Posted on 01/03/2022 11:03:56 AM PST by Red Badger
It can be the final straw to come home after a hard day, curl up ready for your favorite streaming show only to find that the Wi-Fi is crawling and nothing will load. While the human urge to firmly hoist your router out the window is tempting, there are some tried and tested ways to boost Wi-Fi signal.
In defense of waning Wi-Fi signal, the past few years have been particularly straining for The Internet. With the world plunged into lockdown and many businesses adapting to WFH life, more and more of us have been inside and engaging with online services. But fear not, these ways to boost Wi-Fi signal should hopefully provide some light relief in desperate moments and keep your router firmly inside the home.
GET YOUR ROUTER A TIN FOIL HAT It sounds (and looks like) something dreamt up by conspiracy theorists but there has been actual research into the benefits of a tin foil hat for your router as a way to boost Wi-Fi signal. So, how did the bizarre strategy come to fruition?
ways to boost wifi signal Fashioning a foil fascinator for your router is certainly one of the more creative ways to boost wifi signal. Image credit: Xia Zhou The researchers behind the idea came across the claim that placing a soda can behind a router improves Wi-Fi as it helps to reflect the signals and beam them out in more than one direction. Off the back of this, the team set out to design a more effective wireless reflector. They used a series of tests and computational algorithms to work out what the most optimal shape would be. This led to the invention of a curly 3D-printed S-shaped wave lined in aluminum foil, which was found to be the most efficient shape at improving signals.
GIVE YOUR MICROWAVE A REST Yet another idea that sounds a little odd is refraining from using the microwave when streaming. While popcorn is the cinematic snack of choice, microwave ovens are able to upset your Wi-Fi signal as a result of the small amounts of radiation they leak.
Microwaves effectively produce a radio signal but because it broadcasts at such a high frequency, you’re not ever going to accidentally stumble across some sort of Hot Pockets Pirate Radio. The frequency they operate on, 2.4 GHz, is the same as your Wi-Fi, which is why heating up that breakfast pizza can temporarily cut off your connection on certain devices.
CONSIDER YOUR HOME LAYOUT The signal from your router is a great feat in technological innovation but unfortunately, it is easily thwarted by distance and barriers. The radio waves are much shorter compared to those used in radio transmission so will lose strength pretty rapidly, meaning keeping your devices closer to your router is an effective way to boost Wi-Fi signal.
If you’re in a big home, buying extra boosters to put in different positions around your house can help to stretch the service throughout the house. These waves also get absorbed and blocked by walls and services so, you know, forgoing all your belongings probably wouldn’t hurt either. Who needs furniture when you have the full Sopranos box set just ready and waiting?
FIND YOUR ROUTER'S SWEET SPOT While we’re rearranging things, it’s worth noting that pretty much any electrical equipment has the capacity to slightly interfere with your Wi-Fi signal including televisions and radios. So, if you’re already searching for a new spot it’s best to avoid putting it on the same surface as other devices where possible.
You’re also better off going up high than down low, as the design of most routers means that some of the signal is being directed downwards. It might keep the Painting Goblin hiding in your basement up to date on Celebrity Portrait Artist of the Year, but you’re losing out on that subterranean signal.
SETTLE FOR SD If things are really crawling, you might want to consider forgoing high definition (HD) streaming every time you watch a YouTube video or a film. As well as making it harder to load the program, this will slow down the connection to everything else in your home.
USE LEADS AND AVOID EXTENSION CABLES If you can directly plug your device to your router with a cable, such as an ethernet cable for a laptop, you’ll improve your signal strength. Also avoid plugging your router into the wall via an extension cable as this will weaken its functionality.
GET ON YOUR PROVIDER'S CASE If your Internet speed is still crawling at a snail’s pace, check your speed using an online speed test. If it doesn’t match the connectivity of the broadband agreement promised to you, it’s worth getting in touch to see what can be done.
So apparently putting Faraday cages around routers has become a thing for the 5g conspiracy nuts and there are companies out there ready to cash in.
My sides are in orbit. pic.twitter.com/mGcud5Kb70
— 🦇Ansgar Odinson🦇 (@AnsgarTOdinson) December 2, 2020 Oh, and as a bonus tip, don't buy an anti-5G Faraday router shield to place over your Wi-Fi router and block 5G. While Faraday suits and cages are awesome for powerline technicians who want to remain not dead, and really, really cool to demonstrate in front of tesla coils, they are the last thing you want to place over a Wi-Fi router if you plan on using it.
