Bad WiFi at home can be frustrating, but if you follow these rules I guarantee you will have a more reliable connection or I’ll eat my hat.
Tip 1: Make sure you are on fiber.
The great thing about living in New Zealand is we managed to roll out a fiber optic network that many countries are envious of, over 87% of people now have access to fiber into their houses. Even if you don’t currently have fiber in the house there is a 9/10 chance it is in the street and in most cases there is zero connection fee for a technician to install it up your drive and into your house. If you want to have a good internet connection you need to be on fiber and nothing else comes close, if someone tries to sell you on a 4G or 5G system don’t listen to them, those networks slow down as they get busy whereas fiber is the backbone of the world wide web and can handle infinitely more traffic.
Tip 2: Don’t use a free router
While it may seem like a good idea to use a free router provided by your internet service provider (ISP), these routers are often outdated, under powered and lack the features and capabilities of newer models. In fact most of these routers are so cheap they don’t even want to pay for return shipping for a working modem because they are cheap junk. In addition, free routers are often prone to security vulnerabilities and are not as reliable as routers that you purchase on your own. Instead of using a free router, I would recommend you invest in a high-quality router that is capable of delivering fast and stable WiFi. Buy a WiFi6 router, which is the latest standard in WiFi technology and offers faster speeds, greater capacity, and improved coverage. A good router will last 4–6 years before they become problematic or so outdated it will be time to replace it so a small investment up front will mean you don’t have to put up with rubbish WiFi. Over 5 years you could easily pay $5,000 to your ISP so why not spend $250–500 to ensure you get the internet speeds you are paying for.
Tip 3: Position your router somewhere central in your home
The location of your router can have a significant impact on the strength and reach of your WiFi signal. To get the best performance, it is important to position your router in a central location in your home. This will help ensure that the signal is evenly distributed throughout your home and that you can connect to the internet from any room. Avoid placing your router in a garage, corner room, behind a cabinet, in a closet, or even in a metal box as these locations can obstruct the signal and cause interference. Instead, try to find a spot that is open and free of obstacles, such as a shelf or desk in the center of your home. Also a better router will give you much better range.
Tip 4: Don’t use range extenders
While range extenders can be useful in some situations, they are not always the best solution for improving WiFi coverage in your home. Range extenders work by receiving the WiFi signal from your router and then re-broadcasting it to areas of your home that have poor coverage. However, this process can reduce the overall speed and performance of your WiFi connection, as the signal has to travel through the range extender before reaching your device. In addition, range extenders can be expensive and difficult to set up, and they may not always provide the coverage you need. In almost all cases a range extender in most peoples homes will result in a connection that is 4x slower. Instead of using a range extender, first upgrade your router because if you already have average internet your are only going to amplify that average internet. If you really need to use a range extender it is best to set up an access point and hard wire them or use a ethernet over power (EOP) device if you can’t run a data cable to it.
Tip 5: Hardwire as much as you can
To get the most out of your WiFi connection, it is a good idea to hardwire as many devices as possible. This means connecting your devices to your router using an Ethernet cable instead of relying on WiFi. Hardwiring your devices has a number of benefits, including faster speeds, lower latency, and improved security. It is especially important to hardwire devices like TV’s and streaming devices (such as security cameras) that require a stable and reliable connection for smooth performance. Hardwiring these devices will guarantee that these devices are reliable and have the best connection possible and there is one massive added benefit; for every device you hard wire it creates more capacity for the other WiFi devices on your network.
Tip 6: Don’t put your router next to a microwave or directly next to another WiFi access point
Microwaves and other electronic devices can emit electromagnetic interference (EMI) that can disrupt your WiFi signal. If you put your router anywhere near your microwaves you are just asking for bad WiFi while you are cooking, you may have noticed that your wireless earbuds may not work too well when you stand too close to a working microwave and that is because they use the exact same 2.4ghz frequency to cook your food as a WiFi router uses to transmit wireless information. A little WiFi router that uses about 5 Watts of power truly struggles to communicate with other WiFi devices when you are zapping your popcorn with 1,000 Watts of power in the same frequency.
For most of these changes you will see an instant increase in WiFi performance and if you do all 6 you will have the fastest WiFi on the block.
