Overview

This guide is designed to help with the first time Wi-Fi setup on EMG supported devices.  This walkthrough will guide you through the process of setting up a wireless network name (SSID) and strong wireless security profile (WPA2). Recommendations to acquire the best possible performance will also be given in the tweaks section.  Please be aware that wireless performance will depend on environmental variables and hardware capability.

Supported Devices

EMG1302-R10A
EMG2306-R10A
EMG2926-Q10A
EMG3425-Q10A

Wi-Fi Setup

Access your router's web configuration screen by opening a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) and enter your routers configuration address on the address bar (http://<EMG_IP_Address>). Enter the administrator credentials when prompted and login.  Default ZyXEL credentials are admin/1234, this information may be different if device is running custom ISP (Internet Service Provider) settings.

From the status page click on the Configuration menu icon on the far left. 

Click on Network and select the wireless radio you wish to configure.  Depending on the EMG model there will be an option for Wireless LAN 2.4G and Wireless LAN 5G on dual-band models and Wireless LAN on single-band models. Make the following changes to secure and customize your Wi-Fi signal:

• Wireless LAN – Make sure the Enable radio is selected.
• Name (SSID) – Type in the name you wish to call the Wi-Fi network.
• Hide SSID – This option should remain unchecked.
• Channel Selection – This refers to the channel the radio will use to broadcast the signal.  The “Auto Channel Selection” option can be selected to allow the router to automatically choose the best channel to use based on its current environment, or, manually select the channel to use at all times.
• Channel Width – Select the channel bonding width for the Wi-Fi band. Because of the limited number of non-overlapping channels on the 2.4GHz wireless spectrum, it is highly recommended that the width be set to 20MHz only for the 2.4GHz broadcast.  5GHz broadcast uses more non-overlapping channels, use higher channel widths on 5GHz.
• 802.11 Mode – Select the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard(s) you wish to use.  It is recommended that legacy standards such as 802.11a/b/g be disabled to maximize performance if you no longer have or use devices that use these older standards.
• Security Mode – Select WPA2-PSK from the dropdown.  This is the strongest security method and required with 802.11n/ac wireless standards.  Using older security methods (WEP or WPA) will revert the 802.11 mode to use 802.11a/b/g standards only.
• WPA-PSK Compatible – This option should remain unchecked.  Using WPA-PSK compatibility will revert 802.11 mode to use 802.11a/b/g standards only.
• Pre-Shared Key – Type in the wireless password you wish to use, password can be between 8-63 characters in length.  Please keep in mind that the longer the passphrase, the more time the router and clients will take to encrypt/decrypt packets.
• Group Key Update Timer – Interval at which the AP will send a new group key to all connected clients.  (Default is 3600 seconds, or, 60 minutes)
• Click the Apply button at the bottom of the screen to apply the changes.
• Repeat these steps on the second Wireless LAN menu.
  

An additional three SSID broadcasts can be configured from the More AP tab in the wireless LAN menu.  The EMG3425 can be configured with a guest network broadcast using the SSID3 profile under More AP.  Only the EMG3425 has a guest Wi-Fi feature.

Troubleshooting

Can’t connect to the wireless broadcast (signal).

• Disable the security to make sure it is not a compatibility issue with the selected security mode.  If connection to an unsecure network is successful, enable WEP and test connection again, then WPA and test connection and finally try WPA2.  Legacy clients or operating systems may not have support for WPA2.
• If MAC filtering is enabled on the access point, make sure the client(s) attempting to establish a connection are on the list.  (if list is based on allowed addresses)
• Try a different wireless channel.
• Set channel width to 20MHz only, legacy clients may have issues connecting to wide spectrum.
• Make sure the ZyXEL device is running the latest firmware/software release.
• Verify that the wireless card drivers on your computer are up to date (Windows computers).  You may need to visit computer manufacturer or wireless card chipset manufacturer website for updates to the drivers.
• Reboot the ZyXEL wireless access point.
• Contact ZyXEL Technical Support for further assistance.  Support is available Monday to Friday from 8AM-5PM Pacific Time.  You can also reach us via email: support@zyxel.com

Wireless clients cannot see the wireless broadcast (signal).

• Make sure the Wireless LAN feature is set to Enable. If enabled, try disabling the wireless radio (save changes) and re-enabling the wireless radio (save changes).
• If special characters were used for the SSID name, please remove these characters to rule out as the issue.
• Verify the signal in not hidden.  Uncheck the “Hide SSID” option if enabled.
• Try a different wireless channel.  High amounts of interference will weaken the signals strength.
• Make sure the ZyXEL device is running the latest firmware/software patch.
• Be sure to have the wireless feature on the client device enabled.
• Reboot the ZyXEL wireless access point and try again.
• Reboot the wireless client (laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.) and try again.
• Contact ZyXEL Technical Support for further assistance.  Support is available Monday to Friday from 8AM-5PM Pacific Time.  You can also reach us via email by submitting a support request form here.

Experiencing slow connection.

• If you are experiencing a slow connection, how is the connection being tested?  A test to an internet speed test site is limited by the internet speeds provided by ISP.
• What wireless standard does the client show it is connecting to?  Legacy devices take longer to transmit and receive data than newer devices; this means newer devices have a shorter amount of time to get packets across while slower devices are given a higher amount of time.  This will slow down faster devices.  Best thing to do is disable legacy 802.11 standards (802.11a/b/g).
• Use a higher channel width.  Using 20MHz channel width cuts throughput ability in half, where an 802.11n connection may have a max throughput of 300Mbps, using only 20MHz cuts this to 144.4Mbps (based on mcsindex). Because of a high number of overlapping channels on the 2.4GHz spectrum it is recommended that only 20MHz channel width be used.  Using 40MHz will double throughput theoretically, but, in the real world where there are a multitude of wireless signals in urban areas, this may do more harm than good.  This will increase the amount of interference on the wireless signal which will lower the signal output, lower throughput and experience a high number of dropped/lost packets.
• 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.
• Contact ZyXEL Technical Support for further assistance.  Support is available Monday to Friday from 8AM-5PM Pacific Time.  You can also reach us via email by submitting a support request form here.