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Guest network

Try your router's guest network first. For most homes, it is the simplest way to separate smart devices from computers and phones without buying another device.

A guest network usually appears under a separate Wi-Fi name. It uses the same router and internet connection as your home network. What matters is whether the router blocks connections started from the guest network to the main home network.

Network design diagram

Internet
Router and firewall
Home networkComputer and phone
Guest networkCamera, bulb and television
  • AllowedThe home and guest networks can start connections to the internet.
  • BlockedThe guest network cannot start a connection to the home network.
  • CheckAccess from the home network to guest devices depends on the router settings.
The firewall separates the networks. The blocked direction covers new connections from the guest network, not replies to internet connections.

What happens behind the guest-network setting

Guest network is the name of a router feature, not one exact network design. A router can give it a separate IP address range and firewall zone that reaches the internet but not the home network. Source

With separate access points or a managed switch, guest traffic can travel between them inside its own VLAN. Source A VLAN is not required for every guest network. It is one way to carry a separate network through shared equipment.

The firewall rule creates the useful boundary. It should allow guest traffic to the internet and block connections started from the guest network to the home network.

Set up the guest network

Each step includes common Finnish and English names for the same setting.

Setup progress

0 / 5 done

  1. Log in to your router's admin page

    The address is usually on the sticker underneath the router, and so is the first password. Type the address into a browser while you are on your home network.

    It may also be called: 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, Hallinta (management), Admin

    If there is no sticker, look up your model on the provider's or manufacturer's site. Do not use a shared default password found in search results.

  2. Find the guest network setting and turn it on

    Look under the wireless settings. The guest network may have its own tab or a separate switch. Turn the guest network on.

    It may also be called: Vierasverkko (guest network), Guest network, Vierasverkko 2,4 GHz (guest network, 2.4 GHz), Guest WiFi

    If there is no guest network at all, this path does not suit your router. Move to the second-router path, which can make a similar boundary with a separate firewall.

  3. Give the network a name and a strong password, then save

    The name can be anything, Home devices for instance. Make the password long: four random words in a row is plenty. Save the settings.

    It may also be called: SSID, Verkon nimi (network name), Salausavain (encryption key, password)

    Do not use the same password as your home network. Give the separate network its own name and password.

  4. Use client isolation only when the devices do not need one another

    Client isolation blocks direct connections between devices on the guest network. Enable it only when the devices need neither local control nor one another. Save the change.

    It may also be called: Asiakaseristys (client isolation), AP isolation, Client isolation, Laite-eristys (device isolation)

    Client isolation is separate from isolation between the guest and home networks. You can use the guest network without it when access to the main home network is blocked.

  5. Connect the smart devices to the new network

    Cameras, bulbs, plugs, the television and the vacuum. Computers and phones stay on the old network.

    It may also be called: Wi-Fi-asetukset (Wi-Fi settings), in the device's own app

    Some devices have to be reset before they ask for a network again. The instructions are in the device's own app, under network settings.

How to check that it worked

What this does not protect against

It does not stop a device from sending data to the internet. Cloud recording and other online services still work. A guest network limits connections inside your home.

It does not fix the device's faults. If the manufacturer no longer updates the device, the holes are still in it.

It does not change the device's own functions. Separation only limits its connections to other devices in your home.

A guest network complements updates, unique passwords and account protection. It does not replace them.

Checked