How to Share Wi-Fi Without Sharing Your Password
Have you found yourself in a situation where your neighbor asks to use your Wi-Fi? Or how about if your neighbor didn’t ask but is on your Wi-Fi anyways? Or, it’s likely that you have had family and friends over to your home and they have asked for your Wi-Fi password? (Whose hasn’t?)
Sound familiar?
But what do you do if you don’t want to share your Wi-Fi password with others? You might feel like it’s rude to deny your neighbors, friends and family access to your wireless internet. Though when it comes to Wi-Fi security, you can never be too careful.
We have written a few other posts about why strong passwords matter and how a secure password helps protect your network. And we have covered how ultimately a secured network can boost your network’s performance.
Here are 3 ways that you can let your family, friends and other guests onto your Wi-Fi, without handing over your password:
1. Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
A wireless protected setup, otherwise known as WPS (sometimes referred to as a WPS Push Button), is one way to allow guests to connect their devices to your Wi-Fi network. The WPS connection is through a WPS-enabled device and wireless modem, router or access point.
- Make sure that your wireless modem, router or access point has a WPS button (this is what’s known as the ‘push button’).
- Press and hold the WPS button for about 2-3 seconds to activate it.
- Next, get your wireless adapter or device and press its WPS button to pair it.
- Your adapter and router will begin to connect, and your guest should see a WPS Authentication notification on their device screen.
- Once the authentication is successful, your guest should be able to use your Wi-Fi internet.
WPS is an easy setup, allowing others to use your internet without using your password. But there are other easy options, too.
2. Use your router’s guest network setup
Next up is setting up an entire separate guest network through your router. This is actually easy to do. And, helps make sure that once your guests are connected to your wireless internet, they don’t have access to other personal files or devices that are also on that network.
Here are the steps to setting up a guest network:
- Log into your router’s management system. (You can do this on your laptop.)
- Find the ‘Guest Network’ settings
- Give your guest network a unique name
- Set up a unique, strong password for the guest network
- Turn off your local network if you have the option
That’s it! You will have a separate network to give to guests. And while you will still give them a password to log onto that network, you won’t be handing them your password. So, all of your personal devices, files and information will remain unreachable.
3. Use your secure device as a hotspot
Aside from creating a QR code or setting up a separate network, you can turn your personal device into a Wi-Fi hotspot for guests to connect to. You can do this from your laptop or your smartphone.
Most likely, you will use your smartphone to do this, since it is always at hand and the most portable device you have. With an iOS smartphone or an Android, all you have to do go to your phone’s settings and toggle on the personal hotspot.
This way, guests will be able to connect to your phone’s hotspot Wi-Fi. There is one thing to consider, and that is the fact that your phone’s hotspot Wi-Fi is likely rooted to your home Wi-Fi. And, hotspot connection is a temporary connection.
But this way, when you allow your guests to connect via hotspot, they are not using your home Wi-Fi password to get onto the internet.
This may not be the best solution for everyone, but it is always an option.
Bonus: Manage your device and network security AND the guests connecting to your Wi-Fi
Yep, there’s a bonus option! Managing your Wi-Fi.
Think of it less like an option and more like a must have for overall Wi-Fi security. Think of it as a comfort blanket should you choose (or not choose) to share your password with others.
Whenever guests are connected to your home Wi-Fi there is always a security risk. For you and your guests. That is why it is important to have advanced Wi-Fi security measures in place. To protect you and others on your network.
A Wi-Fi manager tool like Optim™ Managed Wi-Fi Solution is the answer to any worries you have around sharing your Wi-Fi password or letting guests connect to your wireless internet.
Optim makes sure that your entire Wi-Fi network is safe and performing its best. That means fast, reliable and secure. Always.
Optim also monitors your network 24/7 to make sure no unwanted guests or other threats connect to your network. Remember those neighbors we mentioned earlier? The ones that connect to your Wi-Fi without asking. Optim will recognize that they are unwanted guests and boot them off your network.
With all of these Wi-Fi sharing alternatives, you should feel more settled with sharing your Wi-Fi with your guests. No passwords included.
You can learn more about home networking and Wi-Fi security with Actiontec’s Complete Guide to WiFi Networking. For the latest news in technology, check out Actiontec’s blog.