It does not matter if you have one from the operator or your own purchased router, you can adjust it to your needs so that it behaves more or less as you want. It’s what I do: whenever I configure a router I try to customize it to the needs of my house. And there is an adjustment that never fails: that of the DNS. A simple gesture significantly speeds up connections.
One of the biggest differences between keeping the router provided by the operator and opting for the acquisition of a “free” one is usually the number of options that the user can access. Companies restrict some settings so they cannot be altered, often with the intention of not disturbing the Internet connection (it is very easy to deconfigure the router if the parameters are unknown). However, my recommendation is to customize the configuration of the device as much as possible.
Manually configure the DNS of your router
All operators deliver their equipment with their personalized DNS addresses. With this default configuration, it is the telephone company’s servers that decide how to resolve ip addresses that all the equipment connected to your router use to process the data flow. And there is a maximum: the faster the DNS servers are resolving the requests, the faster you will feel in your connection.
Internet connections are influenced by many factors. The speed you have contracted is important, but that does not guarantee that your access to the network will always be fast: the server from which you download the information can be slow, the networks are sometimes saturated and, as far as we are concerned, not all DNS servers resolve IP addresses at the same speed. Since these DNS are always configurable on the router, the faster the servers you choose, the faster your connection will go.
All the routers that I configure, whether they are from the operator, bought by me or left on trial mode, have personalized DNS settings. My choice is clear: I always opt for Cloudflare addresses, orA maximum security company that offers its servers free of charge to anyone who wants to configure them. From experience I can assure you that they are faster than those of any operator, even faster than Google’s DNS.
Cloudflare is a private company that offers its DNS servers for free and publicly. These are secure and have privacy audited
There are two DNS that you can change from your router: the primary, 1.1.1.1, and the secondary, 1.0.0.1. Adjusting this configuration will be the Cloudflare servers that will direct the traffic of your router from the IP addresses (the numbers) to the URLs (the websites with the .com, .es…). Let’s see how you should configure them:
- Access your router’s settings. Usually, you just need to be connected to your WiFi and type 192.168.1.1 in the address field of your browser. That is the default gateway.
- Enter the username and password to access the router. They are printed on the bottom of your device.
- Once inside the settings, look for the “WAN” options. If it is an operator router, as is my case (Movistar), you may have to access “Advanced settings”.
- Find the DNS field and select “Static”. Or manual, it all depends on what your router calls it.
- Enter 1.1.1.1 in the Primary DNS field and 1.0.0.1 in the Secondary DNS field. Accept and wait for the router to reboot. Ready.
- Operators can change that setting remotelyYou should check it periodically. Depending on the router, there are times when it lets you disable remote assistance. For example, in Movistar it is found within the maintenance options, with the name “TR069”.
Changing DNS addresses does not make downloads or uploads go faster: the change applies to that period of time from when you click on a link and the page begins to load. The faster the DNS servers are, the shorter that instant will be; which speeds up the overall speed of WiFi.
In Xataka Mobile | IPv6, in-depth guide