for your gaming device, as Wi-Fi can introduce extra latency (ping, lag), which is no good for you K/D ratio. For most users, who share their internet connection with a number of family members or flatmates, the modem or gateway will be best located as centrally in the house as possible, to get the best coverage overall.

At this stage we’re being very general, and just choosing the rooms. Once you know which room in the house will be best, we need to decide where in the room the modem will live. You’ll be constricted by the position of power outlets and phone jacks. Using extension cables isn’t ideal, but might be necessary.

Set your modem up wherever is the most convenient in your chosen room, as long as it’s not sitting on the floor. Modems left on the floor, or in dusty areas, tend to need replacing the soonest.

Remember that especially thick walls, or ones made out of concrete or stone (like a chimney), or large electrical appliances (fridges, TVs, etc.) can block your Wi-Fi signal and cause a “shadow”.

To see what your Wi-Fi coverage is like around your home we recommend using free mobile apps, like “Wi-Fi Analyzer” by Farproc. Remember that Slingshot staff are not able to help you with downloading, installing, or using 3^rd party software/applications.

Wi-Fi Analyzer has a number of different screens that you can swipe between, but the most helpful one is the signal strength graph.

In the above screen shot you can see that there are quite a number of Wi-Fi networks nearby. You can also see that they are concentrated around the 1, 6, and 11 channels, which are the default Wi-Fi channels for many manufacturers. Channels 3, 4, 8, and 9 are the least congested channels. Think of Wi-Fi channels like channels on a walkie-talkie. If 4 people are trying to have 2 separate conversations on 1 channel then there will be a lot of confusion. If 2 people take their conversation to a different channel then the situation is improved for everybody. Take your smart phone around the house and note which channel is the least congested in the areas that you want to use your Wi-Fi.

Once you’ve chosen the best channel to use you’ll set to select it in your modem or gateway. If your modem was supplied by Slingshot then follow the below. If you got your modem somewhere else then refer to your manual, or search online for instructions (i.e. Google: set Wi-Fi channel Dynalink RTA 1025w)

Log into your modem [[link to Logging in to your NetComm modem/router]], and in the left hand menu click “Wireless”, then “Advanced” under that. There should be a drop-down menu for “channel”. Set this to your chosen channel, and click “Apply/Save”.

Once you’ve set your preferred channel click the “Apply/Save” button at the bottom of the page.

Now it’s time for the second tour of the house. Swipe left in the Wi-Fi Analyzer app to find the Signal Meter screen:

(If the needle stays at -100dBm you might need to tap on your Wi-Fi name and reselect it to get the needle moving.)

Take your smart phone around the house to the places where you will want to use your Wi-Fi and take a look at your signal strength. Ideally you should be in the green everywhere you’ll use Wi-Fi. If so, great! Leave the modem where it is. If not, try shifting the modem around in its room, moving it into a different corner, or lifting it to a higher shelf. Small adjustments in position can have a big impact on signal strength.

It may take some time to find a position that gives good coverage, and it may even be impossible to eliminate all of the dead spots around your house. This is because of how complex Wi-Fi interference can be. See how there are strong and weak points in each room of the below Wi-Fi strength visualisations:

You can read the paper that we borrowed these images from here https://jasmcole.com/2014/08/25/helmhurts/.

You should also bear in mind that cordless telephones, microwave ovens, and other appliances cause wifi interfereance

Finally, we need to look at how many devices will use the wifi network concurrently. 6 or fewer devices probably won’t need any further set up. If you have more than that you might need to enable QoS (Quality of Service) in your modem. Again, this is an advanced setting which Slingshot contact centre staff cannot offer assistance with.

QoS will allow you to pick a specific device or devices that you want to have high priority, so that your video streaming or online gaming experience isn’t degraded by other devices on your wifi network. Only set one or two devices with high priority; if everything has high priority then nothing does.

To set up QoS follow this guide published by Netcomm:

media.netcomm.com.au/public/assets/file/0006/136509/NF4V-QoS-Setup.pdf

Or read the QoS section of the Netcomm NF4V user manual:

www.netcommwireless.com/sites/default/files/NF4V-User-Manual.pdf

Troubleshooting

• Slow Wi-Fi

If you’ve taken care to optimise your Wi-Fi network but are still not getting the online experience that you’re hoping for then there is some troubleshooting that you can try.

