While the Grandstream GWN7600 range of wireless access points or APs are very powerful and feature-rich, this tutorial covers only the basic stand-alone configurations. 

For mode advanced configurations see here: http://grandstream.com/support/resources?title=gwn7600

Grandstream also offer a free cloud-based management platform for home and/or enterprise users. For more details and to setup your account, see here: https://www.gwn.cloud/login

To get the most out of this tutorial you should have basic networking knowledge.

This range of APs will receive an IP address automatically from the onsite DHCP server which usually runs as a service on the internet modem/router. Therefore, this tutorial is based on any GWN7600 series APs being plugged into the internet modem or router via an ethernet cable, or plugged into an ethernet switch that is plugged directly into the internet modem/router.

 

Option 1 - Basic setup right out of the box:

Out of the box the GWN7600 series APs are configured and ready to go. 

Take a photo or make a note of the SSID and WiFi password from the silver Grandstream sticker on the rear of the AP.

***Always take a photo of the label on the rear of any access point and save it in a safe place as they are often mounted in difficult to reach places and these credentials may be needed sometime in the future*** 

***Please note that the text is very small and the password shown is case-sensitive***

1. Plug the POE injector into an AC power outlet, plug one end of an ethernet cable into the NET/POE ethernet port of the AP and the other into the POE ethernet port of the POE injector.

2. Plug one end of a second ethernet cable into the LAN ethernet port of the POE injector and the other end into a free ethernet port on your internet modem/router, or into a switch that is joined to the internet modem/router via an ethernet cable.

3. When the LED/s flash purple, connect to the SSID with your wireless device and enter the case-sensitive password.

 

 

After you connect to the SSID, open a web browser and go to www.gowifi.co.nz as you should be connected to the internet now.

***Something to note with the most basic setup is that the LED/s will continue to flash purple until the device is actually logged into and changed to a master or slave AP.***


Option 2 - Easy step-by-step config:

1. Ensure that the AP is powered up and is connected to your modem/router as described above. 

2. Download Advanced IP Scanner from https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/, install it on your computer, open the program and click the Scan button.

3. Once you’ve found the IP address of the AP, open a web browser (preferably Google Chrome as it tends to have less issues and its what these screenshots are based on) and type it into the address bar and press enter. In this instance the IP address is 192.168.1.66 however yours will be different.

4. You will get a warning stating that the connection is not secure or not private. Before proceeding make sure that the correct IP address is in the address bar and proceed to the APs internal web page by clicking the Advanced button and then clicking the Proceed to x.x.x.x (unsafe) link

5. Depending on the current firmware of the device, upon first login you may need to use admin as the username and admin for the password. If that doesn’t work use admin as the username and the WiFi password shown on the rear of the device as the login password.


***Always take a photo of the label on the rear of any access point and save it in a safe place as they are often mounted in difficult to reach places and these credentials may be needed sometime in the future***



6. After providing the username and password you’ll be presented with the following dialogue box asking you to change the Administrator password.

Please note that a secure password is made up of at least eight characters with a mixture of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols.

7. Save the password and allow some time for login and the run through the setup wizard

8. Change the Country to New Zealand and the Time Zone to (UTC+12) Auckland, Wellington

9. Change the SSID and the Pre-Shared key (this is often referred to as the WiFi password, please note details on secure passwords above)

The new settings will now apply

After the settings apply, you’ll be taken back to the dashboard and the LED/s will go from green to solid blue. As the device is the first on the network that has had configuration changes, it is now considered to be the master AP. Any additional APs added to the network will become slaves of this one and any settings applied to the master will be automatically pushed out to the slave APs.

 

If you have only one Grandstream access point, you can log out as the basic setup is complete however you’ll need to upgrade the firmware to keep the device current. Steps for upgrading the firmware are at the end of this tutorial.


Adding more WiFi coverage with a second AP

To add additional Grandstream 7600 series access points to the same network use the following steps:

1. Power up your next access point and plug it into the LAN switch or router as described earlier. The LEDs will be solid green while booting up.

2. Go to the dashboard on the master AP then Assess Points and click on the Discover AP button


3. You should now see the additional AP(s) in the list, click on the Pair The Selected Device icon to pair the new access point with the master access point and close the dialogue box.

The second and all subsequent access points added in this manner will be slaves of the first access point. Any configuration changes will be performed on the master and will be automatically pushed out to the slaves.


To upgrade the firmware, follow these steps:

1. Go to Maintenance and click the Upgrade tab

2. Change Firmware Server and Config Server URLs to firmware.grandstream.com and click Save

3. Then click Apply

4. After the new setting are applied, click the Upgrade Now button and click OK on the NoticeThe access point will now upgrade. The access point will restart and the LED/s will flash green while the upgrade is in progress and this can take several minutes. ***Like any ICT device, do not unplug the device while the upgrade is in progress as this can cause irreversible damage*** 

5. Upon reboot, log in again and see the new firmware version immediately to the right of the model number.

6. Next, click Access Points, select the slave, click the Upgrade button and agree to the notice
The access point will now upgrade. The access point will restart and the LED/s will flash green while the upgrade is in progress and this can take several minutes. ***Like any ICT device, do not unplug the device while the upgrade is in progress as this can cause irreversible damage*** 

7. Click OK to the notice if it’s still there and you’ll be returned to the Access Points page where you’ll see that the access point is upgrading.. Finally, you get the Upgraded Successfully notice, click OKYou’ll see the AP as Offline while the upgrade is applied.The second access point will now show the new firmware version after it comes back online.After the new firmware has applied and the device has restarted, the LED/s will be solid blue. Congratulations, you have configured both APs and applied the latest firmware to them.


Happy Computing!