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Setup WiFi on the Edimax AR-7286WnA

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Setup Router Staff
(Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Edimax AR-7286WnA router is considered a wireless router because it offers WiFi connectivity. WiFi, or simply wireless, allows you to connect various devices to your router, such as wireless printers, smart televisions, and WiFi enabled smartphones.

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.

When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

  • Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
  • Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.

Other Edimax AR-7286WnA Guides

This is the wifi guide for the Edimax AR-7286WnA. We also have the following guides for the same router:

WiFi Terms

Before we get started there is a little bit of background info that you should be familiar with.

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You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.

Wireless Name

Your wireless network needs to have a name to uniquely identify it from other wireless networks. If you are not sure what this means we have a guide explaining what a wireless name is that you can read for more information.

Wireless Password

An important part of securing your wireless network is choosing a strong password.

Wireless Channel

Picking a WiFi channel is not always a simple task. Be sure to read about WiFi channels before making the choice.

Encryption

You should almost definitely pick WPA2 for your networks encryption. If you are unsure, be sure to read our WEP vs WPA guide first.

Login To The Edimax AR-7286WnA

To get started configuring the Edimax AR-7286WnA WiFi settings you need to login to your router. If you are already logged in you can skip this step.

To login to the Edimax AR-7286WnA, follow our Edimax AR-7286WnA Login Guide.

Find the WiFi Settings on the Edimax AR-7286WnA

If you followed our login guide above then you should see this screen.

router setup
This is the setup page from your Edimax AR-7286WnA router.

Once you have finished logging into the Edimax AR-7286WnA router you should begin on the home page. To setup the wireless you need to click the option at the top of the page labeled Interface Setup. Then below that in red choose the option of Wireless.

Change the WiFi Settings on the Edimax AR-7286WnA

wifi wireless
This is the wifi setup page from your Edimax AR-7286WnA router.

This brings you to the page you see here. The first setting that may need your attention is the Channel. If you want to change the channel you need to choose the Manual option next to Channel. Then to the right of that enter in the channel number you want to use. We strongly recommend using channels 1,6, or 11 only. Find out why in our guide titled WiFi Channels.

In the heading titled Multiple SSIDs Settings you may be told to just use WPS. We strongly recommend reading our What is WPS guide before you decide to use it.

Now you need to set the security of your local network. Find the box labeled SSID. This is the wireless network and should be unique to you. Learn more in our guide about wireless names.

Directly below that is the Authentication Type. We recommend using WPA2-PSK. This is the strongest form of security. To learn more read our WEP vs. WPA guide.

Go ahead and set the Encryption to AES.

Finally the last setting you need to change is the Pre-Shared Key. This is the Internet password. It is important that this be a strong password. Learn how to do this in our Choosing a Strong Password guide.

That's it, just don't forget to save your changes before you leave this page.

Possible Problems when Changing your WiFi Settings

After making these changes to your router you will almost definitely have to reconnect any previously connected devices. This is usually done at the device itself and not at your computer.

Other Edimax AR-7286WnA Info

Don't forget about our other Edimax AR-7286WnA info that you might be interested in.

This is the wifi guide for the Edimax AR-7286WnA. We also have the following guides for the same router: