How do I fix my wifi issues? Where do I begin?
This article is intended to highlight some of the more common issues that users experience with their home wi-fi network and how to resolve them.
To start, there are some really good routers on the market, and some really bad ones. I’m not going to go into or endorse any specific manufacturers but in general, if you stick with a name brand (linksys, netgear, D-Link etc.) and a recent router (<5 yrs old), you should be okay unless you actually live in a mansion (>2,000 sqft house).
It is important to understand the benefits of mesh routers and the pros and cons of different technologies but we’ll save that for a future article. The average user will be fine with a current name brand router as mentioned above, this article will focus on maximizing any routers coverage.
Regardless of your router, there are 3 key conceps to understand and configurations that you need to master:
- Antenna placement – yes, the placement of your antennas will make a difference. I recommend that you locate the furthest tv from your router and run a basic wifi strength test from your cell phone, make sure your cell phone is closest to the tv antenna or the Roku/Firestick that connects to your wifi. Have someone monitor the app via their phone while you move your router antennas around, you will be surprised to see how much gain you can achieve!
- Download and run a wifi signal analyzer. Make sure that your router is configured for the right wifi band, to avoid interference from other local devices.
- Don’t forget to reboot your router periocially (weekly or monthly) as this will definitely make a big difference.
Please comment below and if you provide details of your own issue I will try to offer some tips and tricks to make your connection better.