Ping!.................
Yeah, I just ordered a new router since apparently my old one is actually for a much smaller abode. Constant stops and drop out and notices that there is a poor internet signal, blah, blah, blah. The new one is enroute and supposedly gives 2,500 sq/ft coverage. We shall see.
Our old router was a little black plastic cased thing that looked like a toy but I could get a signal in my shop 250 foot away. They upgraded everyone’s router a couple of years ago with a big fancy looking thing with three antennas. Now I can’t get a signal in my shop.
.
I have heard of people mounting the router in the ATTIC or CEILING crawl space if no attic, and got excellent coverage...............
What a tech dope!
“If you can directly plug your device to your router with a cable, such as an ethernet cable for a laptop, you’ll improve your signal strength. Also avoid plugging your router into the wall via an extension cable as this will weaken its functionality.”
Using a cat 5 or 6 cable from the router to your laptop will definitely increase signal strength but that’s not wifi.”
Using a cat 5 or 6 extension from the wall outlet to your router infinitesimally reduces signal strength and adds infinitesimal noise
I’ve experienced the ‘microwave problem’. While working at home I noticed that my wifi connection would drop when my wife would heat something up. The exact moment I heard the stop ‘ding’ from the microwave the connection resumed...like clockwork.
The guy at the store gave me a strange stare when I asked if they had any ‘wifi safe microwaves’ - he’d never heard of it.
“I have heard of people mounting the router in the ATTIC or CEILING crawl space if no attic, and got excellent coverage...............”
Given the heat in the summer it is not a good idea to put any electronic device in the attic.
I bought a wi-fi mesh unit with 4 nodes. I also bought a network bridge. Here's now it's set up:
1. From the cable modem box I connect an Ethernet cable to the parent node of the wi-fi mesh unit.
2. From the parent node I connect to the network bridge box.
3. From the bridge box I run 3 Ethernet cables throughout the house and connect a wi-fi node to each one. Combined with the parent node, I have to nodes upstairs and two nodes downstairs, fairly evenly spread out on each floor.
This allows us to connect with a device from anywhere in the house to one wi-fi name without caring which node our phone/laptop is connected to. Because the nodes are connected together with Ethernet cables, there's no interference from items in the walls or between floors to interfere with the radio signal. Wherever I'm at in the house, there's a wi-fi node near me without much in between us to interfere with the signal. Also, if multiple devices are connected to the wi-fi, you may wind up connected to a node 2nd nearest to you if someone else (or another device) is hogging up the bandwidth to the node nearest you.
I needed to add a Laserjet 4100 using ethernet so I bought a WiFi Extender. Router is on 2nd floor, Extender on 1st floor. Ethernet runs from the Extender to the printer.
Unplug, count to 10; replug.
Test with: www. speedtest.org
I’m at 674.23 download, and 17.59 upload.
What people forget when doing that is they place the nice rounded section up on the floor in an attic, not realizing they have flipped the unit on its back and the radiation direction is now up towards the roof, rather than when its mounted on a ceiling and pointing down towards the users.
Thanks for the tip. We’ll see how the new router works.
Yep, bait and switch is a real thing. They absolutely knew that would be the case. Cuts down on bandwidth commitments and promises. Make it look like a Corvette and make it run like a Sunbird. Plausible deniability. “I has three antennas! So it is your equipment!”.
No... I’m not an idiot...
This guy is completely off-base on this quote.
When you directly plug in your device, via cable, you reduce its use of Wi-Fi to “ZERO.” Turn off that device's Wi-Fi and stop having it clutter any airwave.
“I’ve experienced the ‘microwave problem’. While working at home I noticed that my wifi connection would drop when my wife would heat something up. The exact moment I heard the stop ‘ding’ from the microwave the connection resumed...like clockwork.
The guy at the store gave me a strange stare when I asked if they had any ‘wifi safe microwaves’ - he’d never heard of it.”
Get ready! 5G is coming! Should help make that a more common experience!
‘wifi safe microwaves’ - Should have asked for ‘microwave safe wifis’................
Also, take just a 20 Mhz swath of the low 2.4 Ghz bands and max out your 5 Ghz use. There is way too much neighborhood congestion with 2.4 Ghz and that interferes greatly with in-house use. The 5 Ghz frequencies barely make it out of the house walls, so it is much less likely to be compromised by a close neighbor's use.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.