Guest Network: Win-Win Wi-Fi for All

Ever find your internet slowing to a crawl after your nieces and nephews used your home network? Worried that your family might stumble upon the wrong folder?

No worries. TP-Link’s Guest Network protects your privacy while giving your loved ones access to Wi-Fi. Featured on TP-Link’s various routers, Guest Network keeps everyone happy, connected, and engaged under one roof.

What Is Guest Network?

Guest Network, as the name suggests, is a wireless network specially set up for guests. Home visitors connect their wireless devices to a separate access point on your router with a network name and password different from your home Wi-Fi. Your home devices, however, are connected to another access point and connected to your home Wi-Fi.

Setting up a Guest Network is beneficial for everyone. Your guests can easily access and enjoy the internet, and your home network security and privacy won’t be compromised.

What Makes Guest Networks So Great?

• Safer home network

When a guest connects a virus-infected phone to your home Wi-Fi or accidentally downloads a malicious program, the malware will spread over your home Wi-Fi network and infect other connected devices. Guest Network, however, is like a wall that keeps viruses from entering your home Wi-Fi.

If a visitor connects an infected device, the malware will only end up on the Guest Network. Important data stored on your networked devices, like family photos and work files, will remain secure. This “wall” can also isolate the guest devices from each other, so a virus-infected device will do nothing to other devices. Moreover, you can turn on the Guest Network when you have visitors and turn it off whenever you like. This improves your whole home network security since no one can hack into a network that isn’t running.

• More privacy for personal information

You might sometimes wonder if your guests can see your private information connected to your home network. You might be worried about visitors exposing your personal information to others. With TP-Link’s Guest Network, these concerns go away. Your guests will have no access to any of your personal information stored on your home network.

    1.    Protect the host’s privacy

TP-Link’s Guest Network has the power to make it impossible for guests to access local files. It can be set to only access the internet, disallowing access to any information or devices on the local network. You won’t need to worry about your privacy being seen by others anymore.

    2.   Protect your guests’ privacy

Your guests care about their personal information just as much as you do yours. Easily set the Guest Network to isolate guests so they can’t see each others’ device information.

• More convenient for all

Setting the Guest Network is convenient for both you and your guests. You don’t need to set up a long and complicated password for your home Wi-Fi. A simple password is much easier for you to remember and manage, and your guests can quickly connect.

How to Set Up a Guest Network

TP-Link’s wireless devices allow you to create a Guest Network in seconds. Simply use a web browser or TP-Link’s Tether app and activate it.

Just follow the directions step by step to set up your Guest Network. The web interfaces may differ from different products. Here we’ll use Archer C7 as an example:

• Set up via web browser

1. Visit http://tplinkwifi.net on a web browser and log in with your TP-Link ID or the password you set for the router.
2. Go to Basic > Guest Network and follow these steps to create a Guest Network:
   1. Select Enable Guest Network for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (if any) wireless networks.
   2. Customize the Network Name (SSID) and Password. To allow your guests to access the internet easily, do not select Hide SSID.
   3. (Optional) Enable Allow guests to see each other if you want guest devices to communicate with each other via methods such as network neighbors and ping.
   4. (Optional) Enable Allow guests to access my local network if you want to share your local resources with your guests. Disable it if you want to protect your private information.
   5. Click Save.

Done! Now your guests can enjoy the Guest Network!

• Set up via Tether app

1. Download the Tether app.
2. Connect your phone to your wireless router using the network name and password you set before. If you have not changed the default one, find it on the label of your router.
3. Launch the Tether app and select your model from the Local Device list.
4. Go to Tools > Guest Network and follow these steps to create a Guest Network:
   1. Tap 2.4GHz Wireless and 5GHz Wireless (if any), and then enable Wireless.
   2. Customize the Network Name and Password. Do not select No password to keep your Guest Network safe.
5. Tap SAVE.

Done! Now your guests can enjoy the Guest Network!

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

The methods shown below may differ between routers. For more details on how to use a Guest Network on your router, refer to the User Guide.

Q1. Where can I view guest device information?

1. Visit http://tplinkwifi.net on a web browser, and go to Basic > Network Map and click Wireless Clients.
2. Click Guests and then you can view the name, IP address, and MAC address of devices connected to your Guest Network.

Q2. Can I set up QoS for guest devices?

Yes, you can follow the steps below to set up device priority for guest devices to guarantee a faster network connection.

1. Visit http://tplinkwifi.net on a web browser, and go to Advanced > Qos > Device Priority.
2. Find the guest device you want to prioritize on the list and toggle on Priority.
3. Select how long the device will be prioritized in the Timing column.