Your home WiFi network is now as essential to everyday life as electricity and running water. So when you have problems connecting to the web from your laptop or your smartphone, you feel the impact in many different areas of your life. Whether you’re trying to download essential emails from work, research your next vacation, or watch the latest episode of your favorite TV show.
It is also clear that your connectivity expectations are higher than before. You have little patience while waiting for files to download, for jittery video, or for Internet/WiFi service disruptions.
Get the best coverage and performance from your WiFi Network
On the rare occasions when issues do occur, turning your WiFi router off and then back on again usually solves the problem. But when you’re continually having trouble connecting, or experiencing sluggish performance, there’s a good chance there are other problems you need to address.
Is your router out of date?
One potential cause of your WiFi problems is an old router. WiFi technology has improved a lot recently, so if your router is a few years old, it won’t work nearly as well as a new one. For example, newer WiFi technology uses stronger wireless signals and allows multiple users to connect at the same time. If you think that your router might be out of date, contact CTC and ask about a replacement.
Move your router to a new location
If your router itself is not the problem, its location might be. For you to enjoy the best possible online experience, your router needs to be able to send out a strong signal to your wireless device, wherever you are in your home. In general, the signal gets weaker the farther you are from your router, so it’s crucial to install it in a central location, so you’re never very far from it. If possible, you should place the WiFi router on a table or a shelf. The ideal position is half-way between the floor and the ceiling.
The physical features of your house may also be contributing to the problem. For example, certain materials used in your interior walls can reduce the strength of your signal. Most common construction materials, such as wood or drywall, won’t cause a problem. However, if your router is located near walls made from concrete or brick, these materials can block some — or all — of your WiFi signal.
Metal surfaces can also weaken your WiFi signal, so placing your router in a kitchen or laundry room that has a lot of metal appliances is not a good idea either.
Finally, one of the most obstructive materials for the WiFi signal is a mirror. If you have a sizeable mirror near your WiFi router, it may negatively impact WiFi performance.
If your router is located in a room with any of these characteristics, try moving it to a different room in your house to see if your WiFi performance improves.
Check for interference from other electronic devices
Another factor that can cause reduced performance is interference from other electronic devices. Specific non-Wi-Fi devices — like baby monitors, Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, and cordless phones — may share the same frequency as your WiFi router. As a result, when these devices are in use, you may notice your WiFi performance getting worse.
The most likely source of interference is other WiFi routers located nearby. There’s a good chance that one or more of your neighbors have a WiFi router that operates on the same frequency as yours. In this case, the signal coming from your neighbor’s router may be interfering with the signal from your router, and that may be contributing to the connection and performance problems you are experiencing.
If you think that interference from nearby routers is affecting your WiFi network, contact CTC for technical support. They can help you reconfigure your router to limit the impact of neighboring routers and help you get your WiFi performing the way it should be.
Another option is to purchase a simple repeater or a mesh WiFi system. Please beware, however, that not all WiFi enhancement solutions are created equally. The ideal approach is to call CTC and inquire about our Advanced WiFi product specifically designed to enhance the coverage of your WiFi network.
Check for outdated client devices
While your WiFi router is an integral part of the WiFi network, the wireless devices that you use to connect to the Internet also impact the quality of your WiFi experience. As with the router, older devices are going to have outdated technology, resulting in slower connection speeds. Talk with CTC to see if your network can support your upgrade to a newer device, such as a smartphone or tablet.