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.
How come people can do so much with smart phones far, far away from any routers?
Make sure you have the router elevated up. They higher the better. Then make sure that you play with the antennae where it’s not just the 3 pointing up. Aim one horizontal and play with different directions. Best to also make sure nothing is blocking the signal. Then take you cell phone and download a Wi-Fi signal app and start walking towards your shop. See how far you get before the signal drops. Then mess with the antennas again and see if the signal doesn’t improve.
If you have connection problems don’t forget to change the router’s channel. Manufacture’s site should have instructions for that. When you install one they’re all set to the same default channel. Only good if yours is the only router around. They will recommend a few other channels. I don’t use any of those but one they didn’t list. Haven’t had problems in over a decade.
That is funny to read that. It’s like saying using your motorcycle will increase the gas milage of your car.
Exactly!
I went with the Amplify mesh setup.
They’re from Ubuiquity but all the mesh connections are done via wifi so you just plug the base unit into your cable modem (and the wall) and the satellite units into the wall. It ships with two satellite units. The thing “just works”. Perfect coverage over entire house plus the phone app also gives you all the diagnostics and management you need. Cannot recommend highly enough.
A Faraday cage is actually something that totally blocks the signals. That sort of thing doesn’t give you a boost.
Use a router in the 5GHz range. The microwave oven is competing with the 2.4GHz WIFI.
Because they are using their phone’s tower connection rather than the local WIFI.
I’m at 155.61 download and 32.76 upload when my VPN is on.
Without VPN I’m at 138.95 download & 162.68 upload.
Oddly enough, I’m a few feet from my router. When I’m on the opposite end of the house the rates are faster.
Hah. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I was with AT&T. Tech support was some high school kid in Manila running down a checksheet. Nothing - nada, zero, zilch - ever got done. Before I gave them the heave-ho I was getting 20Kbps on an average day. Yes, that's a K, not an M or a G. I have the screen shots to prove it.
If you’re using Win-7-8-10, download this file, and try this one:
speedtestbyookla_x64.msi
Yeah, that’s what I use. My office asks us to run it periodically. And I have it on my personal laptop.
2.4 ghz wifi and microwaves are darn close in frequencies (actually overlap) and that is a very common problem. Given how weak wifi signals are (in the mili watt range) an the 1000+ watts a microwave puts out, wifi safe microwaves are not realistic because the shielding would triple the price. Switch to 5 ghz and no more problems. Almost all routers unless it is 15 years old can do 5 ghz. If your laptop or desktop is also ancient, a $10 usb 5 ghz unobtrusive little wifi unit will solve your problems.
Turn off beam forming and MIMO. They are teats on a boar unless your client expressly supports them and the implicit beam forming just doesnt work.
If for some crazy reason your wifi router doesnt do 5 ghz, something cheap like this works as a fine router. https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-AC1750-WiFi-Router-RT-AC65/dp/B091D71M6P or this https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC1750-Smart-WiFi-Router/dp/B079JD7F7G
If it just your computer that does not do 5 ghz, something like this adds it https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Mini-Wireless-Supports-10-9-10-14/dp/B07PB1X4CN and something like this adds it with a lot more range because of the antenna https://www.amazon.com/wireless-USB-WiFi-Adapter-PC/dp/B07P5PRK7J
Thank you. But, then, why can’t computers use connections to cell towers?
Thanks for the feedback.
I’ve since moved house and my office is now where my router is - so I switched to a wired connection.
The cellular network is at the end of its capacity handling the voice and media demands currently placed upon it by its users. That is why the 5G networks are being deployed.
That's the A Ticket. It's wireless and solves the problem. Way too much brain damage with most of the suggestions in this article.
We have a two story house with the router in the basement. Installed an extender on the main floor. Problem solved. My signal at home is stronger than my signal at work.
My wife’s company was sending their HP 4100’s to the dump and I procured one. It prints duplex on 28 lb paper which is perfect for printing planners intended for fountain pens.
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.