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I have a Belkin WiFi Router which offers a feature of a secondary Guest Access WiFi network. Of course, the idea is that the Guest network doesn't have access to the computers/devices on the main network.

I also have a Comcast-issues Cable Modem/Router device with multiple wired ports, but no WiFi capabilities. I prefer to only run one router/DHCP/NAT instead of both the Comcast Router and the Belkin Router, so I can disable the Routing functions of the Belkin and allow the Comcast Router to

But if I disable the Routing functions of the Belkin device, the Guest WiFi network is still available. Is this configuration just as secure as when the Belkin acts as a Router?

I guess the question comes down to this:

Do Guest WiFis provide security by

  1. only allowing requests to IPs found in-front of the device, or do they work by
  2. disallowing requests to IPs on the same subnet?

My questions:

  1. Would mean that Guest WiFi on an access point provides no benefit, or
  2. Would mean that the Guest WiFi functionality can work even if the device is just an access point.

Or maybe something else entirely?

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  • Great questions. Try it and see. Vendors may implement "Guest" access controls using different methods so unless someone is familiar specifically with your equipment, testing yourself might be the best way to figure this out. Dec 13, 2012 at 16:43
  • Here is a link that may explain a little for you cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6366/…
    – JustinD
    Dec 13, 2012 at 16:55

1 Answer 1

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The best way to check would be to have a device connect to the Guest network and have it try to ping a device connected to your home network.

In my experience, my router doesn't even allow devices on the guest network to see each other, but as mentioned above, implementations vary between vendors.

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