How To Control WiFi Users: Admin Control, Guest Access, Internet Filters, Restricted Speed
Do you know that you can control internet access (both at home and office) in several ways? In addition to controlling internet access, you can also control WiFi bandwidth, limit access hours, restrict users from accessing certain websites and even block rogue access points from hijacking your network.
Wait, why are we right away discussing how to control WiFi users? Why do I need to manage that in the first place?
We’ll take an example to answer your question. Suppose that you have a critical video call to make to a colleague. However, your internet experience is broken and low quality because you have an army of internet users at home (mainly friends and family) – all of whom are connected to the same network and having access to the same speed.
What do you do in such a situation? Do you politely ask them to stop streaming and downloading, or sit back and do nothing out of helplessness? Well, you have more solutions than just these two.
We’ll explore these solutions in the coming section. Keep reading.
Why Do You Need To Limit Users Connected on Your WiFi Network?
While it is possible to have multiple users and devices connected to a single WiFi network, it is paramount to control your network’s active connections. Selectra thinks that you need to limit users connected to your WiFi network for three (3) primary reasons –
- To ensure that your network operates optimally
Since every device on a shared network will have a common (limited) resource, leaving it protection-less will cause overburdening. Is this something that you want? We hope the answer is a ‘No.’
- To control the depletion of your internet resource
Secondly, many devices using your network mean faster depletion of your internet, which might hamper your individual internet needs at some point. Do you want to pay more to maintain a steady internet connection at your home or workspace? We hope the answer is a ‘No.’
- To continue enjoying optimal internet speed as promised by your ISP
Lastly, every new device connected to your network exhausts your bandwidth, eventually slowing down your internet speeds. Do you want to compromise on your video streaming or work-based projects with low internet speeds because of unwanted guests freely accessing your WiFi? We hope the answer is a ‘No.’
Benefits of Managing WiFi Speeds
In short, with controlled or defined WiFi speeds, individuals at home or office can work without interruptions, receive the best streaming experience, and have a firmer grip on the internet-related charges.
Do you know that controlling internet access at home, big businesses, and small businesses is often the same? Yes! Routers for all types have parental controls to control WiFi bandwidth for users, manage user speeds, and limit access hours.
How to Gain Access To Admin Controls?
You can get access to your Router Control via the Administrative Panel of your router. You can do so via the manufacturer-issued web browser or mobile application.
For instance, some Netgear routers can only use a mobile application. On the other hand, users can access Linksys business routers by clicking here. In addition, you can access older routers by entering the router’s IP address on a web browser.
How to Control My WiFi Usage?
There are different ways to control your WiFi usage. Some of these are easy to execute, while some are time-consuming.
For example, the easiest and best way to restrict someone from accessing your WiFi is to prevent them from logging in. How? It is no brainer! Just set a strong password and WPA2 encryption. This article might guide you in setting a solid WiFi password for your network. Secondly, if need be, you can also disable the SSID Broadcast that will prevent your router from broadcasting itself to anyone searching for a signal.
If you want a more effective method, then you can give WiFi access to only those devices authenticated from the Admin’s end. This will block access to anyone and everyone and give you a firmer grip over WiFi usage.
1. Granting Guest Access
A common answer to questions like ‘How to manage WiFi users?’ or ‘How to control WiFi users speed?’ is enabling guest access on your router.
What is guest access exactly? A guest network is essentially a separate network made to restrict internet access for guests without hampering your employees’ usage habits.
2. Enabling Filters for Internet Usage
This solution for controlling WiFi users is our favorite. It is equally applicable to households and offices. Are your children spending too much time on undesired websites? Are your employees spending their productive hours browsing social media or YouTube? In these instances, you can choose to block specific URLs.
3. Limiting Internet Access To Specific Hours
Many routers with parental control allow Admin to restrict internet usage hours or minutes. This way, you can easily manage WiFi users and prevent overuse.
Get Access to Selectra Easy Hacks
1. Limit Your WiFi Speed on Your Apple Device
Open the router dashboard from your PC and follow the below pathway
Login >> Wireless Settings >> QoS Setup >> Add MAC Address & put upload and download limit.
2. Limit Your WiFi Speed in Digisol Router
Step 1: Type in IP 192.168.2.1 in your browser and feed in your credentials.
Step 2: Next, go to Status >> Active Client Table.
Step 3: Now, go to Advanced >> QoS setup and click on ‘Add’ and put value in fields.
Step 4: Feed the IP address in Source IP, set the limit on Up Floor, Down Floor, Up Ceiling, Down Ceiling.
Step 5: Now, hit the ‘Add’ button.
3. Limit Your WiFi Speed in TP-Link Router
Step 1: Type in IP 192.168.0.1 in your browser and log in.
Step 2: Search IP of the respective client - DHCP >> DHCP Client List.
Step 3: Choose the IP that you want to limit bandwidth for.
Step 4: Next, follow this pathway - Bandwidth Control >> Rule List.
Step 5: Finally, add the values like the client’s IP address in IP range and Bandwidth limit in Egress Bandwidth & Ingress Bandwidth both same value in Min and Max option, and click on ‘Save.’
Conclusion
Selectra feels that controlling your WiFi users is crucial for many, many reasons. One of the finest and most effective methods to do the same is to restrict the number of users from joining your network.
We hope this article helps you effectively manage your WiFi users!
