Wi-Fi is now one of the indispensable components in the technological equipment of a modern home, since it allows you to connect all the devices of daily use without using a cable. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi could also become one of the most "frustrating" components, also depending on the type of house you live in or the office where you work: if the signal is weak or there is a lot of interference we will find ourselves having a Wi-Fi with very low speed, a connection that comes and goes or even absent in certain points of the room . In this article we will show you the best ideas and methods to amplify the home Wi-Fi in order to have better reception and to extend the signal in all the rooms . In addition to some technical measures, we also see some network devices to be purchased and with variable costs that can be used to increase the diffusion of the signal.
Article Index
- Use the latest Wi-Fi technologies
- Find the ideal place to put the router
- Find the right wireless channel
- Protect the Wi-Fi network from hackers
- Check bandwidth consumption of programs
- Amplify the coverage of your Wi-Fi connection
- Reuse an old router
- Wi-Fi repeaters
- Use Wi-Fi Powerline
- Optimize and increase the Internet speed on your computer
Use the latest Wi-Fi technologies
One of the best ways to make sure your network is as fast and reliable as possible is to use updated and new hardware. If there are numerous disconnections and you do not really understand why, it is not surprising that the router used is now ruined and to be thrown away. Unfortunately, over time, a router can break and cause intermittence.The main thing to know, mentioned several times, is that wireless networks differ according to the protocol in use: with the old wording for example we can find the abbreviations IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac, while with the new wording we can find Wi -Fi 4 and Wi-Fi 5 .
- IEEE 802.11no Wi-Fi 4 covers more rooms but is subject to frequent interference and slowdowns.
- IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5 buys a few rooms (often only 2), but offers faster connection speeds and less sensitivity to interference.
The use of both types of network will allow you to connect devices close to the router quickly and without interference and to connect the most distant devices without problems. The best routers that we can buy with both technologies are:
- D-Link DSL-3682 (€ 41)
- TP-Link Archer C60 (44 €)
- Asus RT-AC1200GPLUS (67 €)
- Netgear AC1750 Wifi Router (89 €)
These routers can be used with any type of line (ADSL, FTTC and FTTH), just connect them in cascade to the modem supplied by the operator.
In the article on which Wi-Fi router to buy for the wireless home network, we have collected other router models to buy in order to take advantage of both the recommended protocols.
Find the ideal place to put the router
The router today is a common object, spread almost like a radio or a TV, because it is the device that allows us to connect to the Internet. As a device it can be ugly, but that doesn't mean you have to hide it behind a piece of furniture or always near the phone jack!If you want the signal to be amplified and enhanced as much as possible, the router should be placed in a space free of electromagnetic devices (at least 3-4 meters) and placed as high as possible . You must then point the antennas vertically (if available) and turn it until you find the perfect position to cover the whole house.
To be able to take measurements and check for interference with nearby networks, we can use some of the apps dedicated to the purpose, such as Wifi Analyzer (Android) or Network Analyzer (iPhone).
Find the right wireless channel
If you live in a building or in a very inhabited neighborhood, you will surely have neighbors with their Wi-Fi network that interferes with ours, significantly reducing the speed and coverage of our network. Fortunately, wireless routers can work on a number of different channels so it is important to configure the signal on the least used channel, in particular with the network that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency (i.e. IEEE 802.11n) . On the 5 GHz network (which uses IEEE 802.11ac), it is usually not necessary to change the channel and we can make the router do everything in automatic mode.
In this regard, I wrote a guide with more detailed instructions on how to connect to the wireless network of the wifi network with the most powerful signal .
Protect the Wi-Fi network from hackers
Even if the router has a password, it can be really easy to hack, especially if we use simple passwords or less than 8 characters. There are multiple ways to find out if someone is stealing the Wi-Fi network, but the best thing to do is simply protect it using a robust password, using the WPA2 algorithm and turning off WPS (although comfortable, it can be easily hacked to access to our network undisturbed).
In this regard, we invite you to read our guide on how to configure a wifi router .
Check bandwidth consumption of programs
If someone uses a computer in their home network with video chat programs, online games, downloads or streaming, they can occupy the available network bandwidth and make the Internet slower for everyone else.
