Are you suffering from slow internet speed on WiFi? Want to increase or boost WiFi signal speed? Generally, people use WiFi to get more high-speed data than normal mobile data speed. So they should get high-speed data using WiFi. Sometimes, the WiFi also loses its signal speed and can’t provide high-speed data. That time we face some problems that are connected to the internet. So to reduce all those internet problems, we should increase the WiFi signal speed.
In this tutorial, we will see how to increase or boost WiFi signals in different methods. Along with those methods, we will see what are the causes that made WiFi signal degrade and how to avoid them.
Factors that affect WiFi signal and how to avoid them?
1. Obstacles in the signal path
When a signal touches any obstacle such as the wall, furniture, home appliance, etc., or simply any solid or fluid surfaces then the signal loses its energy partially, and speed will decrease automatically. To boost the signal, place the WiFi router in a place where there are fewer obstacles. Of course, in the home, there are many such solid objects present but try to avoid them in the path of the signal. You can place the WiFi router at some height that is higher than objects (appliances, furniture, etc). So that the obstacle in the signal path decreases and we will get a boosted signal directly from WiFi without loss.
2. Physical Distance
According to signal theory, when a signal is traveling from one end to another end, it has various amplitudes and speeds along its path. As the signal traveling distance increases the speed of the signal will degrade or decrease. So to get the high speed, we should be closer to the signal source.
Here, the signal is coming from the WiFi, which means the source is a WiFi router and the receiver is our devices for which we need internet access. So connecting devices should be closer to WiFi as much as possible. When the devices and WiFi are closer the signal with a high speed (boosted signal) will reach our devices.
3. Bandwidth hoggers
Though we have boosted the signal from WiFi, the signal may degrade if we connect to Video chatting or streaming on multiple devices. So it is important to manage the bandwidth hoggers and prevent them from stealing bandwidth from everyone else.
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What are the Methods to Boost WiFi Signals?
Video Tutorial
We Provided this Article in the form of a Video Tutorial for Our reader’s convenience. If you are interested in reading, skip the video for now and watch it after the completion of reading this article.
In the previous section, we have seen the factors that affect the WiFi signals. Let us see how to improve or boost the WiFi signal using different methods in this section.
1. Choose the best place for placing WiFi
WiFi will emit its signals in the form of rays. Those rays will travel in the air in waveform and reach the device that you connected to WiFi. In our home, there are many appliances (Microwaves, Dishwashers, Washing Machines, Televisions, radiant heaters, and much more) that emit electromagnetic waves into the air. When the waves from appliances colloid with WiFi waves then the WiFi signal will degrade.
Metal is the top disrupter of any WiFi signal, and its presence close to your WiFi router can easily create a large dead zone. Other materials such as glass, plastic, wood, etc will disrupt the WiFi signal with less severity. If you have any of these materials, or appliances at your home, keep your WiFi router as far away from them as possible to the boost WiFi signal.
To cover all the places with an even WiFi signal, place that WiFi roughly in the center. And that Wifi signal also boosts by elevating the router above the floor level. If you are living in multi-store houses then place the WiFi near to ceiling of the First floor so that the second floor also gets a good signal since the Wifi will emit signals not only horizontally but also in all possible directions.
2. Get a Stronger Antenna for WiFi
Almost all WiFi routers come with small and weak antennas. Taller antennas will have high gain and shorter antennas provide low gain. Powerful Wi-Fi antennas tend to be hideously large. If you compare antennas with a height few inches antennas will provide a 4dB gain. An antenna of 10 to 15 inches tall will provide a 10 dB gain. A new and powerful antenna can boost the WiFi signal most of the time without buying a new router.
In the market or online stores, you may see many types of WiFi Antennas. But particularly you need to care about is the common “rubber duck” antenna which is an electrically short monopole antenna. It has a helix-shaped springy wire that is covered with either a plastic or rubber jacket. Some also have a handy extension.
To boost the WiFi signal, you need to purchase an antenna with more gain than your current one. Replace the antennas whose gain is 4–5 dBi with a 9 dBi antenna to get an excellent signal boost.
3. Cut Off WiFi Leeches
If people know the password of your WiFi then they can easily connect to WiFi and access the internet. So nowadays it is a must to have encrypted, password-protected WiFi. When more people rely on the WiFi then it’s difficult to get a boosted WiFi signal.
Some people will still use your WiFi though they have their WiFi. So you care to protect your WiFi with a strong password and change it over certain periods say monthly, quarterly, etc.
If you want to create a stronger password then follow the below instructions:
- Include upper and lower case letters
- Include any numbers 1,2,3, etc.
- Include special characters such as @, $,&, etc.
- Don’t use common passwords like 12345678, abcdefg, etc.
- Don’t use your name, or phone number as passwords since they can be identified easily
- Use at least an 8-character length password.
You can also create a guest network for other people and limit their internet access to your WiFi.
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4. Buy a WiFi Repeater/ Booster/ Extender
The names WiFi repeater, booster, or extender may be different but those are all basically the same.
WiFi repeater is relatively a simple device that takes an existing signal from your WiFi router and rebroadcasts it as a new network. The network that is added newly is just an extension of your main network.
WiFi boosters and WiFi extenders are very similar, but they also amplify (increase the amplitude of the signal to a certain level so that it is possible to transmit signals to longer distances) the existing signal before rebroadcasting it to create a second network.
