Supported Devices

ARMOR-Z1 (NBG6816)

Overview

The Guest Wi-Fi is used to allow users to establish a connection to access the internet via the ARMOR-Z1 (NBG6816) router, but not other networks connected to the router.  This keeps traffic separate from the main network where sensitive data may be stored which you may not want guest to see or access.

Accessing the WebGUI

It is recommended that any configuration changes made to the router are done via a hardwired computer, especially when making changes to the wireless setup.  Please be sure to have a computer connected to a LAN port (LAN1-LAN4) before proceeding with the setup changes.  To access the web configuration screen for the ARMOR-Z1 (NBG-6816) router, open an internet browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.).  Type http://192.168.1.1 on the browsers address bar and press/hit the ENTER/RETURN key on your keyboard.  This will open the routers login screen.

Type in the device password on the login screen to continue the setup.  The default password for the ZyXEL router is 1234.  If the password was previously changed, type in the new password to continue.

Once logged in you will be prompted to change the administrative password, only if still using the default 1234 credentials.  Type in a new password for the administrative credentials and click the Change button to save/apply the new setting, or, click the Skip button to continue into the web configuration screen and keep the administrative password as 1234.

Guest Wi-Fi Profile

To configure a guest wireless profile on the NBG router click on the Expert option on the far right of the status window, from here click on the Wireless menu option located on the bottom dock.

Once in the wireless menu you will see all the available wireless menu selections on the left side of the left side of the screen.  Click the Guest Wireless option.

The NBG router has the ability to broadcast up to three guest Wi-Fi networks per wireless band (2.4GHz/5GHz).  Within the Guest Wireless menu select the wireless radio band you with to edit (2.4GHz is preselected), you will see three disabled profiles listed, click the Edit icon for profile one to customize the SSID (Service Set Identifier also know as the wireless network name) and wireless security setup (encryption).

In the guest wireless profile make the following changes:
*necessary setting
**optional setting

• Activate* -- Check the box to enable the SSID broadcast
• Name (SSID)* -- Set the name you wish to use for the guest wireless signal
• Hide SSID** -- This feature hides the broadcast name so it cannot be seen.  If this feature is enabled the wireless client will need to be configured manually to connect to the signal.  Programming of your wireless clients for a hidden SSID is not supported by ZyXEL tech support.  If this feature is enabled please be aware that it is at your own risk.
• Intra-BSS Traffic Blocking* -- This option is enabled by default.  This feature keeps the traffic from the guest wireless separate from the main wireless profile.  If this feature is unchecked guests connected to this broadcast will be able to discover the devices connected to the private network, wireless and/or wired.
• WMM QoS* -- This option is enabled by default.  WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) is a quality of service (QoS) feature that gives multimedia traffic such as VoIP and Video priority over other traffic.
• Enable Bandwidth Management for Guest WLAN** -- This option allows the administrator to limit the speed the guest users can utilize from the internet connection.
• Security Mode* -- This feature secures the wireless signal so that only trusted users (users who have been provided the password) can establish a connection to the wireless base station.  It is highly recommended that this feature is enabled to secure your network from unwanted users/connections.
• Pre-Shared Key* -- By default the NBG router will use a predefined password when a security mode is selected, you can change it and create your own custom wireless password if necessary.
• Group Key Update Timer** -- The group key update timer is the rate at which the AP sends a new group key to all clients.  By default the router will transmit a new group key every 60 minutes (3600 seconds)
  

Click the Apply button on the top right to save the changes.

Troubleshooting

a)    Unable to establish a wireless connection?

• Disable wireless security
• Change the SSID to rule out special characters being the problem
• Make sure firmware on router is up to date
• Try different wireless channels to make sure it is not wireless interference causing the problem.
• Make sure the wireless card drivers are up to date.  (This would involve the user checking the computer manufacturers website or the wireless card chipset manufacturers website for updates)
• Change the 802.11 mode.  (Legacy wireless cards may have a hard time connecting to a wireless network using 40MHz channel bandwidth used by 802.11n/ac)

b)    Slow wireless speeds?  Multiple variables can cause a slow connection.

• Check what 802.11 technology the client computer is using on the connection link.
  802.11a – speeds up to 54Mbps
  802.11b – speeds up to 11Mbps
  802.11g – speeds up to 54Mbps or 108Mbps using MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output)
  802.11n – speeds up to 600Mbps*
  802.11ac – speeds up to 6933.3Mbps*
  Note: 802.11n has a feature that cuts the link speed in half if there is another 802.11n broadcast in the area.  So a router that supports an 802.11n connection up to 300Mbps will be cut in half to 150Mbps.
  *depending on spatial streams (antenna array)
• Check the speed at different distances, this will always be a factor.  Also, if using wireless technology with 40MHz bandwidth and higher, speeds will be fast at close range but wider channel bandwidth will be greatly impacted at farther distances. (802.11ac uses Beamforming to help maintain high speeds at great distances)
• How is the speed being tested?  The size of the packets used, protocol type, hardware and/or software can impact results.  If the test is being run/ran against an online server, verify the internet speeds from the ISP by bypassing all networking equipment and connecting directly to the ISP modem.
• Are speeds identical across all devices?
• How many clients are connected to the Wi-Fi?  We do not recommend connecting more than 12 wireless clients on residential access points.  The wireless connection throughput is shared among all connected devices, the more devices connected the lower the throughput.
• Try different wireless channels to rule out wireless interference causing the problem.

c)    Wireless signal output range is low?  Multiple variables can cause a low signal output.

• Building materials – the denser the material the more it obstructs the signals flow.
• Antenna gain and Wireless radio output power will impact the distance the signal can cover.  The higher the gain of the antenna the greater distance that can be covered, but you cannot place a higher gain antenna than what the wireless radio can support.  If the antenna gain is too high the wireless radio may not be able to supply sufficient power.  Changing the antennas can improve signal output, if antennas are external and removable.
• Position of the antennas – depending on the antenna (whether Omni-directional or directional) can impact the signal if pointing the wrong way.  Wireless routers and access points with internal antenna don’t really suffer from this.
• Wireless Interference – the greater the interference from neighboring Wi-Fi access points or other equipment overlapping the 2.4GHz spectrum the lower the signal output.  Change wireless channels or do a survey (wireless survey) of your environment to see what channel has the least interference for use.