How To Increase Router Range In Settings

Browsing slowing to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless expressionless zones—every one of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has go, for some, as necessary every bit breathing. (Well, peradventure non that disquisitional...but nevertheless important.)

If you feel like your Wi-Fi has gotten sluggish, at that place are many tools you can use to test the speed of your net. There are also a few tricks yous can try to troubleshoot your network problems. Nevertheless, if the merely way yous tin go decent reception is past standing next to your wireless router, these simple tips can aid optimize your network.

1. Check Your Wired Internet Connection

Before yous blame the Wi-Fi, make sure the internet coming into your house is performing as information technology should. Find an Ethernet cable and plug your calculator direct into your modem—you may need a USB to Ethernet adapter if your laptop doesn't have an Ethernet port.

Run a speed test to see your internet speed. If information technology doesn't match the speed on your cyberspace bill, yous may need to telephone call your Isp or replace your modem. If your speed test does lucifer your cyberspace bill, but it still seems slow, it may be time to pony up for a better programme. (My grandmother was convinced her Wi-Fi was faulty, simply for me to tell her she was subscribed to a snail's-footstep 3Mbps connexion.)

If the modem seems okay, try running the test once again wirelessly, continuing right next to the router. If you get similarly good speeds next to the router, but not elsewhere in the firm, then your Wi-Fi coverage may be to blame. If your internet is still slow continuing right side by side to the router, you lot may have some outdated gear that needs an upgrade.

2. Update Your Router Firmware

Earlier yous start tweaking things, it'south a adept thought to update your router. Router manufacturers are ever improving software to eke out a flake more speed. How easy—or how difficult—it is to upgrade your firmware depends entirely on your device'due south manufacturer and model.

Most current routers have the update process built right into the administration interface, so it's just a thing of hitting a firmware upgrade button. Other models, peculiarly if they're older, still require y'all to visit the manufacturer's website, download a firmware file from your router'due south support folio, and upload it to the administration interface. It's dull, but still a good affair to practise since it would be such a simple ready.

In fact, even if your wireless network isn't bilious, you should make information technology a point to update your firmware on a regular footing for performance improvements, ameliorate features, and security updates. For assistance with this, we have a guide on accessing your router'south settings.

If you really want to become the near out of your current router, the adventurous should expect at a tertiary-party firmware, like the open up-source DD-WRT. This tin can ramp upward performance and requite you access to more avant-garde networking features, including the ability to install a virtual private network (VPN) right onto your router. Information technology'due south a bit more than complex to set up, but for tech-savvy users, information technology may be worthwhile.

iii. Achieve Optimal Router Placement

Non all homes volition distribute Wi-Fi betoken equally. The fact is, where y'all place the router can hugely affect your wireless coverage. Information technology may seem logical to accept the router inside a cabinet and out of the style, or correct by the window where the cable comes in, but that'south not ever the case. Rather than relegating it to a far end of your home, the router should exist in the center of your house, if possible, then its signal can attain to each corner with ease.

In addition, wireless routers need open spaces, abroad from walls and obstructions. And so while information technology's tempting to put that ugly black box in a closet or backside a bunch of books, you lot'll get a ameliorate point if it'southward surrounded by open air (which should forbid the router from overheating, too). Keep information technology away from heavy-duty appliances or electronics too, since running those in shut proximity can affect Wi-Fi functioning. If you tin can eliminate even one wall between your workspace and the router, you can drastically improve operation.

If your router has external antennas, orient them vertically to crash-land upwards coverage. If y'all can, it even helps to drag the router—mount it high on the wall or on the top shelf to get a amend indicate. There are plenty of tools to help you lot visualize your network coverage. We like Ekahau's Heatmapper or MetaGeek's inSSIDer, which evidence you both the weak and strong spots in your Wi-Fi network. There are enough of mobile apps, too, such every bit Netgear's WiFi Analytics.

(Editors' Notation: Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, the parent visitor of PCMag.com.)

four. What's Your Frequency?

Take a look at your network'south administrator interface and make sure you lot accept it configured for optimum performance. If you have a dual-ring router, you'll probable get better throughput by switching to the 5GHz band instead of using the more than common 2.4GHz band.

Non only does 5GHz offer faster speeds, simply you'll probable encounter less interference from other wireless networks and devices, considering the 5GHz frequency is not every bit commonly used. (Information technology doesn't handle obstructions and distances quite as well, though, then it won't necessarily reach as far as a 2.4GHz signal does.)