WiFi Boosters have a typical range greater than the repeaters and boosters will boost the signals. Even weaker signals are also boosted by WiFi Booster.
Booster or Repeater installation is very simple. Just press the WPS button then within a few minutes the installation process is complete.
If you want to buy any extender/Signal Booster/Repeater then click here to see the Best WiFi range extenders / Signal Boosters / Repeaters and their features and price.
5. Use the Latest WiFi Technologies
Nowadays Technology is changing within a short time. The newest wireless technology, i.e. IEEE 802.11ac, offers superior speeds for download and upload as well as an improved range compared to the older WiFi technologies, such as IEEE 802.11b, g, and others.
To take advantage of the latest WiFi technologies to boost your home WiFi, you need to make sure that both your home router and your WiFi-enabled (connecting) devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and Televisions should support them.
A good router can serve well for at least five years, that is the approximate time that a major new WiFi technology becomes mainstream.
6. Don’t Forget to Reboot
A simple reboot is often enough to improve your WiFi speeds. A reboot clears the router’s memory and allows further updates to be installed into the WiFi router.
Reboot is a simple process you just need to press the restart button located on the WiFi router back (you may need a pointy object like a pen to get to it because many router manufacturers use a recessed restart button) or simply disconnect the router from power and then turn it on again. Then the router will reboot.
During the reboot process, you can see that updates are going to be installed. This may take a few minutes. Don’t interrupt the updates manually.
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7. Purchase a better Internet Plan
Every WiFi router needs an active internet plan. So choose an internet plan with high-speed unlimited data. Every device (Laptop, mobile phone, TV, other smart home appliances, etc) that is connected to a WiFi router will consume some amount of bandwidth. Not all internet plans will provide that range of bandwidths for each device.
Avoid regularly paid data plans that you have been using for the past few years. Look at the upgraded plans that suit your router and provide high-speed internet.
8. Set Up a Mesh WiFi System
Though you have a powerful WiFi router sometimes it also can’t provide internet to all the places in your home or office. Sometimes a single router may fail to fulfill your requirements. In such cases, it is better to set up a mesh WiFi system. A Mesh WiFi system is the combination of the main router and multiple satellite units that together provide seamless WiFi coverage.
One of the great advantages of the Mesh WiFi system is, that you can expand it according to your needs. In the beginning, you may use one Main router and one satellite router. If you can’t meet your expectations then you can increase the satellite units and expand them to meet expectations.
9. Switch to a Different WiFi Channel
One of the main causes for degrading the WiFi signal from the WiFi router is interference which means signals from other WiFi routers will affect the signals of your WiFi router. This will happen especially in more dense areas. Here, not only WiFi signals but also Microwave signals, refrigerators, cordless phone systems, etc, will affect your WiFi signals.
If you and your neighbors are on the same channel then there is a chance to hear some other people’s conversation even if they were using a completely different set.
The routers also can switch across different channels when connecting to devices (mobile phones, laptops, TVs, etc). Most routers will choose the channel for you, but when neighboring wireless networks use the same channel, then you will encounter signal congestion.
On Windows-based PCs, you can able to see what channels neighboring Wi-Fi networks are using. Using the command prompt type, you can see a list of wireless networks and channels being used in your surroundings.
Channel congestion will change over time, so when you choose any channel manually, you may want to check in once in a while to make sure it is still the best one. Most countries have six non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11, and 14), but many users set their routers to the default channel, which is usually either Channel 1 or Channel 6. This may result in a WiFi traffic jam. So find which channel has fewer connections and switch your WiFi to that channel.
10. Check Your Internet Connection
Check the speed of the internet coming into your house. Run a speed test to see the speed of your internet. In case it doesn’t match the speed that is mentioned on your internet bill, you can call your ISP or replace your modem.
If the modem seems to be okay, try running the test again, standing right next to the router. When you get different speeds in the places namely next to the router and other places then it’s WiFi range to blame but not speed. Though you standing right next to the router still facing slow internet, then you may have some outdated gear that needs to be upgraded.
If you follow above mentioned methods you can boost your WiFi.
Conclusion
If you tried all of the above methods, but still can’t boost your WiFi signal then contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and ask for help to boost the WiFi signal. If the ISP truly cares about customers, they will surely help you remotely to find and avoid your WiFi performance issues. If that’s not possible then they may send a technician to measure your WiFi signal strength and help you to boost your wireless signal.
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I hope this tutorial helped you to know about “10 Best Ways to Boost WiFi Signal”. If you want to say anything, let us know through the comment sections. If you like this article, please share it and follow WhatVwant on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more Technical tips.
What are the best methods to boost WiFi signal- FAQ
Will WiFi boosters work well to boost the signal?
Yes, WiFi boosters will boost the signal before it is broadcast.
If I connect many devices to a WiFi router will they influence the speed?
Yes, exactly. If you connect many devices to a WiFi router then each device will consume some bandwidth. So they may decrease your WiFi speed.
What is the difference between a WiFi booster and a WiFi Extender?
WiFi extender will just expand the signal range to reach devices that are placed at more distance whereas a WiFi booster will boost the signal before it is broadcast to connected devices.
Do WiFi signals go through walls?
In the wave theories, we can see that WiFi signals are capable of passing through walls or any obstacles easily. But when it comes to reality the WiFi signals do not pass through walls easily since most of the walls are thicker and some may be constructed with metal. So WiFi signals pass through the walls but at a low speed and degrade more.