How to improve your Wi-Fi signal at home

Weak Wi-Fi is often a placement problem, not a speed problem. Try these in order, from free to paid.

1. Move the router

• Put it in the open, high up, in a central place.
• Keep it away from thick walls, metal cabinets, mirrors and the floor.
• Keep it away from microwaves, cordless phones and baby monitors, which can interfere.

2. Point the antennas well

If your router has two external antennas, point one up and one sideways. Wi-Fi spreads mostly outward from the sides of an antenna, not from its tip.

3. Pick the right band

• 2.4 GHz reaches further and passes through walls better, but it is slower and more crowded.
• 5 GHz is faster but has shorter range.

Use 5 GHz when you are in the same room or near the router, and 2.4 GHz when you are further away. Many routers join the two under one name; if yours separates them, name them differently so you can choose.

4. Reduce crowding

Many routers choose a channel automatically. If your neighbours’ networks overlap yours, look in the router’s settings for channel and try another, or use auto.

5. Restart and update

Restart the router once a month, and install any firmware update the maker offers. Both fix many small problems.

6. Keep unwanted devices off

Check the router’s list of connected devices. Remove ones you do not know and set a strong Wi-Fi password so neighbours cannot use your connection.

7. Test properly

Stand in the room where the signal is weak and run a speed test. Compare it with a test next to the router. If speed is fine at the router but poor far away, you have a range problem. If it is poor everywhere, check your plan with your provider.

8. If range is still a problem

• A Wi-Fi extender repeats the signal. It is cheap but can halve the speed.
• A mesh system uses several units for a whole home and is better for large or multi-storey houses.
• An Ethernet cable to a fixed device (a TV or computer) frees up Wi-Fi for phones.

Check the phone too

If a single phone is slow, restart it and update it: see how to speed up a slow phone. If you suspect the router is fine but the connection drops, read Wi-Fi connected but no internet. Newer routers and phones also support Wi-Fi 6.