When a wireless router is installed at home, quite often the signal might be weak in other parts of the house. This can be due to walls and other obstructions that block the wireless signal. The best placement and settings can help to increase the wireless range and provide a strong wireless signal to work with.

Tips to increase Wireless Range

Positioning the wireless router

Many commonly used wireless routers have a range of about 35 meters. This range decreases as each wall or other obstructions come between the user and the router. So the best area to place a router would be in the centre of the house. Note that columns or beams on the roof can reduce the range a lot, try to avoid them.

Buy equipment of the same brand

When buying a wireless repeater always keep in mind that buying the same brand as your router can have added benefits due to technologies they use (Linksys has the SpeedBooster technology and D-Link has 108G enhancement).

Wireless Repeaters

Wireless repeaters, repeat the signals sent to it. They allow you to extend the range of your wireless signal even further. The downside of using a repeater is that they reduce throughput on the WLAN.

Change the router’s antenna

Router’s for home use, come with small antenna which dont give out as much power as the router can actually produce. This is because they are omni-directional. They send out signals in all directions. If the router is placed in a corner of your house, half the signal is the being sent outside the house. You can either get high gain antenna or try a home project as shown below.

Change the wireless channel on your router

Usually yours might not be the only wireless router in your neighbourhood, there can be other wireless networks in range. Wireless networks can broadcast the signal on different channels. Switching to other channels can help of there is interference from other networks on your existing channel. Access your router’s settings page and change it in the wireless settings.

Upgrade your router firmware

Login to your router settings page and download the latest firmware. Newer firmware might help fix existing problems with older firmware.

Upgrade from 802.11b to 802.11g

Older devices uses the 802.11b networks but the newer 802.11g works up to 5 times faster. Upgrading to 802.11g can help boost performance and speed.

Upgrade computer’s wireless adapter

If none of the above help, it could be a problem with your wireless adapter. Consider buying a new one and remember to try and get the same brand and 802.11g compatibility.

You can also try to change the settings for your existing wireless adapter to boost signal strength. Search of Google for “Wireless-adapter-name performance or tweaks”, this w0uld get you guides to choose correct settings.

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