Sit in the living room and the internet flies; step into the bedroom at the back of the house and the video starts buffering. This scene is familiar to most households. Many people’s first instinct is to call their provider and upgrade the plan, but in most cases the problem isn’t the speed you bought, it’s how the signal spreads through your home.
Before spending more every month, try a few simple adjustments. Often just changing the placement and configuration is enough to improve the signal considerably.
Router placement decides a great deal
Many people tuck the router into a cabinet corner, behind the TV or on the floor by the front door, usually wherever the network cable already is. But Wi-Fi signal spreads in all directions and is weakened by obstacles. Placing the router in a central spot in the house, up high and out in the open, not blocked by cabinets or thick walls, can improve things immediately.
Avoid placing it near large metal objects, mirrors and microwave ovens, since these block or interfere with the signal.
Thick walls and distance are the signal’s enemies
Every wall, especially concrete ones or ones with water pipes, absorbs part of the signal. Multi-story or sprawling houses often have corners that a single router’s signal simply can’t reach with enough strength. This isn’t the fault of your plan, it’s the physical limit of radio waves.
Extend coverage when you need to
For a large or multi-story home, a single router often isn’t enough. A tidy solution is a mesh system of several access points spread throughout the house, working together as one seamless network so you can move between rooms without dropping the signal. This is a far more worthwhile investment than upgrading speed when the signal still doesn’t reach.
Check for interference and overloaded devices
If neighbors are packed close together, many Wi-Fi networks may crowd onto the same channel and cause congestion. Many routers let you change the channel or automatically pick a less crowded one. On top of that, too many devices using the network at once also slows everything down, so keep an eye on the devices eating up bandwidth in the background.
Weak Wi-Fi in a far room is almost always a matter of placement and coverage, not of the speed you pay for. Try moving the router into the open, setting it up high, and if the house is large, consider a mesh system. Very often these changes solve the problem without adding to the monthly bill.