Until now, user preferences remained widely unconsidered in the design process of underlay wireless networks. Yet, with new technologies, such as device-to-device (D2D) communications being contingent upon user acceptance and their participation, user preferences are the key ingredient for designing successful products and services. Following this notion, we provide a general framework which elicits users' preferences for underlay networks (UUP) and active roles in multihop networks. Furthermore, we define an interface which translates the technical jargon related to the topic into non-technical terminology and introduce a virtual scenario which is also understandable for users with no technical background. Subsequently, based on a choice-based conjoint study, we derive the corresponding UUPs, translate them back into technical relationships, and assess the system's performance and the user participation by incorporating the elicited UUPs into a suitable D2D scenario.INDEX TERMS Communications technology, conjoint analysis, consumer electronics, device to device communication, mobile ad hoc networks, user centered design, user preferences, willingness to forward, wireless communication, wireless multihop networks, wireless networks.