- Upgrade path: BR1 Pro (CAT-20)/BR1 Pro 5G/BR2 Pro and all Dome, Transit, and B One units must reach 8.5.4 before 8.6.0.
- 8.6 retires several older models (Balance One/210/310 HW4, MAX HD2/HD4/Transit generations, more) — they stay on 8.5.x maintenance.
- FIPS deployments: IPsec preshared keys must be at least 14 characters.
Every Peplink Balance and MAX router runs the same web admin interface. You reach it two ways, and they show the identical screens.
New to networking?
If terms like WAN, LAN, and VLAN are new, read Networking 101 first — this guide assumes you know the basics and focuses on where each setting lives.
Before you log in: the physical setup
A router only needs three things connected before you configure it:
- Power — plug it in and wait for the status lights to settle (usually a minute or two).
- Your internet source into a WAN port — the cable from your modem, fiber ONT, or Starlink goes into a port labelled WAN (your connection to the outside world).
- Your computer into a LAN port — connect your laptop (or a switch) to any port labelled LAN (the network inside your site). Wi-Fi works too if the router has it on.
On cellular models, install your SIM(s) first. Once power and at least the LAN side are connected, you can reach the admin interface below.
Two ways in
- Locally — browse to the router’s LAN IP and sign in. Balance routers default to
192.168.1.1; MAX (cellular / mobile) routers default to192.168.50.1. - Remotely through InControl — open the device in InControl 2 and click Remote Web Admin. You land on the very same UI (the address bar just shows an
rwa….peplink.comproxy URL) without opening any inbound firewall ports.
First-time credentials are admin / admin — change them immediately under System → Admin Security (see System Settings).
How this walkthrough is organized
The UI is a row of tabs — Dashboard, SpeedFusion Connect, Network, AP, Switch, System, Status — plus an Advanced area that holds everything else. This guide follows those tabs in order. Work top to bottom for a full tour, or jump to any section from the menu above.
Field note
Before you change anything, take a config backup: System → Configuration → Download Active Configurations. With the exception of WAN settings (which save-and-apply immediately), you can stage an entire router’s changes and commit them all at once with Apply Changes.
Video walkthrough: setting up a Balance 20X
(Note: If you plugged in WAN, that would bond with your Cellular which would be how you achieve SpeedFusion Cloud.)
From Peplink University with Professor P.