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Learn · Replacing old devices

Put smart-home gadgets on a guest network

15 min · recommended
Why this matters. Anything on your main Wi-Fi can talk to everything else on it. Put cheap or old gadgets on the guest network instead, and if one gets taken over, it can only reach the internet, not your laptop or your files. Most routers have a guest network built in.
1

Turn on the guest network

Open your router's app or admin page and find Guest network (sometimes Guest Wi-Fi or IoT network). Turn it on and give it its own name and password.

Router app › Guest network
Guest network
On, and kept separate from your main network
Network name
SmithHome-Gadgets›
Password
••••••••••›
Allow access to local network
Illustration. Your screen may look a little different.
2

Keep it separate

Make sure any option like "Allow guests to access local network" or "Allow guests to see each other" is off. That separation is the whole point.

3

Move the device over

In the device's own app or settings, change its Wi-Fi to the new guest network. For a camera or plug this usually means "Change Wi-Fi network" in its app; some need a reset and setup again.

4

Know the trade-off

Devices on different networks can't see each other, so casting from your phone to a TV on the guest network won't work. Cameras, plugs, hubs and printers are the best candidates; keep the TV on your main network if you cast to it a lot, or use a newer streaming stick instead.

Check your understanding

If a smart plug on the guest network is hacked, what can it reach?

Only the internet, not your computers, phones or files on the main network.

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