How to Speed Up Your Wi-Fi

Slow Wi-Fi is a nightmare. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do about slow wireless internet: it’s a problem from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In other cases, the problem is in your own home.

Today, we’re explaining everything you need to know about speeding up your Wi-Fi, including the best tips, tricks, and techniques you can try today.

Move your Router

We get it. Your router is ugly. You don’t want it in public view when guests walk through your home. However, your router placement has a significant impact on its speed and performance. If your router is low to the ground, tucked inside a drawer or container, or in a distant part of your home, then your internet connection speeds may be suffering. Give your router some breathing space and move it.

The ideal router location is in the middle of your home. If your router location is restricted because of the location of your phone line or cable box, then consider getting a telephone extension cable, then moving the router to a higher, more central location.

Reduce Interference from Other Electronics

Many smart devices can interfere with your Wi-Fi signal. Microwaves, baby monitors, and Bluetooth devices can impact the coverage of your wireless network. Try moving devices like this away from your router. Or, turn them off. Check to see if that significantly changed your internet speeds.

Keep the area around your router clear of other electronics, and you may notice a significant speed boost.

Switch to 5 GHz

Most of today’s routers are dual band routers. They can deliver 2.4GHz and 5GHz simultaneously. They use the 802.11n standard on both frequencies.

Most routers today use the 2.4GHz frequency. It’s the most common option. That may seem like the best option for you to use, but that’s not always the case – especially if you live in an apartment building or densely populated city. All of your neighbors and their routers might be fighting for that same 2.4GHz of bandwidth.

Since 2.4GHz bandwidths are more common, you should consider switching to 5GHz on any compatible devices. Some routers broadcast two separate Wi-Fi networks (like MyNetwork2.4GHz and MyNetwork5GHz), while others combine the two into a single network, which means you have to adjust it in settings.

As long as you’re relatively close to your router, you should get a faster, more reliable connection with 5GHz over 2.4GHz.

Try Rebooting

It’s a classic PC fixing strategy for good reason. Rebooting a computer is like giving the human body lots of water and an 8 hour night of sleep. It can do wonders. Reboot your router – especially if you’re having connection problems.

Rebooting a router isn’t magic. Rebooting will kick every device off the network and force it to reconnect. It’s a fast and easy way to improve Wi-Fi speeds.

Buy New Antennae

Most new routers have antennae. These antennae help give the router a broader range. Take a look at the antennae on your router and see if they can be unscrewed. Many new router antennae can be unscrewed, then replaced with larger, more powerful antennae. Check your router manufacturer’s website or Amazon for upgraded antennae. It can easily double your coverage.

Want to save money? You can speed up your Wi-Fi with – no joke – a tinfoil reflector. You create a curved piece of material, then stretch tinfoil over top. Position that material behind your router’s antennae, and you can direct faster internet signals anywhere in your house. It sounds stupid – but it works.

Check out the YouTube video below to see how someone did it with an aluminum foil baking tray:

Buy a New Router

You wouldn’t use a 6 year old computer and expect it to run fast. So why would you treat a router the same way? Old routers are slow routers. Old routers are prone to errors. They’re not built to handle today’s massive data requirements.

Follow the tips above to speed up your Wi-Fi as soon as tonight!