How to Find and Fix Dead Wi-Fi Spots
Aug 12I’m not sure about you, but I am old enough to remember my first LAN. All wires and plugs, and lots of disconnects due to poor connectors and cables. But now we’ve got Wi-Fi networks, and this makes us much happier, right? Well… sometimes! Often times, you will discover dead spots in your house, areas where the Wi-Fi signal is sucked into a virtual black hole. I call that “the black hole of distress”…
I don’t know how you like to call it, but the problem can be very serious, especially when it happens in a random way. You don’t have any problem loading a vegan pasta recipe on your tablet, but then, only five minutes later, you can’t even access the website that lists those juicy meatballs recipes!
Could this be the monstrous act of a bunch of meat-fighting conspirators? The answer is a firm NO! It’s just that Wi-Fi, like many other things in life, is far from being perfect. The signal simply loves certain areas in your home, but dislikes other areas. Just move your tablet a few inches and – bam! – the signal is gone.
You may already know some of the dead Wi-Fi spots in your home, but trust me – there are many more! Fortunately, applications like WiFi Analyzer (open-source) make it very easy to discover all the dead spots using a simple Android-based phone.
There are other solutions for iPhones and even desktop-based computers, of course, but the latter ones will only be effective if you will install them on a laptop which can be moved around.
1. Orient the router and its antennas
The antennas in your router are omnidirectional. This means that the signal travels in all the directions with the same intensity, unless it encounters an obstacle. So the first piece of advice is to place the router in the center of your house. Of course, if you’re only using Internet-connected devices in a certain area, you should place the router in the center of that particular area.
Sometimes you will need to send the Wi-Fi signal towards a specific device – the laptop in your home office, for example. If this is the case, make use of a RP SMA extension cable and connect it to a directional antenna.
If your router has internal antennas, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil behind it to direct the signal towards the desired location.
2. Choose the proper router channel
Apps like the one mentioned above will help you determine the proper router broadcast channel as well. Since most routers are set to broadcast on channel 11, for example, you can use WiFi Analyzer and switch to a less crowded channel.
3. Purchase a new router
I know, you’re still emotionally attached to your good old router. It hasn’t failed you in 10 years, after all. But the reality is that the new routers are much faster. Not to mention that the dual-band routers, which can use the 5GHz frequency as well, are able to broadcast on many more channels, so your chances of finding a 100% free channel for your own use increase exponentially.
4. Use a range extender
If you already went through the items listed above and the situation hasn’t changed, it’s time to buy a range extender, a device that will receive your poor Wi-Fi signal, amplify it, and then rebroadcast it.
The price for a decent extender ranges from $50 to $100. It’s best to buy one that matches the specifications of your router, of course.