In recent decades, the internet has become a very important part of our daily lives. Now days almost all of our tasks are, in some way connected to the internet.
We have become so dependent on the internet that it has become a part of ourselves. Having a fast constant Wi-Fi connection is a necessity.
It allows us to work more easily and in a lesser amount of time. But we have all been through the days when the Wi-Fi stops working or the speeds drop so low that it reveals a dangerously enraged side of ourselves which we had never seen before.
In this article, you find the basic information about Wi-Fi and, how to increase WiFi range?
How it works
Wi-Fi is a short form of Wireless Fidelity. It was invented by AT&T which a huge technological giant in today's age. It was found in Nether land in the year 1991. It uses radio waves to provide wireless internet access to various devices in the vicinity.
The main three components of Wi-Fi are radio waves, a transmitter and the router. The transmitter transmits the radio signals with the use of antennas these signals are then picked up by the receiving device which can be any device which is fitted with a Wi-Fi card.
The router decodes this signal and establishes the connection with the internet.
The speed and the range of the Wi-Fi signals depend on two things, frequency and bandwidth. Frequency of transmission can be manipulated to increase their spread on signals and allocate larger bandwidths. A larger bandwidth means higher data speeds.
Types of Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is classified based on their frequency transmission. As with new advances in technology, the speeds of the Wi-Fi can be increased by using new and advanced methods of transmission which are more efficient.
- 1Wi-Fi-802.11a
- 2Wi-Fi-802.11b
- 3Wi-Fi-802.11g
- 4Wi-Fi-802.11n
There are different types of best WiFi router available in the market. Their price range can vary, depending on the bandwidth and the signal strength they offer. The price range of Wi-Fi routers varies by how many frequency bands they can operate on simultaneously.
Most low-end Wi-Fi's offer only one frequency band whereas the more expensive ones can operate on three frequency bands maybe more, they offer a better signal range as well.
Now that you’ve learned more about how a Wi-Fi works let us find out about how you can use various methods about how to increase WiFi range and more signal range so that reaches every nook and corner of your house.
10 Ways- How to Increase WiFi Speed
1. Placement of the Wi-Fi Router
The placement of your Wi-Fi router is of the upmost importance as it directly affects the range of the signals of your Wi-Fi.
If you put your Wi-Fi behind a bunch of obstacles of in a corner, you will a very short range of signals.
To fully utilize your Wi-Fi’s capabilities, you should place the Wi-Fi router at an open space, preferably at a height in the center of the room of a house in which you will be using the Wi-Fi.
This ensures an even spread of signals throughout the house.
2. Using the latest firmware
This is usually the easiest fix to drastically improve your Wi-Fi performance . Most people put a lot of thought in the placement of the router.
They think to install a router as a one-time thing, but that is not the case. A large majority of people just install the router and then forget about it, until after a few months or years, when they start to notice the slow speeds.
The easiest answer to this is to update the firmware. Most people either don't know this or keep forgetting it.
Good Wi-Fi routers, like any mobile phone company, bring firmware updates regularly which solve various issues and brings new improved changes. By keeping your Wi-Fi firmware up to date you can get the best outcome.
3. Use the proper hardware
As technology is a field which gets new updates and advancements regularly, you should try to take advantage of these facilities.
Most of the people change their routers until is broken or not working problem.
What they don't realize is even if the old router works some chances have now become obsolete and is hindering you from using a better Wi-Fi connection.
With the introduction of the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi type, the old 802.11n has now become a lot slower than the current type.
802.11ac allows the bandwidths of up to 1 Gbps whereas the maximum bandwidth 802.11n can allow is 400Mbps. Update your hardware and get a router which is equipped with the newest technology. This way you can keep up with the world and run your tasks faster.
4. Add more antennas
This also one the easiest and straight forward tricks. Having a slow or short-ranged connection? Just add more antennas.
Since antennas are responsible for transmitting the signal, it is logical that by increasing more number of antennas you can increase the speed of the Wi-Fi.
Many Wi-Fi routers have an option to increase the number of antennas depending on your needs.
5. Check the frequency
By configuring the settings on the internet service providers’ interface you can get the optimum performance from the router. You can change the frequency from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz if your Wi-Fi allows. This enables internet speed booster as 5 GHz is a lot less common than 2.4GHz.
6. Use a Range Extender
As you move away from the Wi-Fi router your signal strength drops and your speed too. If your Wi-Fi router is too far from the place of your use, you can use a range extender.
A range extender is a device which receives feeble singles from the Wi-Fi router and then re transmits then after amplifying to increase its range.
Click here to watch this video on How to Increase WiFi Speed
7. Mesh-Based Wi-Fi System
Though using a range extender seems like a pretty and viable option to increase the range, but they also reduce the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi to almost half the original. In such a case where you require a stable connection with faster speeds over a large area, you can use a mesh system to increase internet speed.
In a mesh system instead of using a range extender, multiple nodes are used. These nodes are connected to the Wi-Fi modem and are placed all across the house of the workplace to provide even spread of signals.
The nodes spread the Wi-Fi signals in such a way that it forms a mesh around the house. It an expensive option but easily installed and managed.
8. Channel Selection
The performance of the Wi-Fi can be seriously hindered by the mere presence of other Wi-Fi networks. The interference from different networks can reduce the performance of your Wi-Fi especially in the urban areas where every household their Wi-Fi router.
To solve this you can go to the settings and choose a different channel one which has less traffic on it. Although most routers can do it automatically you can also select your preferred channel manually.
9. Basic Tricks
You did a YouTube search before reading this article, but you found that most of them are worthless. Still, there are a few tricks which work just fine. One of those is, put a tin can cut in half around the antenna of your router.
This tin can works just like any satellite dish you've come across. It bounces off the signals in your preferred direction and increases strength to some level. Though the result is not very significant, it can be effective in a small household or a room.
10. Control Bandwidth
You might find the speed of your network to be slow if you have other apps running in the background. Apps use up the bandwidth which makes the current app you are using to run quite slow.
You can close these apps, but not all of the apps can be closed, some are necessary, so alternatively you can set the allowed bandwidth of each app from the router settings.
