10 Wi-Fi router features you didn't know about

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We squeeze the most out of the box with horns.

Few people are worried about exploring the capabilities of their Wi-Fi router. There is internet, and okay. In fact, a good Wi-Fi router can do a lot of cool things. And in order to use all the possibilities, you do not need to have special knowledge, download alternative firmware and study hundreds of pages on the forums. How it works - we will show on the example of the Keenetic Omni KN-1410 router, which can be bought for 2,500-2,700 rubles.

1. Connect your network to your neighbor's Wi-Fi. Or anyone else

Let's say a signal from a nearby cafe finishes you. Or, out of the kindness of his soul, a neighbor gave you a password for his Wi-Fi. Instead of connecting to the network from a smartphone, tablet or computer, connect to it through a router, and use the free Internet from the router. This feature is called Wireless ISP (WISP) and has several advantages:

1. Better signal … If on a smartphone the wireless grid shows one or two stripes and works somehow, then from the router the same grid will give its full speed, and the connection will be much more stable.
2. Safely … You never know how security is going on an unfamiliar Wi-Fi network. When connecting to someone else's Wi-Fi through a router, you hide behind the built-in security tools and do not shine on your devices and their contents in someone else's network.
3. Backup internet that connects automatically … If something suddenly breaks with your main provider, the router will automatically switch to the backup channel, and you most likely will not even notice it and will be able to continue using the Internet.
4. Backup internet from smartphone … Often, in case of problems with the Internet, we use a smartphone as an access point. The signal from him is weak and hits close. Create an access point on your smartphone, connect to the router as a "wireless provider", and you will get a good stable connection on all your devices.

2. Use multiple providers on one router

This feature is called Multi WAN. It allows you to connect as many providers as there are ports on your router, and additionally add a USB modem.

Let's say you have an Internet connection from two providers at once. One is the main one, the second is the reserve one with the cheapest tariff. It is a good practice to stay online even if something is wrong with the main provider.

In order not to swap cables every time, not to reconfigure a router or computer, and not to do other time-consuming and energy-consuming things, just plug both cables into the router. The main one - to the standard port (it is usually of a different color), and the backup one - to any other. Configure the router once according to the instructions, and in the future everything will work and switch automatically.

3. Share the Internet from a USB modem through a router

This is possible if the router has a USB port, and you have a USB modem from a cellular operator, with which you can access the Network from a laptop from anywhere.

Connect the modem to the USB port of the router and follow the instructions for quick setup. Now you have a backup mobile Internet that will turn on automatically if the main provider has problems.

This life hack will allow you to use the Wi-Fi network not only at the dacha, where there is no fixed Internet, but also during the trip. On the Internet, you can find an adapter adapter to power the router from the cigarette lighter in the car. Connect a USB modem to the router, and all your passengers will be able to use the Internet while traveling - if, of course, there is a cellular network signal.

4. Download and watch torrents through a router without a computer

If you have an external hard drive, connect it to your router via USB.

Activate the ability to download torrents in the router settings according to the instructions.

You can remotely launch and manage downloads via the My. Keenetic Android application.

Downloading and distributing torrents through a router takes place without the participation of a computer. By default, upload and download speeds are set so as not to clog the entire channel. You can change the speed in the settings. You won't get more than 5 MB / s from the budget Keenetic Omni, but the Internet will not slow down when loading.

The router can not only download, but also broadcast video to the TV via DLNA, and in the torrent settings, you can select a sequential torrent download to start watching the movie before the download is complete.

5. Access your router and home devices from anywhere

A free proprietary KeenDNS service is available to all kineticists, replacing any other DDNS services (such as No-IP and DynDNS) in a situation where you have a white but dynamic IP address.

But what if the address is gray, as, for example, for almost all cellular operators for the above connection via a USB modem or backup?

KeenDNS solves this problem:

• Gives secure https access to the router even behind a gray address using a convenient name like home.keenetic.link without the hassle of obtaining and registering an SSL certificate;
• Opens access behind a gray address not only to the router, but also to the web interface of devices connected to it (for example, a heating boiler control system or the already mentioned torrent pump) by a convenient name such as device.home.keenetic.link.
• Provides full secure access to your home network over an all-pervasive SSTP tunnel that can be easily configured on Windows or via an Android app.

