Many times I'm asked how to increase wireless signal within a home, here are a few tips to help you along the way.
Some of these tips can be done by your local techie or if you want to D.I.Y then feel free to.
#1. Install the DD-WRT firmware on your wireless router – this might help increase the range of your Wi-Fi router by a few meters if not more.
To increase the signal strength, you can increase the router’s transmit power and also disable both frame burst and afterburner (the settings can be accessed from the router’s web dashboard). If DD-WRT firmware is not available for your router, try the Tomato firmware on your router.
Strongly advise if you're going this route to have a technician do this for you, as if done incorrectly you will end up paying for a new wireless router.
#2. Most routers have omni-directional antennas so they emit wireless signals in all directions (just like a light bulb).
That’s fine if you have placed the router in a central location but if the router is in some corner of your room or against a wall, consider adding a home-made reflector (check out this cool vid) behind the antennas of your router.
#3. Ideally, you should place the router at a height in some central location and away from other cordless devices. Make sure that the router is not placed near something metallic (like an almirah or window grills) as that will weaken the wireless signals. Avoid mirrors as they can reflect the wireless signals away from the desired direction.
#4. Wireless routers generally ship with omni-directional antennas but you can replace them with more powerful uni-directional antennas and that will keep the signal from getting broadcast in all directions.
If you can’t find a compatible directional antenna for your router model, consider a booster antenna that’s omni-directional but will still boost both the range and strength of wireless signals.
Boosting The Signal With Hardware
Most of our homes are built with steel in them, that's if it's a wall house. Also if it is wall and your wireless router is three rooms away, you'll get a reduction in signal. If it's a two storey home, you may not be able to receive proper signal upstairs or vice versa.
In cases like this you can opt for the hardware side of things to extend the signal throughout your home.
Option #1. You can attach a WiFi Repeater (also known as Wireless Range Expander) to your router and quickly expand the coverage of your wireless network without using any cables.
The Repeater should be placed within the range of your existing router and it will reflect the signals to other areas where the wireless reception was earlier poor (or totally absent). The Repeater can connect wirelessly to both routers and access points (see #3 below).
Option #2. You can get another wireless router and connect it to your existing router using an Ethernet cable. The advantage is that this setup comes pretty cheap and the Internet speed stays almost the same even for computers that are accessing the web via the new router.
Also with this option, if you want it done without cables, you can bridge the wireless routers wirelessly using DD-WRT (this is where your technician comes in). Also using this option you have additional LAN ports to connect a pc for file sharing etc.
Option #3. If you have an old desktop or laptop computer, you should consider adding an external (USB based) wireless adapter or upgrade the internal network card to improve the wireless reception (and thus Internet speed).
If you have any other methods, please feel free to add on.
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