How to improve your Wifi performance

Wifi Router

Wi-Fi signals are radio waves, and many things can cause interference. But a sturdy Wi-Fi signal can offer you a fast performance and wider coverage distance, so it’s vital to properly position and configure your router for optimum signal strength. Here are a few tips.

Antenna orientation

-Both Antenna Vertical

Routers in general, have physical antennas that are adjustable. The antenna often comes detached or pointed horizontally to fit the router in its pack. 

For maximum signal strength, position your router’s antenna vertically, pointing straight up. If you have two antennas, point both upwards, you won’t get better performance by pointing them in different directions.

-Vertical and Horizontal

Recently, there are speculations that pointing one antenna 90 degrees from the other gives a wider coverage.

 In an enlightening post about Wi-Fi on the Mac Observer, Alf Watt, who also created Wi-Fi utility iStumbler, explains why the perpendicular orientation is better

This is because radio reception is maximized when both client and access point have matched polarization (antennas pointing along the same plane).

perpendicular Antenna Position

Some client devices have antennas in vertical orientation, some horizontal. The current crop of MacBooks, for example, have their antennas in the black plastic part of the hinge in a horizontal orientation.

By pointing antennas both ways, you'll maximize radio reception no matter which way your device's antenna is oriented.

Position Your Router Properly

Think carefully about where you will position your router. If you have a large home or office, place the router close to the center to maximize coverage. If you position the router at one end of the building, you may have poor (or no) signal at the other finish. But keep in mind that if you have already got your router positioned at one end of your home and the signal strength is simply fine on the opposite side, you don’t need to move it

For maximum coverage, the router should also be high up. Placing it on the floor is the worst location possible – place it on a high shelf, if possible.

Don’t place the router on or near massive metal objects, such as metal shelves or filing cabinets. These can shield the signal. Metal or stone walls can additionally block Wi-Fi, while wood and plaster walls won’t cause any issues.

You might be able to root out different sources of interference. For example,microwave ovens, 2.4 GHz cordless phones, and 2.4 GHz baby monitors all have the potential to interfere with a Wi-Fi signal. I’ve personally experienced a Wi-Fi signal to my portable computer dying every time a microwave was turned on.

wifi illustration

The microwave oven was in direct line-of-sight between my laptop and the router. The solution? Move any one of them so that the microwave isn’t in between. If you get interference from a cordless phone, you might need to buy newer 5.8 rate cordless phones; these work on a frequency band apart from Wi-Fi and don’t cause any interfere

Choose the Best Wi-Fi Channel

If you’re in an area with various Wi-Fi networks — like an apartment complex or perhaps simply a house near different homes — your neighbors’ Wi-Fi networks are in all probability interfering with yours.

To minimize this, move your router further away from the opposite Wi-Fi access points if you can. For example, if you’re in an apartment and have a router in the corner of your room, your neighbor’s router might be right the opposite side of the wall.

But the best thing you'll do is switch to a unique Wi-Fi channel. You access this option on your router’s settings page — check your router’s handbook for directions on the way to try this. (If you don’t have the instruction manual, you can nearly definitely notice the directions on-line.) Locate the Wi-Fi channel choice in the router’s internet interface and alter it to a unique channel with less interference.

Channels

It might take a little experimentation to seek out the simplest one, but you will get help selecting a Wi-Fi channel using the Wi-Fi instrument app for android phones and tablets, which can monitor the Wi-Fi networks close to you and suggest the least-cluttered Wi-Fi channel for your network. Unfortunately, similar apps aren’t available for iPhone or iPad due to the restrictions Apple places on app developers.

That’s it — all you really have to be compelled to do is position your router well and select the perfect Wi-Fi channel to optimize your network. Of course, buying a new router that supports fashionable, improved Wi-Fi standards may additionally provide you with an indication strength and speed boost.

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