WiFi

Step four sets one network name and password for the router's wireless, with an optional per-band split.

Last updated Aug 14, 2026View as Markdown

Overview

The Wireless settings step sets up the router’s own WiFi: one network name and one password, previewed live in a card beside the form. If the router has more than one radio, an extra switch lets you split the network across bands, which appends a band suffix to the SSID for each radio.

If the router has no wireless hardware, the step says so and the whole section is disabled, so the wizard turns WiFi off for you and moves on.

Before you start

  • Decide on a network name. The wizard rejects SSIDs containing “star”, “starlink”, “vpn” or “iran”.
  • Decide on a passphrase between 8 and 63 characters, or let the generator produce one.

Steps

  1. Leave the Wi-Fi enabled switch on. Turning it off skips the rest of this step.
  2. Type a Network name (SSID), or press the generate button beside the field to have one made for you.
  3. Type a Password, or press the generate button beside it.
  4. On a multi-radio router, decide whether to turn on Split across bands. With it on, each radio gets its own SSID, formed from the base name plus -2.4G, -5G or -6G. With it off, all radios share one name.
  5. Check the preview card, then press Next.

Reference

Field What it does Default
Wi-Fi enabled Master switch for the wireless step. Forced off and disabled when the router has no WiFi hardware. on
Network name (SSID) The wireless network name. Required; cannot contain “star”, “starlink”, “vpn” or “iran”. empty
Password WPA passphrase, 8–63 characters. empty
Split across bands Gives each radio its own SSID with a band suffix. Only shown on multi-radio routers. off

Troubleshooting

“SSID is required.” The network name is empty.

“SSID cannot contain …”. The name includes one of the four blocked words. Rename it.

“Wi-Fi password must be 8–63 characters.” The passphrase is outside the WPA length range.

“This router has no Wi-Fi hardware, so wireless options are unavailable.” The panel found no WiFi interfaces on the device. There is nothing to do, so press Next.