Put your hands up if you believe that the internet has become a necessity rather than a luxury. I believe if we took a poll, the entire country would agree on this one thing, regardless of all the other things we may disagree on. We all need a high-speed internet connection to get by these days, and for that, we need to be able to set it up and have it running at our place. Usually, it is no big deal. You connect the modem/router to the cable jack, turn it on, ensure the settings are accurate and you are good to go. However, God forbid if something goes wrong, that 5 minutes process can turn into a nightmare of endless calls to the internet service provider and an expensive technician visit.

Internet service providers make the lives of millions of users around the country much more convenient by offering reliable services and the option for professional installation to save you from all the hassle of setting up. Some trustworthy names in the industry include the likes of AT&T internet, Optimum internet, Mediacom internet, and many more. The general setup and installation process is the same for almost all the providers with slight variations. However, you will be provided an installation manual with the equipment that will ensure that you are clear on the process.

Although, many of us prefer to have a technician come over and take care of the technicalities for us, so we can just turn on our devices and enjoy the service without banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out how to set it up. However, the world has changed due to the ongoing pandemic and most of the internet service providers only offer self-installation now. Therefore, we have no other option but to learn something we have avoided all these years.

Therefore, we took it upon us to write an article describing the process to self-install your internet equipment and have your service activated.

Setup the Internet Connection

We will assume that you already have a subscription to an internet service provider and are looking to install the equipment. Therefore, we will not cover researching a provider and signing up for an internet connection. So let us move on to the setup process right away.

Setup the Modem and Router

Regardless of which ISP you choose, you will be given the choice of leasing their equipment for a monthly charge. Although you can also choose to use personal equipment which would save you money in the long-run, you may not be covered for technical support.

Connect the Modem

• Find the phone/cable jack and plug in one end of the telephone/coax cable into it. The other end goes into the back of your modem where it says “Cable In” or “RF In”.
• Connect one side of the Ethernet cable into the back of your modem and the other side into the back of your Wi-Fi router if it is a separate device. If you have a two-in-one device then this step is not for you. Also, if you want to use a wired connection, then connect the Ethernet cable directly to your computer.
• Once you’ve connected the devices, switch on the power to turn on the modem/router and wait for the lights to stabilize before you try to establish a connection.
• If you are connected through the Ethernet cable your connection is easy to use, but if you want to establish a wireless connection, you will need to locate the password at the back of the router and input it while trying to connect to the router.

Check Internet Connection

Once you have established a connection, you simply need to open a browser window and try to open any website to check if the internet connection is working properly or not. If the website opens up, you have successfully set up your internet service.

Troubleshooting No Internet

In case, you cannot access the internet after setting up the network, do not worry. Here are a few tips that can help you quickly solve the problem.

• Try a couple of different webpages before concluding that your internet is not working. A website may be down at the time you are trying to access it. Also, try using another device to rule out a faulty device playing up.
• If you still face the same problem then try restarting your devices.
• While the device restarts, check all the cables are securely inserted and all the necessary lights are stable on the modem.
• When trying to re-connect, ensure that you are connecting to the correct network.
• If the problem persists, try restarting your modem/router and try re-connecting to it once the lights have stabilized. This one usually does the trick.
• You may want to call your ISP if the internet still does not work and check if they need your MAC address to allow you internet access. They may need other information as well and they will guide you through it.

Concluding Thoughts

That’s about it for now. From now onwards, you can easily set up your internet and even troubleshoot common issues. If you face any problems that you cannot troubleshoot by yourself, do not hesitate to call your internet provider’s customer service number and ask for help. Nobody expects you to be a pro at this, so do not beat yourself up over it.