How to Connect DSL Modems & Linksys Routers for Wireless Internet

You can connect a DSL modem to a Linksys router to create a wireless Internet network that works anywhere in your home. It is a bit more complicated to customize it by giving it a password and your own name, but certainly not impossible.

Things You'll Need

• DSL modem
• Linksys router
• Cat-6 cable
• 2 phone cords
• Surge protector with phone protection
• Wireless enabled computer

Instructions

1. Pick a location for your network. Set up near a phone jack, as well as an available power plug. Plug in a surge protector to guard your network against any unwelcome surges. Connect your phone jack to the surge protector, then run your second phone line out of it.

2. Install your DSL modem. Generally, when you sign up for DSL your phone company mails you a DSL modem. Once your DSL is on, first plug in the phone cord coming out of the surge protector into the appropriate part of the modem. Second, plug in a Cat-6 wire to the back of the modem in your network plug. Finally, attach the modem's power supply and plug it in.

3. Install your Linksys router. Plug the Cat-6 wire into the back of the router in the "Internet" port. Keep an eye on your DSL router; once the lights seem to stabilize, plug your router into the surge protector. Give it a few minutes.

4. Connect your computer to your new wireless network. Click on your computer's Start button and open the Control Panel. Scroll down to the Network Connections button, and double click. Double click on the Wireless Network Connection, then click on Wireless Networks. Look for one with a name that somehow incorporates the word Linksys, and the strongest such on the list. Double click on that, and your computer will connect to the Internet.

5. Customize the network. Check the documentation on your router as to how to connect to the router's Control Panel. To change the network's name, rename the SSID. To add a password, change the encryption to WPA 128 or 64 bit. 64 bit, while less secure if you're worried about network hackers, is significantly simpler as it only carries a 10-digit password. 128 bit uses a 28 digit password.

Tips & Warnings

• Get a cable modem if you possibly can; DSL tends to be significantly slower.