A slow internet connection is the bane of modern-day existence. It’s frustrating to see the buffering symbol while on Netflix or YouTube or waiting for a particular website to load or open. The stress doubles when you have to finish something important for work or school and the connection is not cooperating with the looming deadline.
Internet is life, after all, and continued access to Wi-Fi is simply indispensable. Indeed, lots of variables can cause the signal to go awry or get lost, from the number of people who are simultaneously using the service to the physical configuration.
Your best bet is to look at doable ways to improve your Wi-Fi performance and get things moving at a faster rate. Here you go.
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Do a Speed Test
It’s the quickest way to determine how fast your internet is, whose speed may differ from what your ISP told you. The speed test will confirm your download and upload speed on a given server. While the results may not be spot-on accurate, they provide a real-time picture of your internet performance. If you continue to experience a slow internet connection, talk to the ISP.
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Upgrade to a New Router
Newer wireless routers are built on improved standards that promise faster data-transmission speed, stronger signal, better coverage, and more. You can swap your five-year-old router for one that bears Wi-Fi 6, a high-efficiency wireless technology that suits the most demanding Wi-Fi environments.
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and 4. Take Your Router Out in the Open, and Place It Strategically
If buying a new router is not an option, relocating your router may help. For starters, storing your router in a cabinet or closet is a bad idea. Walls and doors can obstruct the Wi-Fi signal.
An ideal spot for your router has these attributes:
- Place it somewhere free from obstructions.
- Put it in the centre of the house or at least not in the corner, which leads to signal wastage.
- Mount the router on a shelf or an elevated spot. Broadcast signals from the antenna can move downward, and when they reach the floor, the material (e.g., concrete, metal, and cement) can block the signal.
- Orient router antennas perpendicularly, with one pointing vertically and the other horizontally.
- Set up your router in the area where you’ll be mostly working, or work where the router is.
- Steer the router clear of other electronics like the microwave oven, which operates in the same wireless band as the router does. It’s an example of interference that disrupts the Wi-Fi signal.
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Keep Your Wi-Fi Secure
For all you know, some people may be stealing your Wi-Fi, and that limits your use. Bad guys may gain access to your devices too.
You can do the following:
- Regularly change your Wi-Fi’s passwords.
- Disable Wi-Fi Protected Setup. The WPS intends to make it easy for a device to connect to the network through a PIN instead of the password. However, this PIN can be easily hacked.
- Change your router’s default log-in information. Make sure to turn off remote management services after the change to prevent hackers from accessing the network.
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Look Into DIY Wi-Fi Boosters
These do-it-yourself projects may extend the signal’s range or boost it. Check them out:
- Build a cantenna, which is a waveguide antenna used to expand Wi-Fi coverage from Pringles.
- Create a Wi-Fi antenna booster for phones and consoles using magnets.
- Use an old router as a Wi-Fi extender.
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Give Wired a Try
Ethernet provides a stable connection that you can appreciate when the Wi-Fi signal is weak. You just have to plug one end of the Ethernet cable to the LAN port and the other end to the router. If your laptop has no LAN port, you can use a USB Ethernet adapter.
If you have another PC, printer, and other gadgets that need a wired connection, hook them up to a network switch that then connects to the router. Get Gigabit switches with fast data transmission and multiple ports.
Try any of those tips as you work toward fortifying and optimizing your Wi-Fi connection. Who knows, the solution to your longtime internet woes may be here. Till the next tutorial on best practices to everyday technology that works for you.