When you moved into your home and imagined how each room would fit into your design plan, it is highly likely that the location of your wireless router was not taken into consideration. For many, the router is placed in a common area nearby a shared computer, such as a family room. For others, the location of their router correlates to the location of your home office, which can be in a bedroom or basement. If your WiFi enabled devices aren’t getting a good signal, you may want to consider relocating your home’s router.
Older Walls: WiFi’s Greatest Adversary
Many older homes were built to last and were constructed using a technique combining plaster and lath, where the lath was created using corrugated wire (such as chicken wire). While this makes for a particularly strong wall, it can also be a WiFi signal killer.
Brick walls aren’t much different, while it might upgrade your home’s value, it will also gobble up your signal. Essentially anything short of plaster and wood in your walls are all working against your connectivity.
Your Computer Isn’t Lonely
Your computer system works like this: The computer talks to your router, the router talks to the radio SM (subscriber module), and the radio SM talks to the internet. Though it may seem like an obvious choice to locate your router right next to your computer it is really not necessary to configure your system this way.
It’s All About the Signal
Generally speaking, WiFi routers work for about 100 feet in all directions. If you have a seldom used desktop computer in a rarely visited home office, but you use your cell phones, Xbox, laptops and other WiFi-enabled devices in your living room, dining room and bedrooms, then you have set up a recipe for poor signal strength for your most used items. Instead of placing your router in the most central part of your home, you should place your router in the part of your home that is the most central for daily activity. By doing so, you will boost your WiFi signal to your mobile devices, smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
Boosting Your Signal
Boosting your signal can also be accomplished by giving your router a literal boost. By placing your router at a higher point in your home, you reduce the likelihood of interference by walls. Some people may choose to put their router in an attic or crawl space (so long as it is easily accessible for maintenance), especially if that space is located above a primary room in the home. It doesn’t have to be on (or in) your ceiling either; even lifting your router a few feet off the ground will help your signal strength.
If you are unsure how to go about boosting your WiFi signal, or are simply concerned about not having the skills to run wires and cables yourself, contact Micrologic and speak with one of our professionals. We would be happy to help you figure out the best solution for receiving the best WiFi signal possible in your home.