Most modern dual-band routers should offer y'all the option to employ the aforementioned network proper noun, or SSID, on both bands. Check your router's administration interface, look for the 5GHz network pick, and give it the aforementioned SSID and password as your 2.4GHz network. That way, your devices will automatically choose the all-time signal whenever they tin.

(If your router doesn't offering you the option to employ the same SSID, simply give it another name—similar SmithHouse-5GHz—and endeavor to connect to that one manually whenever possible.)

five. Change That Channel

Interference is a big issue, peculiarly for those who live in densely populated areas. Signals from other wireless networks can impact speeds, not to mention some cordless telephone systems, microwaves, and other electronic devices.

Ever play with walkie-talkies every bit a kid? Yous may remember how the units needed to exist on the same "channel" in society for you to hear each other. And if you happened to be on the aforementioned aqueduct as your neighbors, you could listen in on someone else's conversation, even if they were using a completely unlike set. In that same vein, all modern routers can switch across different channels when communicating with your devices.

Virtually routers will cull the channel for you, but if neighboring wireless networks are also using the same channel, you'll encounter signal congestion. A good router set to Automatic volition attempt to choose the least congested channel, just older or cheaper routers may just choose a predefined aqueduct, fifty-fifty if it isn't the all-time ane. That could be a problem.

On Windows-based PCs, y'all can meet what channels neighboring Wi-Fi networks are using. From the control prompt type netsh wlan evidence all, and you'll encounter a list of all wireless networks and the channels existence used in your vicinity. The aforementioned network analyzers tin also show you this information, frequently in an easier-to-read graphical format.

At the PCMag part, for instance, most of our networks and those of our neighbors are using channels 6 and eleven. In full general, for 2.4GHz you desire to stick to channels 1, half-dozen, and xi since they're the only ones that don't overlap with other channels (which can dethrone operation). 5GHz generally uses non-overlapping channels, withal, which should brand selecting the right one much easier.

If you lot find the Auto setting isn't working well for you, sign into your router'due south administrator interface, caput to the basic wireless category, and try selecting one manually (ideally, ane that isn't in use by many networks in your surface area). Run another speed test to run into if that provides a better bespeak and faster speeds over the Automated setting in your problem areas.

Continue in mind that channel congestion tin can change over time, and then if you lot choose a aqueduct manually, y'all may want to check in in one case in a while to make certain it's still the all-time one.

half-dozen. Boot Off Wi-Fi Intruders

It's entirely possible the problem has nothing to do with interference or Wi-Fi range. If your network is open, or has a weak password, you could accept an unwanted guest or ii piggybacking on your network. If the neighbour is downloading multiple 4K movies on your Wi-Fi, your video chats volition suffer.

These tools tin can assistance you find a list of devices on your Wi-Fi, which may help you sniff out uninvited neighbors. Your router'south admin interface may also be a traffic analyzer of some sort that will tell you which devices are using lots of data—you may even discover ane of your ain kids is sucking up bandwidth without you realizing information technology. (If so, here's how to kick them off).

In one case you find the intruder and remedy the problem, secure your network with a potent password—preferably WPA2, as WEP is notoriously easy to crevice—and then others can't bring together in.

7. Control Quality

Well-nigh modern routers come with Quality of Service (QoS) tools to limit the amount of bandwidth that apps use, like the Netgear menu above. For example, you could use QoS to prioritize video calls over file downloads—that style, your phone call with grandma won't drop just because someone else is grabbing a large file from Dropbox. (Certain, their file will have longer, but grandma is more than of import.) Some QoS settings even allow you to prioritize different apps at different times of mean solar day.

QoS settings tin can typically be establish nether advanced settings in the network'due south ambassador interface. Some routers may even make it easier by offering a i-click multimedia or gaming setting, so you know those applications will be prioritized. If you're trying to stream games while sharing a network, at that place are steps you lot tin can have to make things better.

eight. Replace Your Antenna

If your router uses an internal antenna, adding an external i would be a good idea, as the latter tends to send a stronger signal. Your router may have come with antennas you lot tin add on yourself, simply if not (or if you threw them away long ago), many router manufacturers sell antennas separately.

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In many cases, you can cull between omnidirectional antennas, which send a betoken to all directions, or directional ones, which send a signal in i specific direction. Most built-in antennas tend to be omnidirectional, then if you are ownership an external one, it should be marked "high-gain" to actually make a departure.

