1- Replace the Router Placement
This is the most important step, not only for enhancing wireless coverage range, but also for improving overall internet network performance and all devices connected to it. The better placed the router inside the home, the more all connected devices benefit from higher bandwidth and better speed stability.
Sometimes we hide the router behind doors, under the sofa, or inside a narrow cupboard to protect it from strangers and children, but all these places, including floors, obstruct the signal and absorb the frequencies emitted from the router antennas before reaching the connected devices.
The router should be placed in a central and open location as much as possible, considering reducing obstacles between you and the router, especially metallic obstacles, sinks, mirrors, and concrete walls. Whereas, floors, wooden walls, and obstacles can be considered somewhat friendly to wireless waves and do not hinder coverage range.
If you want to get the best coverage range from the router, try installing it on a high shelf or directly on top of the wall, but don’t raise it to the ceiling, just place it on a high shelf. You can try enhancing the coverage range by changing the direction of the antennas as well, so that one of them is vertical and the other at a 90-degree angle. This way, the router ensures centralized signal distribution and will be able to reach all adjacent rooms in the home.
2- Change Wireless Communication Channels
Most wireless routers try on their own to search for the best wireless communication channel and stabilize on it or switch between each other to seek the strongest connection channel. A good router always searches for the best and settles on it, and when it experiences a drop on a channel, it will automatically switch to another one.
But with an increasing number of devices connected simultaneously to one of the channels, a very high likelihood of interference in the radio waves emitted from the router to those devices, resulting in multiple glitches and interference in the coverage range and deterioration of internet speed.
The easiest way to check this yourself is to download the WiFi Analyzer app or FRITZ!App WLAN app on your phone or laptop, which will show you the channel currently being used for wireless connection to the router, in addition to the channels that your neighbors are connecting to with their routers. If you see a strong frequency for an unused channel, you should switch to it immediately as long as it is not being used adequately.
You can change the channel through WLAN settings in the router’s WiFi settings. This is explained in detail in How to Find the Best WiFi Channel with a Strong Wireless Coverage in Your Home?
3- Switch Frequency from 2.4GHz to 5GHz
If you are still within the router settings, it’s worth checking the frequencies as well. If you have a modern router, it means you have a 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency band. In fact, 5GHz is not the fastest, but it is the least congested, and it’s rare that your neighbors in the same building rely on it. This way, you can switch to it to benefit from better coverage range for all your connected devices.
This feature is very important when you have media streaming devices like smart TVs or media streaming devices. This way, you get individual radio waves free from any interference from other routers in the same building or from your neighbors in nearby apartments and houses.
4- Buy a New Router
This is the most important point, especially for those who cannot connect their phones or laptops to the wireless Wi-Fi network no matter how hard they try. The problem is often because your device uses a different Wi-Fi standard than the one set by your router.
Fortunately, most modern devices support modern communication standards and protocols for wireless connections. But there are many and different standards, so it’s possible that you have a separate WiFi card or antenna, or even a laptop WiFi on the 802.11g protocol while your router’s WiFi standard is fixed on 802.11n. The N standard is supposed to be the latest, fastest, and most stable, supported by desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones – or at least most of them.
There are also other standards like A, B, C, AC, and AX. So, if you’re having trouble connecting your phone or laptop to the router wirelessly, it’s likely that the standards are incompatible with each other. Try changing the connection standard from within the router settings to match your laptop or phone, and you can first find out your device’s standard through its technical specifications on its official page.
Also important: Why you may need to buy a new router and change your router?
But seriously, we need to move to at least the AC standard now because it is 6 times faster than the speed of N range used by most of the routers provided by internet companies. However, again, make sure first that your devices are capable of utilizing the modern standards for wireless communications. Especially laptops, tablets, smart TVs, and digital media streaming devices. Consider reputable brands when buying a new router, such as ASUS, TPLink, NetGear, and other famous brands.
5- Buy a Signal Distribution Network or Use an Old Router
If you have an old router in your home or office or are about to buy a new router, don’t get rid of the old router. You can use it as a signal repeater to enhance your Wi-Fi coverage in your home. Here you can learn how to set it up properly to use it as a signal repeater. In fact, there are 7 different uses for the old router besides using it as a signal repeater.
Through this guide, you can learn how to connect it wirelessly to the new router. If you have high WiFi speed naturally, the old router can be a good and cheaper option than buying a new router, as it will work to expand the coverage range of the wireless network in your home.
If you live in a large house or your house consists of several internal floors, perhaps your best option is to buy an integrated wireless network system. These systems are a set of small devices distributed around your home, most often consisting of 3 small devices. These devices receive the signal from the main distributor (the router) and then distribute and expand its coverage area in all surrounding areas.
The final option may be more expensive, but it is necessary in some cases. It may also cause a slight drop in speed, but not to a great extent. This network will enhance your ability to play online games and stream video to your smart TV much better. The best solutions may be Eero or Google Mesh, but they are expensive, yet they are worth their value.
6- Update the Router Firmware
Most manufacturers release updates from time to time to strengthen the router’s protection against potential attacks from hackers and intruders and to patch holes that can lead to network leakage or password theft. These updates reach the router and install themselves without you noticing, but in some other cases, you may need to verify and manually approve them.
Also, these updates may work to fix many issues. There is another option of relying on external updates and driver software, and we had introduced to you the best 5 alternatives to find suitable firmware for the router, but it is similar to flash the ROM of the smartphone, requiring concentration and ensuring compatibility of the update with the router before flashing it to avoid any problems, or you can definitely watch some tutorials on YouTube.
7- Manipulate Quality of Service QoS Feature and Prioritize Your Devices on the Network
If you have a modern router, it means you have the Quality of Service feature (QoS), which allows you to control the amount of bandwidth used by different applications or services. For example, if there are different devices connected to the router (your siblings using the internet to download large files and fast direct links), you can prioritize your device first over the other devices. As long as you are using the internet, this means you have the best share of the service. We had explained that in detail in How to Prioritize Your Device/Devices on the Internet Network?
