5 Effective Tweaks to Increase the range of weak WIFI Signal, Reduce Lag and Improve Network Bandwith

Has any of us here ever thought about how NASA is able to receive accurate data from a spacecraft that’s 4.67 billion miles away, but we instantly lose wifi signal the moment we walk into the kitchen? It’s not acceptable!

Today you can even enroll in the fastest cable internet plan, surfing on a $9000 custom-built beast PC and yet you may still experience the very same spotty performance that’s been haunting millions of Americans everyday when all we want after dinner is “netflix and chill”. Thing like that could easily go from being annoyed to using your router as a target gun practice. But before you are driving your car through the wall to open up coverage, try a few of our advice below and see if that could remedy the situation. I’m 82% out of 90% sure it’ll do the job.

1. Switch to a Less Crowded Channel

Most wireless transmission runs at 2.4GHz frequency, unless your router supports dual-band which also broadcasts at a much less crowded 5GHz frequency. So if your router is unfortunately single-band, then your microwave, age-old cordless phones, baby monitors or even some car alarm will very likely interfere its signal.

The interference can significantly reduces the transfer rate or completely destroy a stable communication between the computer and the wireless router. On the other hand, car alarm sometimes overlaps channel 6 and 11 of the 2.4GHz frequency that stutters wireless traffic. These two channels are known to be the most commonly used wifi networks.

Now with that in mind, perhaps you want to logon to your router’s configuration panel and switch to a less crowded channel other than the typical 1, 6 and 11 spectrum.

If you do not know which channel is best, I highly recommend to try the free open-source software called inSSIDer. This application is extremely helpful once you get the hang of it. There are also a bunch of Wifi analyzer apps for iOS and Android phone if they are more convenient for you to obtain. Either way, you’ll be able to figure out which channels are the most crowded and run from them.

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The main window of inSSIDer includes the detail list of all surrounding networks, their unique ID addresses, type of network, router vendors, security measurement and of course, what channels are being used most. Once you’ve found out, you can change the channel number in the Wireless setting page of the router’s configuration panel –refer to the router’s manual or ask Google, usually the address is 192.168.0.1. My channel option is currently set to Channel 5.

Perhaps you could also upgrade it all together to Dual-band router that supports the more open, less populated 5GHz frequency. The triple-antenna TP-Link and Asus routers below also come with very fast processor and equipped with plenty of RAM for daily use.

I personally reviewed both of them and they are the best bang for the bucks among other models in the market. Some of the newer Asus AC router models surprisingly come with a slower processor than the RT-N66U below!

2. Position of the Wireless Router and why does it matter?

Wireless Router Positioning source: mmcyp.com

Wireless Router Positioning
source: mmcyp.com

Imagine how an airplane takes people from one location to another. First it takes off to a certain height above cloud level, then flies its way until it reaches the destination. Now you do not see airplanes fly too close to the ground because if they do, they will hit tall buildings and crash and kill people and destroy stuffs everywhere.

The concept is simple yet it has a point. It makes sense when you leave your wireless router too low to the ground, or on the floor and you cannot get a good coverage.

The reception is like an airplane, it becomes worse because there is too much interference at the lower ground and those items potentially prevent the signal from reaching the destination. This does not mean you should move your router to the roof, but it is highly advised to place it somewhere higher inside.

3. Make Use of Aluminum Foil

385324-signal-boosterCopper wire, beer can or Aluminum Foil knows to have high deflection on wireless transmission. They could give a little boost to the wifi reception that is degraded over the distance.

If your router has an antenna then you can try to make an amplifier using Aluminum Foil that could be found in any kitchen. In many instances, you can quickly see a 10-15% boost of signal strength overall. I also find this DIY Wifi Extender topic is quite practical by using the Tin Can to amplify the connection.

p.s Beer can can work just as well! If succeeded, you probably could start stocking all the beers, when asked just say — “bae i’m opening a business involves selling innovative aluminum foil wireless range booster device”. And she’ll be like “are you tripping?”.

4. Antenna Replacement

This method applies to only router/adapter that has detachable antenna, however you still can get some helpful tips if your router or adapter doesn’t have removable antenna. Most Verizon FIOS routers have detachable antennas so this has helped a lot of our readers in the past.

Here’s something you should know : all typical internal or external wireless antennas that come with your router are omni-directional. That means the reception broadcasts in the fan-like shape to all different directions. This is great in a closed-room but if you have a big home you may have very poor coverage on the furthest ends. Thus, you should relocate the router to the center of the house if possible. If that is unlikely to happen, you will need to get a better antenna.

This solution is not free like others above, but it guarantees a stronger improvement on the router wireless transmission. The best choice of antenna is the TP-Link USA 2.4GHz 8dBi Desktop Omni-directional Antenna. You could also try the stronger antennas by AMPED Wireless such as High Power 12dBi Omni-Directional Wi-Fi Antenna or ASUS Omni High Gain 9dBi Antenna. It is very rare that you need to go with anything above 12dBi because as it is more powerful, it is also dumping a lot of noise in to the reception. What you will eventually get is a very sluggish connection. So stick with the optimal said antenna options.


5. Adding a Wireless Repeater / Range Extender

350-388106-894__1If all else fail, you probably have to setup a wireless repeater into your home network. Repeaters are a bit more pricey, it should be one of the last options to consider.

In order to extend the network, the Wireless repeater will be positioned in the middle distance between the router and the end-devices.

Note that Wireless Repeater IS NOT a Client Bridge. A Client Bridge connects wired computers under the same network and joins them into the same Internet connection, very different to a Wireless Repeater.

By using a Wireless repeater, you create the secondary network from your original one. For example, my original wireless network named “FBI Flower Van”, the Wireless Repeater will connect to this connection and create a new network name, such “ur mama wifi”.

As you could have guessed, the wireless reception in this setup is stronger and more powerful. However, there will be a little latency in the connection; because now the data have to hop from your computer to the repeater then to the router and modem before it finally travels elsewhere on the Internet. The lag is not totally unacceptable and sometimes unnoticeable for daily use, but online gamers may not be able to tolerate the situation.

These following repeaters that I got my hands on are by Neatgear and TP-Link Technology. They are very decently priced options in the market and very easy to use for non tech-savvy person. You will need to connect one of your computer to the device for the initial setup and that’s all.

6. Other Recommended Tips

best thing to happen when you move in a new home

  1. Always keep your router firmware up to date. Most routers have an auto update checking button, so should you run it often to get the latest firmware for your device. These fixes usually improve performance and other important security measurements.
  2. Use the same wireless standard throughout the network. If you have wireless N router and force it to run in compatible mode with a/b and g, you will experience a bad drop in transfer rate.
    I once tested this theory on my old Neatgear router by running on two different modes : a/b/g/n and N-only separately. The difference is 600-800kbps vs. 1.2mbps accordingly, on a slow cable connection. This means the impact has a greater hit on faster Internet connection, therefore you should totally be aware of this setting on your router. Strike for the best mode your router can support. On the other note, since my PSP only accepts Wireless b while PS3 takes Wireless g standard, I have to stick with compatible mode as long as I’m still playing them. *sigh intensified* …
  3. It’s preferred to use the same branded products. However, it’s actually more important to have good set of router and adapter, despite what brand it comes from. Keep an eyes on those that offer single or double external antennas adapters like those below.


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