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Wi-Fi routers have turned out to be an important gadget as many of us have been forced into working from home because of the ongoing pandemic. Users are now heavily dependent on the routers for internet connections as they need them for working, learning and staying in touch with friends/family remotely. So, if you are facing internet woes even after paying the monthly fees to your internet service provider (ISP), you can fix that by changing your router placement.
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Factors that determine the internet speed
Several factors determine the internet speed, yet there are a few steps that can help you to improve the overall wireless speeds and coverage in your home. The location of your router is one of the most crucial factors and here we have discussed some of the best places in your home for your router to get better internet speed and coverage.
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Where you place the router is important
A Wi-Fi signal can travel only a certain distance. It gets even shorter when there are more walls, bookcases and other materials to go through. If the internet seems slow or unresponsive on your phone or tablet, check your Wi-Fi signal strength along with channel interference.
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Here’s where placing the router may help get better Wi-Fi
The centre of your home is usually the best place to set up your Wi-Fi router, but that advice might not be correct for every home. It’s important to consider not only what you want to do in a specific room, but also the devices that are present there. Most importantly, the router has to be placed near the centre of the most important area of your home. Wherever you want the fastest speeds try placing the router at the centre of that location.
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Try placing the router at a height, if possible
Routers have a tendency to spread their signals downward, so it’s best to mount the router as high as possible to increase coverage. Try placing it on a high bookshelf or mount it on the wall in an indistinct place.
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Ensure there are no big electronic devices around
Try to choose a location that’s distant from other electronics and large metal objects. Walls, big obstructions and electronics near your router, tend to interfere with the signal. For example, microwaves emit a strong signal in the 2.4GHz band, which is one of the wireless bands your router operates in.
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Position the antennas correctly for better results
These antennas help the signal to get a direction. If there are two or more antennas on the router don’t put them all in the same direction. On the contrary, position them perpendicular to each other — put one horizontally and the other vertically or change the position of all the antennas a little to cover a wide range of angles.
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Always check how stable the Wi-Fi connection is
If you discover that you are not getting a stable signal strength in certain areas of your home it is time for you to consider moving your Wi-Fi router. The place where it is situated currently might not be in the perfect place to reach all the corners of your home.
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Ensure there are no obstructions
Don’t hide your Wi-Fi router behind books or in a drawer. Wi-Fi signals have to work hard to penetrate the walls and floors of your home and adding more barriers will not be good for internet connection. The best location to put the router in the room is in an open spot.
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Try mapping the signal
Mapping out the signal might prove useful to locate the gaps or problems areas interfering with the coverage.
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Try to keep the router and modem separately
The router doesn’t need to be tied to the modem and even if you have a combined router and modem unit, you can use a separate Wi-Fi router instead. You can use a long ethernet cable from your modem and connect your Wi-Fi router to the best location in your home.
