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 the Router

1. Connect the router’s WAN port to your modem, and the included switch to its LAN port.

2. Power on the router.

3. Connect your phone or computer to the router, either:

   • Over Wi-Fi: join the StartWRT network using the password printed on the sticker on the bottom of the device.
   • Over Ethernet: plug it into the switch.

Note

Routers sold in the United States ship without Wi-Fi. Set up over Ethernet, and see Installing the Wi-Fi Module to add it.

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 “Set Password”.

4. The page will confirm “Setup complete” and normal Internet access will resume. Click “Open router.lan” to continue to Trust Your Root CA. If it opens inside the captive portal popup, open router.lan in your browser instead to download the certificate.

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. Open router.lan in your browser and follow the steps to download your 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 in 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 Settings — Select your country so the router uses the Wi-Fi channels and transmit power permitted there
• Wi-Fi — Set up additional Wi-Fi passwords for different profiles
• Settings — Configure timezone, language, and other preferences