Firstly, if your Wi-Fi is running slowly, try turning your modem and computer/device off for at least 30 seconds, then turning them back on again. If things have not improved try plugging a laptop into the modem with an Ethernet cable and turning off the Wi-Fi (there is a physical button on the back or side of your Slingshot supplied modem, or you can turn it off in the modem menu under basic wireless settings). This will make sure that your diagnosis isn’t compromised by another user downloading something in the background. With the Ethernet cable plugged in try browsing, streaming, or gaming, whatever it is that isn’t working properly over Wi-Fi. If things don’t improve then your broadband connection might be at fault. If possible, you can try with another modem borrowed from friends or family. If that improves your experience and you received your modem from Slingshot less than a year ago gives us a call to arrange a warranty replacement.

If using an Ethernet cable does improve your connection then try changing the channel your Wi-Fi is set to, using the steps outlined in the “optimising” section above. If this doesn’t seem to help then older devices might be slowing down your Wi-Fi network.

Occasionally poor Wi-Fi performance can be caused by older devices slowing down newer ones. Wi-Fi devices use either the b, g, or n standard (n being the newest and fastest). You can choose to lock out b and g devices so only n devices can connect, which should improve their speeds.

Log into your modem, and in the left hand menu click “Wireless”, then “Advanced” under that. There should be a drop-down menu for “Support 802.11n Client Only”. Set this to “On”, and click “Apply/Save”.

Older devices will now be unable to join your Wi-Fi network. Test your laptops, smart phones, consoles, etc., to see which ones cannot connect to the Wi-Fi anymore. These devices will need to be replaced, upgraded, connected to the modem by an Ethernet cable, or used off-line. You can turn the “Support 802.11n client only” setting off again if you need to have one of your older devices online.

• Disconnections

If you’re noticing that you lose your connection frequently on your Wi-Fi network the first thing to try is to turn off your modem and device for at least 30 seconds before rebooting.

Next, try updating your wireless network drivers for your PC or laptop.

If that hasn’t helped use the Wi-Fi Analyzer app to see if there’s a stronger Wi-Fi signal using the same channel, and move yours to a different one if so.

Disconnections can also be caused by interference from other appliances, like cordless telephones, or microwaves. Do you notice that your disconnections are more frequent when some other electronic appliance is in use? If so, move the modem further away from that appliance. Most cordless phones allow you to change the channel they are using, check your user manual.

Drastic Measures

If the above optimising and troubleshooting steps have not resolved your Wi-Fi issues then it might be necessary to try something different. The following are suggestions, not recommendations. We do not recommend customers spend money in an attempt to resolve technical issues because we cannot guarantee that whatever you purchase will resolve your issue, and we do not offer any kind of compensation for additional equipment purchased that fails to resolve your issue.

If you do decide to purchase additional equipment discuss return options with the store staff in case you’re not happy with the device performance.

Slingshot contact centre staff cannot offer any assistance with the below suggestions.

• Wi-Fi range extenders

These devices can be set up some distance from your modem to increase your coverage area. Especially handy for multi-level homes. Not ideal for gaming or VoIP as they can introduce additional latency.

If you have a spare modem with Wi-Fi then you may be able to configure it to behave as a “wireless bridge” or a “repeater”. Check your user guide.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=c&p=wireless_extenders

• Powerline

Plug one of these into a power socket near your modem and another near any device(s) that are not getting a good Wi-Fi signal. The powerline adapters will use your electrical wiring to distribute your network around your home.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?p=search&sf=powerline

• Purchasing a new modem

If you are an ADSL or VDSL customer you can purchase a new modem. If you are a fibre customer you should not replace your Slingshot supplied RGW, but you can buy a router or wireless access point to use with your RWG. If you’re considering a new modem talk to the sales staff at your electronics store about your needs (media streaming, gaming, size of and number of floors in your house). Look for something with Dual Band Wi-Fi, supporting 2.4GHz and 5Ghz channels. You may need to also purchase a USB 5GHz Wi-Fi adapter for your computer or laptop. Some modems and routers will allow you to set up a 2^nd Wi-Fi network on a separate channel which will allow you to have a dedicated channel for streaming or gaming.

Dual band modems: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=c&p=modems&fs=655135

Dual band routers: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=c&p=wireless&fs=655149

Dual band adapters: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=c&p=wi-fi-adapters&fs=655152

You can combine a powerline adapter kit with a new Wi-Fi router if necessary.