A directional antenna tends to exist a better option, since odds are that y'all aren't experiencing weak spots in your network in every direction. Bespeak your external antenna in the direction of your weak spot, and it volition broadcast the betoken appropriately. Check your router manufacturer'south website for details on what to buy.

9. Upgrade Your Obsolete Hardware

TP-Link Archer AX11000 tri-band gaming router

It's a good idea to get the most out of your existing equipment, but if y'all're running old hardware, you can't expect the best performance. We have a tendency to subscribe to the "if it own't broke, don't gear up information technology" mentality with back-end devices, especially networking gear. Nonetheless, if you lot bought your router years ago, you might still be using the older, slower 802.11n standard (or God forbid, 802.11g).

Older routers may cap at fairly low bandwidths, and may even have shorter ranges. Thus, all the tweaking nosotros've outlined above volition but get you and so far—the maximum throughput for 802.11g is 54Mbps, while 802.11n caps out at 300Mbps. The latest 802.11ac supports 1Gbps, while next-gen Wi-Fi vi routers can theoretically hit 10Gbps. Our listing of the best wireless routers is a good place to start the search for a faster router.

Fifty-fifty if your router is new, y'all might take some ancient devices that are falling back to older, slower standards. If y'all bought a PC inside the last couple of years, you probable have an 802.11ac wireless adapter, or at least 802.11n. But the older your devices, the less likely they are to accept modern tech built in. (You might be able to buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter that makes things a bit better on those old machines, though.)

Recollect, a higher-quality router won't simply support those faster standards—it'll too do all the things nosotros've outlined above ameliorate. It'll have improve channel pick, perform better band steering for 5GHz devices, and include better QoS features.

Others may have features like Multi User-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO), like the Editors' Choice TP-Link Archer AX11000 tri-band gaming router. MU-MIMO routers tin can send and receive multiple data streams simultaneously to multiple devices without bandwidth degradation and crave specialized testing with multiple clients, but the clients need to exist MU-MIMO compatible.

If yous do end upwardly buying a new router, the setup procedure won't be also scary. We have a guide on how to set and configure the device.

x. Reach Further With a Range Extender or Mesh Wi-Fi

Amazon Eero Pro 6

Some newer routers may have ameliorate range than your erstwhile beater, just in many homes, y'all may still not get the range you demand. If the network has to cover an area larger than the router is capable of transmitting to, or if at that place are lots of corners to get around and walls to penetrate, performance will inevitably take a hit. If all of the above tips neglect, it's possible that your house is simply also big for a single router to send a good indicate everywhere. In that case, y'all'd need some other device to extend your signal.

Range extenders receive a signal from your router, then rebroadcast information technology to your devices, and vice-versa. Withal, while they're inexpensive, they're often not as constructive as mesh Wi-Fi systems, which supplant your existing router entirely. Instead of merely repeating a router'southward signal, multiple units work together to intelligently route traffic back to your modem, blanketing your business firm in a single Wi-Fi network that reaches everywhere you lot need.

When setting up these mesh points, yous should nonetheless use the same rules for figuring out placement: one node will be connected to your modem, and each of the other nodes should be shut enough to pick up a solid signal, while nevertheless far enough to extend coverage to dead zones.

The traditional downside to Wi-Fi mesh systems has been that they're more often than not more expensive than but adding a range extender to your existing router. However, we expect to see that change in the nigh future, spurred by Amazon'due south Eero six and Eero Pro 6, which come up in around $100 to $200 less than much of their mesh competition while offer Wi-Fi 6 compatibility and fifty-fifty a Zigbee smart abode device hub built into the principal router.

Even with a mesh system, nonetheless, note that you may still incur some performance loss on the far ends of your house, peculiarly if your Wi-Fi has to make multiple "hops"—again, placing the primary unit of measurement in the eye of your house is all-time, and connecting the nodes with Ethernet will produce the best results. Trust me: if yous truly desire problem-complimentary Wi-Fi, it's worth having an electrician run a couple of Ethernet cables to each mesh unit, because in my experience, anything else is a compromise that may or may not measure out upwards to your standards.

Mesh Wi-Fi Systems aren't cheap, specially if you have a large home, which will require multiple nodes. However, if yous're in the market for a new router anyway, they're absolutely worth because equally an alternative. If you're tech-savvy, you might be able to save some money past setting up a few cheaper-but-more-complex Ubiquiti UniFi Light access points.

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