5 Ways to Improve Your Home WiFi Connection

A wired connection offers faster and reliable internet speeds. With less interference, internet signals can travel more efficiently and provide top-notch connectivity to the connected devices.

But, for people like me who love to move around their house while browsing social media or communicating with their loved ones, WiFi is a more convenient option.

However, if you’re a WiFi user like me, you’d know how frequently a wireless connection can start acting up. I, too, experienced many slowdowns, sometimes even in the middle of important work meetings.

Frustrated to the core by such frequent slowdowns, I decided to fix my WiFi once and for all. Here, I’ll share my five key findings that helped me improve WiFi connectivity around my house. 

So, let’s start!

Update Your Router’s Firmware

Most electronic devices, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc, receive frequent updates. Similarly, routers also receive firmware and software updates, which are essential for their efficient working.

These updates can contain bug fixes, new features, security patches, and more. And, you must install these updates on time to ensure that your router keeps functioning properly.

Here, the good news is that most of the advanced routers install these updates automatically. However, if you have to manually install these updates, do check for them once a month.

Upgrade to a New Router

It’s also possible that your router is outdated and doesn’t receive any updates at all. 

And, in such cases, I believe it’s best to replace it and bring in an advanced one. A router’s age is between 3 and 5 years, and after this period, routers can become inefficient or start causing sudden slowdowns.

That said, keep in mind that quality routers can be expensive. However, I’ve got a way around. I recently subscribed to one of the Optimum WiFi plans. Besides a reliable and high-speed connection, I also got whole-home coverage with a WiFi 6E gateway (modem + router).

This way, from the basement to my room on the first floor, every inch of my house gets the best connectivity.

Place Your Router in an Ideal Location

You might’ve understood by now that routers are particularly important in wireless connections. They are responsible for distributing the internet signals among the connected devices. 

Also, it barely matters how fast your internet connection is. If you haven’t placed your router smartly, you might never enjoy those blazing-fast speeds.

Here, it’s vital to understand that internet signals require a clear path to the connected devices. Heavy objects like furniture, cupboards, thick walls, etc, can interfere with internet signals. Electronic devices emitting radio waves like microwaves, baby monitors, or nearby WiFi connections can also hinder the internet signals’ path.

Technically, when internet signals collide with these objects, they may deviate from their path. As a result, connected devices receive weaker or no internet signals.

So, always place your router away from these objects to ensure that they don’t interfere with or block the path of internet signals.

Set a Limit on Connected Devices

Every internet connection has limited bandwidth. You can increase a connection’s bandwidth by subscribing to a high-speed plan. But it too will have a limit.

Here, it’s important to keep in mind that when you connect more devices or engage in several activities on a network, its bandwidth keeps decreasing. A time comes when it has no extra bandwidth left to distribute among new devices or tasks.

Here, I would suggest disconnecting idle devices or closing background applications to save bandwidth.

Also, if you’ve got an advanced router, look for the Quality-of-Service (QoS) feature. With this, you can allot bandwidth to priority tasks such as online gaming, using work tools, etc, so you can complete them like a breeze.

Use WiFi Mesh or Extenders

Using a WiFi mesh or extenders to optimize WiFi connectivity around your house can be a smart choice. Let me explain WiFi mesh first.

A WiFi mesh consists of several nodes that are connected to your router via an Ethernet cable. These nodes are placed in different spots around your house and offer connectivity. In my experience, WiFi mesh nodes are specifically helpful in covering dead spots in your house.

Other than this, WiFi extenders are sometimes referred to as “boosters” or “repeaters”. It doesn’t consist of small nodes, but a single extender that rebroadcasts the internet signals around your house. 

Having said that, one major difference between a WiFi mesh and an extender is how you connect to them. In the case of WiFi mesh, you don’t have to switch between networks. Your device is simply connected to the nearest mesh node offering the best connectivity.

However, in WiFi extenders, you have to manually switch to the WiFi extender’s network to receive the rebroadcasted internet signal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a router’s channel or band affect its coverage?

Yes, a router’s channel or band can affect its coverage. For instance, 2.4 GHz bands can offer more coverage but are prone to interference. However, the 5 GHz or 6 GHz bands offer less coverage but have less signal interference.

Can restarting the router help improve its performance?

Yes, restarting a router can erase cache memory, resolve software glitches, install updates, and help in other ways to improve its performance.