How to Improve WiFi Signal

The most common mistake with WiFi is buying something before measuring anything. A slow evening on Netflix gets blamed on the router, a new router arrives, and the problem stays exactly where it was, because it was never the router. Sometimes it is the internet connection itself. Sometimes it is the cupboard the router lives in.

So this guide on how to improve WiFi signal starts with measurement, then works through the free fixes in the order I would try them, and leaves spending money until last. Most homes never get to the last part.

First, find out what is actually wrong

There are three separate things that get called “bad WiFi”, and they have different cures. Work out which one you have first.

• The internet connection is slow: your provider’s line is the bottleneck, and nothing you do to the WiFi will help.
• The WiFi signal is weak: the device is too far from the router, or something is in the way.
• The WiFi is congested: the signal is strong, but the channel is crowded with neighbors’ networks or too many busy devices.

The test

Plug a laptop into the router with an Ethernet cable and run a speed test. That is your baseline. Then run the same test over WiFi standing next to the router, and again in the room where things are bad.

If the wired result is already poor, call your provider; the WiFi is fine. If wired and near-router results are good but the far room is poor, you have a signal or coverage problem. If even the near-router WiFi result is well below wired, look at congestion, channel settings and the router itself.

How to read signal strength

On Windows, open Command Prompt and run netsh wlan show interfaces. Among other things it shows the signal as a percentage, plus the band and channel you are connected on. On a Mac, hold the Option key and click the WiFi icon in the menu bar to see details including RSSI (signal strength) and noise; macOS also includes a Wireless Diagnostics app. On phones, free WiFi analyzer apps show the same figures, especially on Android.

RSSI is measured in dBm and is always a negative number, where closer to zero is stronger. As a widely used rule of thumb, around -50 dBm is excellent, around -67 dBm is the level people aim for if they want reliable video calls, and once you drift past -70 dBm or so things become unreliable. Treat these as guides, not laws. Walk around the house with a laptop or phone and note the readings room by room. That map beats any opinion, mine included.

Router placement

Placement is the fix that costs nothing and helps most often. WiFi spreads out from the router’s antennas, and every wall, floor and appliance between you and it takes a share.

• Put it in the middle of the home, not at one end. Coverage is roughly a sphere, and half a sphere spent on the neighbor’s garden is wasted.
• Raise it. A shelf or the top of a bookcase is better than the floor.
• Keep it out of cupboards, cabinets and the space behind the TV.
• Keep it away from large metal objects, mirrors and big containers of water (fish tanks are notorious), all of which absorb or reflect the signal.
• Keep distance from microwaves, cordless phones and baby monitors, which can interfere, especially with 2.4 GHz.
• If the router has adjustable antennas, set some vertical and some horizontal. Devices hold their own antennas at all sorts of angles, and a mix helps.

If the provider’s socket is in the hallway cupboard, a longer cable from the socket to a better spot is one of the cheapest upgrades available. The router does not have to live where the engineer left it.

Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz

Modern routers broadcast on more than one band, and choosing the right one matters. Each trades range against speed.

• 2.4 GHz travels further and gets through walls better, but it is slower and crowded, because every neighbor and many gadgets use it.
• 5 GHz is much faster and less crowded, but its range is shorter and walls cut it down more.
• 6 GHz is the newest band, available to devices and routers that support WiFi 6E or WiFi 7. It has the most room and the least interference, and the shortest range of the three.

Many routers combine the bands under one network name and steer devices between them automatically. That usually works. If a device keeps clinging to 2.4 GHz while sitting near the router, try giving the bands separate names temporarily, connect it to 5 GHz directly, and see whether it behaves. Smart home gadgets often only support 2.4 GHz, so do not switch that band off.

Channels

Each band is divided into channels, and if your neighbors’ routers sit on the same one, you share airtime with them. On 2.4 GHz in the United States, only channels 1, 6 and 11 do not overlap one another. Use one of those three. Picking channel 3 because nobody else is on it just means you overlap with everyone on 1 and 6. A WiFi analyzer app will show which of the three is quietest where you live.

On 5 GHz there are many more channels and less overlap, so automatic selection usually does a decent job. Some 5 GHz channels are shared with radar systems (these are called DFS channels), and a router using them must move off if it detects radar, which can cause a brief drop. If you see unexplained short disconnects, try a non-DFS channel in the router settings.

Channel width matters too: wider channels are faster but more prone to interference, so in a crowded apartment building a narrower 5 GHz width can be steadier.

Firmware and the restart nobody believes in

Router firmware updates fix bugs, close security holes and sometimes improve performance. Check the router’s app or web admin page for an update option, and switch on automatic updates if it is offered. Routers supplied by an internet provider are often updated by the provider remotely, but it does no harm to check.

A restart is not superstition: it clears memory and lets the router reselect its channels. If you need one every few days, though, that is a symptom, and the router may be failing or too old for your number of devices.

Mesh systems versus extenders

If one or two rooms are still weak after placement, bands and channels, you need another access point. There are three common approaches.

Extenders (repeaters)

A basic extender picks up your existing WiFi and rebroadcasts it. The catch is that it has to listen and transmit, and on many models that means the speed available through the extender is significantly lower than at the router. Extenders also often create a separate network, so devices hang on to the weak one. They are cheap, and they can be fine for a single far room that only needs basic coverage.

Mesh systems

A mesh system replaces your router’s WiFi with two or more units that work as one network under one name. Devices move between units as you walk around, and better systems link the units with a dedicated radio or an Ethernet cable. For larger homes, awkward layouts and multiple floors, mesh is the better tool. Place the units within good range of each other; putting the second unit in the dead zone itself defeats the purpose.

Wired access points

If you can run Ethernet between rooms, a second access point connected by cable gives the best result, because the link between units uses no WiFi at all. Many mesh systems support wired backhaul for the same reason. It involves cables, which is why most people skip it.

How to check it worked

Repeat the measurements from the start: wired baseline, near the router, and the problem room. Note the signal reading and the speed test result in each place. If the far room went from unreliable to comfortably usable, the change worked. If nothing moved, undo it and try the next fix rather than stacking five changes.

A VPN can also reduce speed, so switch it off while you test; our guide on how to use a VPN explains how to check it is not leaking once you turn it back on. And if your laptop is the only device that struggles, it may be overheating and throttling rather than suffering from WiFi; see how to clean a laptop fan. Both are part of the Consumer Tech section.

What I would do

I would plug a laptop into the router and run a wired speed test before touching anything, because a good share of “WiFi problems” turn out not to be WiFi at all. Then I would move the router to the most central, highest point the cabling allows and set 2.4 GHz to whichever of channels 1, 6 or 11 is quietest. Firmware next. Only if a room still reads past about -70 dBm would I spend money, and I would spend it on a mesh system or a wired access point rather than a plug-in extender, unless that room only ever needs to stream music.