Learn more about KeenDNS →

6. Create Time Machine backups

Apple stopped manufacturing its routers, but the need to backup MacBooks has not gone away.

Turn on Time Machine backup in the router settings according to the instructions. You will need an external hard drive again - now it will also become a backup storage. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to format it into the apple file system HFS +, because the router can also make backups on an NTFS disk.

If you need a high backup speed, Keenetic Omni may not be able to cope. Look towards the top-end Keenetic Giga or Ultra routers.

7. Control the flash drive from your smartphone without OTG cable

This function will allow you to record or view files if the computer is not at hand, and the smartphone does not support OTG, or the OTG cable has gone somewhere.

Connect the USB flash drive to the router according to the instructions and launch a file manager on your smartphone like "ES Explorer" with support for network access. You will have full access to the contents of the flash drive, regardless of its file system.

8. Turn your router into a telephone exchange. Or something else

In the USB port of the router, you can plug not only a modem or disk, but also a proprietary DECT set-top box Keenetic Plus DECT. With it, your router will work as a wireless telephone station with support for up to 6 handsets. Everything you need for this can be configured without special knowledge.

Support for third-party software packages (OPKG) in the official firmware turns the router into a real Swiss knife with a bunch of bells and whistles. You can put the rTorrent torrent client, the Asterisk IP PBX, another DLNA server, and much more into the router. In Keenetic routers, the main firmware does not change, and you do not lose your warranty.

What functions are there in the firmware →

9. Save on VPN

Thanks to the latest events on the Russian Internet, everyone now knows about VPN and its advantages.

With the help of a router, you can save a lot by buying just one license for one device from some good VPN provider, but use the service on all your devices at once.

To do this, it is enough to turn on the VPN not on one of the devices, but directly on the router. Now any smartphone, tablet or computer connected to the router will automatically access the Internet via VPN. If this does not suit you, go to the router settings and specify which gadgets should work through VPN and which should not.

If you only want to use a VPN to improve your internet security, you don't need overseas VPN servers, which means you don't need to pay for them either. With a white IP, you can safely access the Internet through your own VPN while away from home. As a bonus, you will have access to your home network and its contents from anywhere in the world.

10. Make Wi-Fi faster and more stable

Most routers operate in the 2.4 GHz band. When several routers are located side by side - for example, in an apartment building - they interfere with each other. Imagine a bazaar: a bunch of people, everyone is shouting, nothing is clear. It's the same with routers, only the quality and speed of the Internet drops.

The range is divided into several channels. For example, Vasya's neighbor's router works on channel 6, and Petya's on channel 11. The router is able to monitor the current congestion of channels and even automatically switch to the least populated ones, but the same function can be used by neighboring routers. What to do?

Create as many networks as your router allows. Give the networks dissimilar names so that your neighbors don't see through your cunning plan (and don't forget to put passwords). All networks you create will be on the same channel. For any Wi-Fi analyzer, the channel will seem congested, and therefore it will be considered inappropriate to create a grid in it. This means that the channel will remain completely at your disposal.

Why can't my router do that?

Much depends on the developer of the router software. Some devices receive updates and all the newest chips, while others remain on the old version. Users of the latter have to get out and install custom firmware at their own peril and risk, losing the warranty on the device.

Keenetic uses a unified operating system that is constantly being improved and adds new features to all router models.

It doesn't matter if you use top-end Keenetic Giga or budget Keenetic Lite - you will always have the latest version of the operating system with all the new features.

Naturally, hardware constraints come into play. It is impossible to grow a USB port to the router using a software update. A device built for 2.4 GHz only will never learn to operate in the 5 GHz band. But if the device's filling meets the requirements for the new function to work, then you will receive it regardless of your Keenetic model.

Keenetic has a large active community and an extensive knowledge base. Life hacks for this article are from there. If something does not work out, contact Keenetic support. They answer faster than on the forums, and always to the point.