8 Ways to Improve Your Home Wi-Fi Signal

Published on January 7, 2015

Ah yes, the infamous battle of the Wi-Fi signal. There's nothing like a poor Wi-Fi signal to put a damper on your productivity levels (and, lets be honest, it doesn't really do good things for your emotional life either.)

Luckily, there are few ways you can optimize your home Wi-Fi signal to avoid Wi-Fi frustrations. Here are 8 ways you can improve your Wi-Fi, recently suggested by Comcast.

1. Get your router off the ground.

Did you know that routers don't like being down low? A top way to optimize your Wi-Fi service is to elevate your router by at least 5-7 feet if at all possible.

2. Keep it central.

The best way to have your Wi-Fi stretch throughout your home is to keep your router somewhere that is centrally located. Basements or upstairs offices in a remote corner of the house will make it difficult for the signal to stretch to all areas of your home. Place a router on the first floor, or somewhere else central to optimize your signal.

3. Avoid other electronics.

Avoid placing your router near your TV, DVD player, microwave, or cordless phone. Media items alone can seriously affect wireless performance. Additionally, heat producing items (like these electronics) will also cut down on your wireless signal.

4. Avoid water.

If you own a fish tank, know that wireless signals don't pass well through water. Keep your router away from your little guppies to improve your signal.

5. Keep your router out in the open.

Tucking a router away on a bookshelf or in a cabinet will reduce its ability to transmit a signal. Set it up out in the open for an improved signal.

6. Put your router closest to where you'll use it most.

This is sort of an obvious statement, but it is always most helpful to set up your router in close proximity to where you'll be using Wi-Fi. Specifically, you should maintain a clean line of sight from the router to the room you'll be using Wi-Fi.

7. Limit speed-hogging applications.

Not all apps are created equal. If 4 people are trying to video chat on 4 separate devices at the same time, for example, this could hinder your wireless speed.

8. Regularly reboot your router.

If you've been having trouble with your router, it can benefit from a reboot (just like any other electronic device) from time to time. If you're interested in initiating an automatic reboot, consider using an old outlet timer to set this up. Your Wi-Fi will thank you.