Ways To Boost Your Home WiFi Signal.
WiFi is one of the most important developments in the evolution of the internet. No one wants to be chained to a desktop. If you’re plagued by slow speeds, bad reception, and other WiFi issues, here are some ways you can boost your WiFi in home.
Find your router the right spot in your home
Walls, doors and cabinets all get in the way of WiFi performance. Some of your homes may be made from brick, concrete, or other dense materials that absorb or block the wireless signals in your home.
Don’t place your router in a hiding spot like the TV or AV cabinet. Instead find it a home on a mantle, desk, or other open spot in your home. Point the antennas upward, and elevate the router as much as you can. There are less obstructions from above.
Walls
It’s true that your interior walls can disturb Wi-Fi signal. However, the amount of disturbance depends on what your walls are made from — the key fact to consider is how dense the material is. Solid concrete is a sure-fire Wi-Fi killer, whereas sheetrock and wood are nowhere near as problematic.
Height
If you live in a property with a second floor, something as simple as placing your router on a high shelf on the first floor can greatly improve the connectivity upstairs. Or if you have three floors, then you should probably place the router on the second floor for equal coverage all-round.
Router Antennas
So if you’re happy with your ISP’s default router, stick with it. If you aren’t, then you should know that switching to a better router will result in better signal: higher-quality router usually implies a higher-quality antenna. This is the bottleneck that most users face.
Routers are often confined to particular locations based on where your Internet connection enters your home and connects to your modem. You can alleviate the issue with some longer Ethernet cables and a few cable clips to hold your cable against the wall and out of the way.
Use the Latest WiFi Technologies
Not all routers are created equally. Just like your smartphone, router technology advances every year too.
One of the best ways to make sure your network is as fast and reliable as possible is to use up-to-date hardware. We’ve gone through the basics of router hardware before, so check out the first lesson of our networking Night School for the full lowdown. The main thing you need to know: Wireless A, B, G, and N are older wireless standards, with wireless AC being the most current offering.
Router Frequency
You’re lucky enough to have a router that supports the 5 GHz frequency, you should use it. It’s a newer standard, which means most of the routers in your neighborhood probably aren’t using it. Not only that, but it also has many more channels that are spaced farther apart than in the 2.4 GHz frequency.
5 GHz connections result in less interference! You’ll be able to change both the channel and the frequency from within the router’s admin portal.
Increase Your WiFi Range with DIY Tricks.
Your router still won’t reach far enough, you can extend its range with simple DIY tricks. Our favorite is the Windsurfer tin foil hack, though you can also use an old beer can or a cooking strainer to extend your router’s range. The results won’t necessarily be mind blowing, but you should be able to eke a bit more distance out of your WiFi network with minimal effort.
You can buy RP-SMA antenna extension cables, or even a directional antenna to boost your WiFi’s performance.
Your Router to Reboot on a Schedule.
Most newer routers don’t need to be rebooted all that often, but if you’ve ever run into a dead Internet connection for no apparent reason, I’m sure you’ve discovered that rebooting your router is often all it takes to get you back up and running. In fact, when you call your ISP or tech support for your router manufacturer, this is often the first thing they’ll have you do.