First Time Setup

Prerequisites

Before you set up PeakHour on your Mac:

• Check that your system meets the Requirements.
• Enable UPnP on your Internet router. PeakHour uses UPnP to discover your router automatically during setup. Most routers ship with UPnP on by default — if yours doesn’t, look for an option labelled UPnP or Universal Plug & Play in your router’s admin interface and turn it on before launching PeakHour. See UPnP Troubleshooting if your router still isn’t discovered.

Getting Started

When you launch PeakHour for the first time, the First Time Setup Assistant appears and guides you through the setup.

The setup has these steps:

1. Welcome: an overview of what PeakHour does.
2. Discover Your Network: PeakHour finds your router, and you choose which features to enable.
3. Choose Your Sites: choose the sites that PeakHour checks to tell you if your Internet is working.
4. Your Privacy: choose what leaves your Mac.
5. You’re All Set: check your configuration.
6. Start Monitoring: choose a plan. Skip this step if you already have a license.
7. Stay in Touch: optional. Join the mailing list or follow PeakHour.

You can try the setup before you pay. PeakHour starts to monitor only after you start a free trial, buy a license or restore a purchase.

If you used PeakHour on another Mac with iCloud sync on, see Restoring from iCloud. If you are moving from PeakHour 4, see Upgrading from PeakHour 4.

1. Welcome

The Welcome screen shows the main features of PeakHour: live monitors for this Mac, your router, your ISP and the Internet; the sites that set your Internet status; Speed Tests; and the AI Advisor. Click Get Started to continue.

2. Discover Your Network

PeakHour scans your local network for routers and gateways that support UPnP. When it finds a router that reports usage correctly, the router shows with a Reporting badge.

If PeakHour finds no router, the step shows No routers detected, your Wi-Fi and gateway addresses, and if the Internet is reachable. PeakHour can still monitor latency, quality and throughput. Click Retry Scan to scan again, or How to turn on UPnP to open Turn on UPnP. See also Can’t find your Internet router? below.

Below the network status, choose which features to enable:

Feature	Description
Internet Dashboard & AI Advisor	An at-a-glance view of your network’s health and live diagnostics. On by default.
Speed Tests	Periodic speed tests for your speed and your latency under load. See Speed Test. On by default.
Usage Monitoring	Tracks bandwidth consumption against your data plan. Off by default.

Click Continue, or Skip – Set Up Later to configure PeakHour from Settings later.

Can’t find your Internet router?

If PeakHour finds no router:

• Make sure UPnP is on in your router. See Turn on UPnP.
• Click Retry Scan after you turn on UPnP.
• Some routers implement UPnP poorly. PeakHour checks what your router reports, and shows Reporting only when the data is valid.
• For more help, see UPnP Troubleshooting.

Using SNMP instead? PeakHour can monitor SNMP routers and other devices, but SNMP has no auto-discovery, so SNMP devices do not show in the setup. Add them after the setup from Settings.

3. Choose Your Sites

PeakHour checks a list of sites to tell you if your Internet is working. First, choose what you use the Internet for, for example work and video calls, gaming or streaming. PeakHour then suggests sites for your choices. If you choose nothing, PeakHour suggests five everyday sites.

On Choose Your Sites, the Your Sites card at the top shows the sites that PeakHour will check, up to 10. Each site shows its current response time. Click the × on a site to remove it.

Below Add More Sites, click a site to add it. To add a site that is not in the list, click Add a Site at the end of the list, then type a host name or IP address.

You can change your sites later in Settings → Dashboard.

4. Your Privacy

This step asks you to choose what leaves your Mac. Neither option is set until you choose Off or On. Continue is available when you have made each choice. You can change each choice later.

Look Up Your Provider

Provider Lookup adds your provider’s name, its approximate location and logo to the Internet Dashboard. It also lets the PeakHour Advisor show the route to each site.

When it is on, PeakHour uses these services:

Service	What it provides
ipify	Detects your public IP address.
MaxMind, through PeakHour’s own lookup service	The network name and approximate location of your IP address, the sites you monitor, and the routers on the way.
RIPE NCC	The network that a router belongs to, when MaxMind can’t name it.
PeeringDB	A network’s web domain, to find its logo.
Brandfetch	ISP, router and network logos.

When it is off, nothing is sent to these services. The dashboard shows “Your ISP” with no provider details, and the Advisor shows no routes or site map.

Note

These services receive internet addresses, network numbers and web domains. They do not receive your name, your Mac’s name or your Wi-Fi name. For what each service receives, see Provider Lookup.

To change this later, use Look Up Provider Details in Settings → Dashboard.

Private Cloud Compute

This card shows only on Macs that support Apple Intelligence. When Private Cloud Compute is on, Apple’s larger model writes the AI Advisor’s explanations. Your measurements go to Apple’s servers, which do not keep them. Your Wi-Fi name, Mac name and sites stay on your Mac.

When it is off, On-Device Models on your Mac write the explanations. Nothing is sent, and the Advisor works offline, but the explanations are less accurate. See PeakHour Advisor.

5. You’re All Set

Check the configuration that PeakHour will apply:

• Internet Gateway: the router that PeakHour found.
• Features: the features that you enabled.
• Launch at Login: turn on to start PeakHour when you log in to your Mac.

Click Continue.

6. Start Monitoring

If you do not have a license yet, this step shows your router and your sites, with their response time, and the plans:

• Yearly Subscription: includes a one-week free trial. Click Start Free Trial.
• Lifetime License: pay once. Click Purchase Lifetime.

If you already bought PeakHour, click Restore Purchases. PeakHour starts to monitor when the trial, the purchase or the restore is complete.

If you close the setup window before you choose a plan, PeakHour quits. The next time you open PeakHour, the setup starts again.

7. Stay in Touch

This step is optional. Type your email address and click Join to get occasional updates and tips (no spam). Or follow PeakHour on X, Bluesky, YouTube or Instagram.

Click Get Started to finish the setup.

After Setup

Once setup completes, PeakHour starts monitoring in the background and a short popover appears from its menu bar icon confirming everything is up and running. Click anywhere to dismiss it.

Can’t see PeakHour in your menu bar?

PeakHour needs some horizontal space in the menu bar to display its monitors — especially on Macs with the notch (MacBook Pro 14”/16”), where usable menu-bar width is limited. If PeakHour’s icons aren’t visible, macOS has likely hidden them behind the notch or another app’s menu-bar item.

To make room:

• Open PeakHour Settings → Menu Bar and disable any Menu Bar Items you don’t need by dragging them from Active Items back to Available Items.
• Or remove other apps’ menu-bar icons from System Settings → Control Center, or use a menu-bar manager like Bartender or Ice to hide them.

If you can’t see PeakHour at all, click its icon in the Dock to open the main window — monitoring continues regardless of whether the menu bar item is visible.

Restoring from iCloud

If you set up PeakHour on another Mac signed in to the same Apple Account, the Welcome screen shows Welcome Back to PeakHour with the number of monitors in your saved settings.

• Click Restore & Finish to apply your settings. You’re All Set then shows the number of monitors that PeakHour restores. If you do not have a license on this Mac, Start Monitoring comes next, and it is the last step.
• Click Set Up Manually to go through the setup steps.

After an iCloud restore, the setup does not show Stay in Touch.

Next Steps

Now that PeakHour is running, here are some additional resources to help you use PeakHour:

• To open PeakHour and view your monitors, click the menu bar area or the Dock icon to open PeakHour. For detailed instructions and explanation of the interface, visit Main View.

• To read more about PeakHour’s many options, visit Settings.