If you’ve recently set up a new cable modem, fiber-optic gateway or wireless router, often it won’t work straight out of the box. We’ve covered this single-device setup in our previous article.

However, if you’re attempting to connect a wireless router to your cable modem, FiOS gateway or DSL modem, this is a two-device setup; in this case, you’ll need to leave the wireless router out of the setup first, and connect the other device directly to the computer and the Internet. Then, see our previous article about setting up the modem with wired Internet.

Ensure the Internet is working with a single device

Once you’re certain that the Internet is working, disconnect the cable modem from the PC and connect the modem to the Ethernet port on the back of the router marked Internet. This will sometimes be the yellow port.

Connect your wireless router

Then, connect a PC to one of the other ports on the wireless router. (Do this even if you plan to connect only via Wi-Fi later.) Plug in the wireless router and make sure it’s turned on. Make sure the lights in front of the connected ports are lit.

Here’s what a typical two-device setup looks like.

Enter 192.168.1.1

Open a web browser and type 192.168.1.1 (usually) and you’ll get the wireless router’s setup screen.

As with the cable modem’s setup, click basic setup or something similar, and walk through the default options. There’s a good chance that the wireless router will configure itself automatically.

The default device name and password for connecting to the Wi-Fi are almost always located on the bottom or back of the device. You can change both from this setup screen, if you wish.

Restart both devices

After configuring your router, disconnect both it and the modem for 60 seconds, then plug in the modem, wait until the lights come on, then plug in the router. You should be connected to the Internet.