It seems as though our customers are always fighting a constant battle for internet speed. Whether it’s the ISP having issues with bandwidth, routers acting up, or some other strange reason, I always find myself rebooting the wireless router, reseting the modem, or some combination of the 2.
For frustrated users, the following are a few tips on how to make sure you’re getting the best possible signal out of your wireless Router.
1. Central Placement
Placement of your wireless router is huge deal when it comes to speeding up your internet. Routers have a range of about 150 ft that propagates out in all directions from wherever the router is placed. Make sure that your router is as close to the center of you house as possible. If you have multiple floors, try to install it on the mid level to keep you internet signal strong. A good rule of thumb is wherever your line of sight can see the most of your house, that’s the best place for your router.
2. Keep Your Wireless Router Away from other Electronics
Wireless signals are not much different that most electromagnetic signals. Anything that produces an electromagnetic signal can affect your wireless signal strength. Computers, TVs, Phones, pretty much anything with wires or motors in it, so keep it away from other devices.
3. Place it up high
Routers, by design tend to project signal downward. So make sure your router is installed somewhere high up on the wall or a shelf.
4. Material Absorption
Many materials can affect the strength of your wireless antenna, The signal can easily be absorbed by wood, steel, or concrete. A lot of times we’ll see routers placed in a closet or behind a desk. It’s generally a bad idea to place a router anywhere you can’t see it.
5. Antennae
Most routers these days have at least 2 antennas (unless it’s an apple airport, which we’ll cover in another post). Make sure the antennas are pointed in two different perpendicular directions to get the best possible signal.
That’s all for now! If you have any other wireless networking questions, be sure to call the ITGuys for help.
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