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Setup WiFi on the Vodafone HG556a

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

The Vodafone HG556a 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 faster than ever deal!

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 Vodafone HG556a Guides

This is the wifi guide for the Vodafone HG556a. 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 Vodafone HG556a

To get started configuring the Vodafone HG556a WiFi settings you need to login to your router. If you are already logged in you can skip this step.

To login to the Vodafone HG556a, follow our Vodafone HG556a Login Guide.

Find the WiFi Settings on the Vodafone HG556a

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

router status mac address internet IP
This is the status page from your Vodafone HG556a router.

Let's begins this wireless setup guide on the BOX Summary page of the Vodafone HG556a router. First, click the link in the left sidebar labeled Wireless. Then under that pick the new option of Basic.

Change the WiFi Settings on the Vodafone HG556a

wifi wireless
This is the wifi setup page from your Vodafone HG556a router.

You should now be on a page very similar to the one you see above. First, be sure your wireless is turned on, the box labeled Enable Wireless should have a check-mark in it.

Now let's change the SSID. This is the network name for your wireless connection. Be creative here, it can be just about anything you like, but we recommend avoiding personal information. Check out our Wireless Name guide for more on the subject.

When you are finished with that, click the Save/Apply button near the bottom of the page.

Then go back to the left sidebar and click the new link of Security.

router wifi security wireless
This is the wifi security page from your Vodafone HG556a router.

The first section on this new page is titled WSC Setup. This is WPS and is very insecure. Do not use WPS, check out this What is WPS Guide to learn what this is.

Scroll down to the section titled Manual Setup AP.

First, select the network name you just created on the previous page from the drop down list titled Select SSID.

Then under that is the Network Authentication. For maximum security we recommend using the WPA2-PSK. To learn more check out this guide.

Next is the WPA Pre-Shared Key. This is the internet password and should be strong. We recommend using at least 14 to 20 characters and a minimum of one symbol, number, and capital letter. Learn more in this Password Guide.

That's it for this guide, just click the Save/Apply button.

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 Vodafone HG556a Info

Don't forget about our other Vodafone HG556a info that you might be interested in.

This is the wifi guide for the Vodafone HG556a. We also have the following guides for the same router: