Why I Disabled WPS on My Router (and You Should, Too)

Just because your gadgets come with a host of features doesn't mean you should enable them all. Take the WPS feature on your router, for example. It has its purpose, but for most home networks, it's best to disable it.

WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup. It's a button found on most routers that, if pressed, allows certain devices to automatically connect to your home network; no password is needed. This feature is particularly useful when you want to connect many devices to your network at once.

Instead of typing the password into dozens of machines, or typing it into devices where text entry is tedious (like printers), you need only press a button to connect multiple devices to the router.

To connect your device to your network using WPS, you generally need to hold down the WPS button on your router for a moment, then select your network's name from the device you want to add. Or, depending on the device, you may need to open a dedicated WPS menu to connect.

Either way, if supported, your device will connect to your LAN without ever having to enter a password.

Modern versions of Android, iOS, and macOS do not support WPS.

Naturally, making network access easier also has its downsides. Passwordless connection to a local network sounds nice if you're only allowing good guys to connect to the network. But what if you have nefarious people around who want to connect to your network for nasty purposes?

There's a reason networks are password-protected. We want to guard against pesky neighbors slowing down our network by using it without permission, but also against cybercriminals who want to inject malware into our network or view its traffic. If WPS is enabled, all a bad guy needs is physical access to your router to gain entry into your network.

On my home network, security wins over convenience.

However, you do have the option of creating a PIN for WPS connections. If enabled, when WPS is used, you'll need to enter a specific PIN to connect to the Wi-Fi network. While this method may sound safer than the default, these PINs only have eight numbers. Even worse, they are calculated as two separate groups, making them much easier to crack.

With this short length vulnerability, plus a lack of letters and special characters, WPS PINs are relatively easy passcodes to break. In fact, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) found that a brute-force attack on a WPS PIN will only take four to 10 hours to complete.

If a skilled hacker wants to gain access to your network, it's only a matter of time before your PIN is found. It's for this reason CISA recommends disabling WPS—and that was back in 2013 before computing power was as strong as it is now.

The exact method to disable WPS depends on the router you're using. Regardless of your router manufacturer, the most common way to access router settings is either through the router's application or web portal.

To access the online web portal, you need to find out your router's IP address and type it into your browser's address bar. The most common router IP addresses are 192.168.1.0 or 192.168.1.1, but you should check yours to be sure.

To find your router's IP address if you're on a Mac, open Settings, then go to Wi-Fi, click your network name, and scroll down until you see the Router field, which shows its IP address.

If you're using Windows, press the Windows key to open the search bar, then type "command prompt" and open that utility. Type "ipconfig" into the command line, then under your current network connection next to Default Gateway, you'll find your router's IP address.

When you type or paste this IP into your browser, you'll be brought to your router's admin portal. You'll need to log in, and the password is different than the one you use to connect to your Wi-Fi. If you don't know the password, look on the bottom of your router or search online for your model's default login password.

Once in, look for WPS in the panel of options; if you don't see it, try navigating to the Wireless, WLAN, or Advanced section. Once you locate the WPS feature, disable it and make sure you save your changes. See our guide to managing your router for more help.

While WPS has its purpose, it's usually more of a threat than it is helpful on a home network. Luckily, you can easily disable it, then re-enable later if necessary.

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