With a router that mounts the DD-WRT firmware or with an advanced router, we can use the Quality of Service or QoS configuration to limit the bandwidth of some specific applications: let's check if the control panel of your router has this option.
If we do not want to intervene via router we can act via software on the computer where these programs are used, as described in our guide to limit the WiFi bandwidth from the Router on specific devices or computers .
Amplify the coverage of your Wi-Fi connection
The antennas supplied with different router models are omni-directional, which means they send signals in all directions. In these cases, if the router is positioned towards the external walls, half of the signal goes outside the house.
If the antennas are removable, replace them with one of the orientable external antenna models, such as those recommended below.
- Eightwood WiFi Antenna Magnetic Antenna (16 €)
- TP-Link TL-ANT302287 Directional Antenna, 2.4 Ghz (23 €)
- Eightwood Wi-Fi Antenna SMA Male 35dbi (24 €)
If you cannot move the router to the center of the house or change the antenna and the signal is not powerful enough to cover all the rooms, you can try some tricks that seem ridiculous, but that really work.
To amplify the Wi-Fi signal we can use an open can of a drink or beer or with an aluminum foil, open in a crescent shape around the antenna, directing the signal to the point of the house where we want it to be amplified. Aluminum will reflect the wireless waves and return them in the set direction, so as to increase the coverage and speed of our Wi-Fi network.
Reuse an old router
To extend the wireless signal we can also use an old router, converting it into a repeater to bring the signal even to rooms where it arrives with difficulty. To succeed in Nintendo, we recommend reading our guides to configure an access point as a repeater or the guide on how to connect two wireless routers in the network to increase the Wifi signal .
Wi-Fi repeaters
A more convenient solution to amplify the home Wi-Fi is to use a Wi-Fi repeater, i.e. a device that takes the signal from the router and extends it to the room where nothing arrives.
The best devices we can use are listed below.
- TP-Link Wireless WiFi Repeater TL-WA850RE (19 €)
- Netgear WN3000RP (€ 24)
- TP-Link RE200 Wireless WiFi Repeater (26 €)
- AVM FRITZ! WLAN Repeater 1750E Range Extender Wi-Fi (74 €)
These devices connect to the original Wi-Fi network (in a point where it still takes good care) and in turn create a new Wi-Fi network with a name very similar to the original, with the addition of the suffix EXT. The repeater password is the same as that of the main Wi-Fi network, so we can easily access even from points in the house that are too far away to get good speed.
On this topic we refer you to reading our guide on how the wifi repeater or "Range Extender" works and which one to buy .
Use Wi-Fi Powerline
If even the repeaters cannot adequately amplify the wireless network, we can use the electrical outlets at home to carry the signal and thus create a much more efficient Wi-Fi repeater, using the new Wi-Fi Powerlines.These devices connect to the main router via Ethernet and spread the Internet signal through the home outlets, which can then be used as "hidden cables", without interfering with classic appliances: once the other Powerline adapter is placed in the room without coverage, we will be able to connect a PC via Ethernet cable and take advantage of the Wi-Fi network created by the adapter, so as to navigate at high speed even if the router is very far away (only foresight is that the adapters must be connected to two electrical outlets of the same counter).
The best Wi-Fi Powerlines we can use are listed below:
- TP-Link TL-WPA7510 WiFi Powerline Kit (71 €)
- Netgear PLW1000-100PES Powerline AV1000, Wireless AC (€ 74)
- D-Link DHP-W611AV AV2 Powerline Kit, Wireless AC1200 (79 €)
- TP-Link TL-WPA8630P Kit AV1300 Wi-Fi AC 1350 Mbps (138 €)
To learn more about the Powerline talk, please read our guide on How the Powerline works, secrets and limits .
Optimize and increase the Internet speed on your computer
If you use Windows on the computers with which you surf the web, there are some tricks to improve data transmission that we have explained in the articles below:- Ways to improve the quality of the internet connection
- Increase the computer's network speed by changing 7 registry keys
- How to speed up the internet connection with 5 Windows tricks
Also it may be the case, change the Wi-Fi network card on your computer, using a modern Wi-Fi card (internal or external) able to take advantage of Wi-Fi 5, such as those recommended in the guide to the Best 5 WiFi adapters GHz for PC, for faster connections .
