You may know how annoying it is to move a computer equipment to a new room in the house to suddenly check that the Wi-Fi signal is terrible. If we live in a two-floor house or a large floor with several walls and rooms, Wi-Fi connection could be a problem. Sometimes, the solution is as simple as relocating the router or making a few simple adjustments. So, if you lose your mind when you face a problem with your internet connection, don’t freak out. Here we collected the best tricks to improve your Wi-Fi signal, speed, and stability at home.
#1. Find an optimal placement for your router.
If you are facing a Wi-Fi connection problem, this is the first thing you have to consider. Let’s suppose you live in a big house and you are doing some research for your thesis (with the help of thesis helper), you have a half hour waiting for a PDF download but it never ends. You have two options: go to the room where the router is and work there or change the router to another place. If you choose the last alternative, this is what you have to keep in mind:
- Avoid surfaces or large metal panels. For example, placing the router behind the television will cause the screen to block much of the signal.
- Avoid hiding it in a drawer or putting it on a covered shelf, this will be blocking the signal.
- Locate the router as far as possible from the neighbors’ networks.
- Place the router in an elevated area and away from the ground with few obstacles.
- Keep it away from microwaves and cordless phones.
#2. Learn about the Wi-Fi coverage in your own home.
If you are not sure about the best place for your router, there are applications that will help you. These applications allow you to know how many networks are near you, the amount of signal that comes from your network, decibels, noise, the channel in which you are operating, and more. You can download WiFi Finder or WiFi Analyzer on Android, Wi-Fi Finder on iOS or WiFi Analyzer and Acrylic for Windows. However, the most complete is NetSpot, with this app the only thing you have to do is browse your home with your computer, and then it creates a map of your home to see which are the points where most coverage is lost and thus improve Wi-Fi connection. It is available for Windows and macOS.
#3. Change the channel of your router.
If you live in a building and you get networks of many neighbors, it is possible that those networks are interfering with yours because you are all using the same channel. This can be one of the main factors that affect the signal, we usually use the channel that is set by default and that channel could be the most congested. What you have to do is to find which channel is less congested (you can type netsh WLAN show all from the command prompt) and switch to the one that has fewer users. This way, there will be less interference between your router and your devices.
#4. Update the router’s firmware.
Routers are also software-based devices, but they don’t always receive the attention they need as it is done with smartphones or computers. The routers aimed at companies usually warn the available firmware’s update, but the routers that are used at home do not always do it (especially the old ones). Updates can be searched on the manufacturer’s website, downloaded and then installed from the router’s interface.
#5. Use aluminum foil or cut-out cans.
This may not be the fanciest solution, but they do improve your Wi-Fi signal. Wi-Fi signal is an electromagnetic wave. So, if we want to improve it, we can put a can cut in half in vertical and introduce the antenna through the hole or we can create a screen of aluminum foil. If we orientate the inner metallic zone towards the direction we want to improve the coverage, we will notice a how the signal increases. After trying all these tips, you can try to go to homework service and see if the website loads faster!