Boost Your Home Wi-Fi

Attempting to load a web page that seems to take forever, the inability to stream your favourite videos, a Wi-Fi signal that continously cuts out, every one of these issues is enough to drive people crazy, especially when you consider the importance the internet plays in the world today. Although these issues are not critical, they are very important. If the only way you are able to get a good connection is if you’re in the same room with your router, then the tips provided in this article should help you immensely.

Boost Your Home Wi-Fi

There are a number of reasons why your connection may not be running as fast as you would like it to. Below are just some of the many troubleshooting steps that you may want to take in rectifying your problem.

1. Update Your Router Firmware

Perhaps your routers firmware needs an update. Router manufacturers are constantly releasing new firmware, with the intentions of squeezing out as much performance as possible. The entire update process, depends entirely on the model and the manufacturer of your device. Many of the routers you can find today, have the update process built in, which means, the end user need only click on a button, and it will upgrade the device by itself.

However, many of the older models, require that you locate and download the firmware from the manufacturers website – which is a process that can be quite complex, but definitely worth the time.

In fact, even if your network is running quite well, you may still want to update the firmware or at least make a habit of doing it. With the most up-to-date firmware, you can ensure your router has the most recent security updates, features and performance enhancements.

2. Find The Best Spot For Your Router

Routers generally, aren’t the most attractive devices, but that doesn’t mean you should hide them away. If you want to receive the best possible signal, then you’ll need to leave it out in the open, away from any walls or obstructions. If the best position for your router is a place that neither has a flat surface or a table, you should check whether or not you can mount it, either using mounting holes or by using a third-party mounting bracket. Make sure your antenna is pointing up, and position the router upright, if possible. Lastly, make sure you position the router in the center of the house, to ensure you get the best possible coverage out of it.

The router is typically confined to a specific location based on where the internet connection starts and connects directly to the router. However, you can workaround this by acquiring longer ethernet cables and some cable clips and using that to attach the cables to your walls.

3. Get Rid of Interferences

Another router is not the only thing that is capable of interfering with your router. Microwaves, wireless phones and other appliances, are all capable of messing with your signal. Purchasing a dual band router can combat this, but it’s also posisble for you to purchase wireless phones that operate on other bands. If you don’t have the money to spend on another router, then you can try moving the interfering appliances away from it.

4. What’s Your Frequency?

Log into your router’s interface and check that it’s configured to run at optimal performance. If your router is dual-band, then you’ll get better performance by switching to 5GHz band, instead of using the standard 2.4GHz band. If nothing else, you will encounter much less interference from other wireless networks and their devices, because 5GHz isn’t as commonly used. Switching over to 5GHz is fairly simple. If your router offers this band, then you should definitely consider switching over.

5. Get a New Antenna

If your router came with its own internal antenna, then getting an external one, may be a great idea, as external ones tend to offer the best signal strength. Most router manufactuers sell omnidirectionl antennas, which are capable of sending out a signal in every direction, whereas directional antenna’s send out signals in just one direction.

However, most of the antennas built in, tend to be omnidirectional, which means, if you do opt to buy an external one, you should make sure it’s marked as “high-gain” so that you will get some kind of benefit from its usage. Directional atennas tend to work best, since it’s unlikely that you will experience any weak spots in your network, in every direction.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk.

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