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Initial Setup

After unboxing your Start9 router or completing a fresh install, follow these steps to get up and running. The entire process takes just a few minutes.

Connect to Wi-Fi

  1. Power on the router.

  2. On your phone or computer, connect to the StartWRT Wi-Fi network using the password printed on the sticker on the bottom of the device.

Create Your Admin Password

  1. A captive portal will open automatically. If it does not, open a browser and navigate to router.lan.

  2. Create an admin password (minimum 12 characters). This password protects the web interface and is separate from the Wi-Fi password.

  3. Confirm the password and click “Submit”.

  4. Normal Internet access will resume and you will be logged in to the StartWRT web interface.

Important

All Internet access is blocked until you set an admin password. If you dismiss the captive portal popup, open any browser and navigate to router.lan.

Note

Your timezone is auto-detected from your browser during setup. You can change it later under Settings.

Trust Your Root CA

To access the web interface securely over HTTPS, download and trust your router’s Root Certificate Authority (Root CA).

  1. Navigate to System > Settings > General and click “Download Root CA”.

  2. Follow the instructions for Trusting Your Root CA on each device you want to connect to the router’s web interface.

Explore the Web Interface

The StartWRT web interface is organized into five sections:

  • Internet — WAN settings, published ports, outbound VPNs
  • Network — LAN settings, connected devices
  • Security Profiles — Create and manage access control profiles
  • Points of Entry — Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi passwords, inbound VPN servers
  • System — General settings, SSH keys, backups, logs

Tip

Toggle Help Mode from the header to get a plain-language explanation of everything on the current page, including links to external resources.

Next Steps

  • Security Profiles — Understand the core concept behind StartWRT
  • Wi-Fi — Set up additional Wi-Fi passwords for different profiles
  • Settings — Configure timezone, language, and other preferences