Is there anything more aggravating than a slow Wi-Fi connection? Although you’ve paid your monthly internet fees, and even took the time out to have a technician install the router for you, you may still be spending too much time wondering why your Wi-Fi is so slow.
But lucky for you, they might be an easy fix–placing your router elsewhere. There are one too many factors that determine your internet speeds. There are a couple of tricks and guidelines that you can follow to enhance the overall coverage and wireless speed in your home.
The most crucial factor that may be affecting your internet speeds could be the location of your router. Moving your router might not make your internet connection faster, but it should make it a little more stable and reliable. This can be essential to online gaming and video streaming.
Keep reading to learn the best place for your router in your home, and places to avoid places you should avoid placing your router at.
Start With the Right Type of Equipment
First and foremost, it all begins with choosing the right type of router. Believe it or not, not all routers are equal and the layout and size of your home determine the type of wireless network you require.
For smaller homes and apartments, a single wireless access point should be more than enough. However, if your router is outdated, you might want to consider buying a new one that supports the latest wireless bandwidths.
For instance, the ea8300 max stream router should give you better and faster wireless speeds with its latest technology. For bigger homes that have more than one level, you can consider a mesh network as it offers consistent coverage throughout the home.
Regardless of whether you have a small or big home, where you place the router is what matters the most.
Where to Place Your Router?
When you move into a new apartment or home, the modem is usually placed in a far-reach place within your house. This is because the technician’s job is to simply set up the connection where the line comes from–not optimize the network for you. This is your job.
We understand that it might be tempting to leave everything as it is the way the technician sets it up. But it’s highly unlikely that the current location is an optimal location for a router.
Place it in a Central Location
Routers send Wi-Fi signals in all directions. In other words, if the router is placed in the corner of your home, a good amount of your wireless coverage is wasted by going outside of your home.
The best way to ensure that all the rooms in your home are in the range of the signal is to place your router in a central location. Most modern routers today have enough range to offer full coverage of a moderately sized home if it’s placed in the center.
Minimize Obstructions
As you probably already know, Wi-Fi signals produce low enough frequency so they can easily pass through walls. That said, materials like tile, stone, metal, and water can severely block and weaken Wi-Fi signals.
Therefore, when choosing where to place your router, always consider what will come in between the router and places in your home that needs the most Wi-Fi signals.
Although Wi-Fi can pass through walls, this still weakens the signals. So, it’s best to avoid any walls where possible. The ideal situation would be to have your device and router both in your line of sight.
Whereas for devices being used in other rooms, you should place the router where the Wi-Fi signals have the least number of obstructions to pass to reach your device.
Avoid Electronic Items
Always be mindful of the effect common electronic items will have on your router when setting up your home’s broadband, Baby monitors, cordless phones, and any other device that utilizes radio signals for communications are especially problematic.
These devices will only crowd the channel and want to compete with the broadband connection itself.
Raise Your Router
You can also improve your home network’s signals by elevating your router from the ground. This not only helps the signal save your furniture that may block your line of sight but also prevent a large number of signals from being transmitted directly into the ground.
This can be done by setting the router on a bookshelf or table if you have one nearby. In addition, you can also consider mounting your router to the wall.
Conclusion
Your router placement is very important to how strong your Wi-Fi signals are. We have shared the best place to place your router and what to avoid when doing so.