10 Tips For Better Wi-Fi Signal
Have you ever heard the saying, “If Mom isn’t happy, no one’s happy?” Well it’s the same with your Wi-Fi. A slow or intermittent Wi-Fi signal can disrupt the entire household. Including your security system. There are many home security systems and cameras that connect via Wi-Fi so it’s important to ensure it’s working properly.
To ease your frustration and improve Wi-Fi performance, try these tips
1. Use Up-to-Date Equipment
Technology has changed rapidly over the last several years, so old technology doesn’t always work to full capacity. A simple replacement may do the trick.
2. Pick the Right Location for Your Router
For the best signal, place the router in an open area, free of any walls and obstructions. Elevate the router if you can. Distance is the most important factor. We have found that the center of the house will give the best coverage possible throughout your home.
3. Avoid Interference From Other Electronics
Have you ever sat right next to your router but still don’t get good connection? This is because a wireless signal can be blocked by many different devices including cordless phones, microwaves, and televisions. Make sure your router is positioned away from any large electronics.
4. Use The Right Wireless Channel
If several routers in a close area are using the same wireless channel, they can easily reduce the speeds of your Wi-Fi. Choose a channel that has as little signal interference as possible. Your router will include instructions on how to change your wireless channel if you do not know how to change it.
5. Control Bandwidth Hogs
If someone in your house regularly plays online games or streams movies from Netflix, they may be hogging the bandwidth. To get around this, set up QoS (Quality of Service) rules to prioritize certain applications over others so the most important applications get the bandwidth they need.
6. Install A Wi-Fi Extender
A Wi-Fi extender is captures the Wi-Fi signal and allows it to reach further. This is especially helpful in a home with brick walls or other blockers to the Wi-Fi signal.
7. Restart Your Wi-Fi On A Regular Basis
It is important for your Wi-Fi to be rebooted on a regular basis. This will allow it to update. To avoid the annoyance of rebooting every day, set it on an outlet timer to reboot once a day when it’s not in use.
8. Turn Off Power-Saving Mode
Turn off the power saving, or eco mode, to restore the proper speeds to your router. These may be on by default and do not save a significant amount of power.
9. Try a Better Antenna
Quality matters. Think of all the TV antennas on the market: the bigger and more powerful the antenna, the clearer the picture. Router antennas follow a similar principle. A good rule of thumb is to point the antenna towards the device. If you have multiple antennas, point them all in the same direction.
10. Wi-Fi Security
A great way to protect your Wi-Fi connection is to use “cloaking”. This is done by hiding the SSID(the name of the network), which forces anyone that wants to connect to type in the name of the network manually. Always set-up your Wi-Fi as a security connection with password protection. For further protection, enable WPA2 password protection on your WiFi network. It’s encrypted, making it more secure than the older WPA or WEP security protocols.
