Do you want to limit internet access at home to reduce daily Internet consumption? Or maybe you want to restrict your child’s screen time and prevent your neighbors from getting Internet access for free? By reading this article, you will find out how to limit Internet access at home in a simple and quick way.
How to Limit Internet Access at Home
To limit Internet access at home, you need to enter your IP address in the URL on your browser and log in with your modem’s username and password. You can limit Internet access by adjusting Parental Control settings if you have the MAC address of the user’s devices or by adjusting Guest Network settings.
Limiting Internet Access
- Parental Control
- Guest Access
- Internet Filters
- Adjusting Wireless Advanced Settings
- Improving Router Security
Parental control
Nowadays, children spend a lot of time on the Internet, which can be worrisome for some parents. Therefore, if you want to limit your children’s screen time, what you can do is access the router’s configuration settings by entering the IP address in the URL bar and logging in with the modem’s username and password.
Once you gain access to the router setup menus, you need to find the menu for Parental Control or Router Access Restrictions. There you can set time frames for Internet usage within each device or disable Internet access. For Instance, if you would like to limit your children’s Internet in the evening, you will need to select their devices and set the hours you want to make necessary restrictions.
MAC address
It is essential to mention that in order to be able to set up such restrictions, you need to know the MAC address of the device. This is a unique address that every device connected to the router has, and it is assigned by the manufacturer. To find the MAC address of a particular device, open “Settings” on the device, select “General”, and then click on “About”. The MAC address of the device is listed as a Wi-Fi address.
Moreover, you can restrict Internet access to a specific device by using the MAC filtering feature, which you can find in the router’s settings. Once you open the router configuration page, click on the “Security/Advanced Settings” tab.
Next, look for “Filter Mode” and adjust whether you want to exclude a particular device from using the Internet or only whitelist your home devices to prevent others from accessing your Internet.
Guest access
Another way to limit your home’s Internet access is by enabling and adjusting guest access on the router. This particular feature enables you to set up a separate network for guests and set up restrictions so that it won’t affect your home network. To do so, you need to head to the router’s configuration page and find the Guest Network tab.
There you can schedule time frames for Internet usage if you want the guests to use the Internet only at a certain time period. On top of that, you can also adjust the Throttling Bandwidth Usage to prevent your guests from taking advantage of your Internet.
Internet filters
If you feel like you are spending a lot of time on social media or you want to prevent your child from accessing suspicious websites, you can block certain websites on your router. To do so, you need to check security options and search for Internet Filters.
That being said, if you would like to prevent someone from accessing your Internet, you need to prohibit access to your router. For this reason, we advise changing your router’s password and setting a stronger one, as well as using WPA2 encryption.
You can also change your SSID, hide it, or disable broadcast. This will stop your router from appearing when others are searching for a signal. To change or hide your SSID, open your router’s configuration page and go to the WLAN section. There you can enter a new name in the SSID name field or uncheck the SSID enable options.
Read more: How to Turn off Internet Access at Night
Other Ways to Limit Internet Access
If you are still wondering how to limit access at home, what you can also do is adjust the strength of the Internet in your home. This can be implemented by opening your router’s configuration page and clicking on the Wireless Advanced section.
In the Wireless Advanced section, you will be able to adjust the Internet’s strength and set at which distance from the router you will be able to access the Internet on your device. Furthermore, you can click on “Wireless” from the router configuration menu and select “Basic Channel Settings”.
On that page, you can also set how many devices can use your home Internet. By adjusting the settings on the Security tab, you can prevent others from accessing your router and making any changes.
Pause Wi-Fi
If you don’t want any distractions in a specific time or situation, pausing your Wi-Fi can also be a great option. However, to be able to pause the Wi-Fi, you need to find suitable apps. Such apps are designed to enable you to pause Internet access for some or all devices. Furthermore, using third-party apps, you can also completely cut off the Internet connection on specific devices.
By opening the router configuration page, it is possible to make all the necessary changes when it comes to your router and Internet access. You can not only limit Internet access but also improve Internet strength, enhance its security, adjust channel width, and more.
Conclusion
These are all of the steps that you can implement to restrict Internet access at your home and adjust the Internet use according to your needs and preferences. This article provided you with the answer on how to limit Internet access at home and help you configure network settings as desired. It is also important to enhance the security of your network to prevent others from accessing your router and making changes.