Almost every aspect of modern life is affected by our connectivity to the Web. On those rare occasions when my internet provider has an outage, life seems to come to a standstill. Everything from logging onto a VPN for work to streaming Spotify is suddenly out of the question. Even many smart home devices are rendered inert. This speaks to just how reliant we’ve become on the invisible feed that keeps us all connected.
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A total outage feels completely unacceptable. But a sketchy connection afflicted by lag and buffering can be, for me, even more frustrating. If you’re sure that your signal is strong but you’re still experiencing issues, the problem might be the location of your router.
Location is key, but reach matters
It’s always true that location is key. But your router’s efficacy is also impacted by the size of your home and how far the router’s signals can reach.
A single wireless access point should be adequate for most apartments and smaller homes (1,500 square feet or less). Larger, multistory homes present a different challenge that can best be met by upgrading to a mesh network. Mesh networks consist of a main access point and additional nodes that can be placed throughout your space to ensure consistent coverage.
Long-range routers and Wi-Fi extenders are also options for maximizing router efficiency. Yet, no matter how many digital transmitters you have, the placement of your primary access point is crucial to overall performance.
A central location is best, ideally on a shelf
Common sense suggests positioning your router in a central area of your home to get the most even distribution of Wi-Fi coverage. Sometimes, though, that isn’t so easy. Your provider’s technician likely originally installed the router close to where the signal is fed into your building. If you have the option to run an ethernet cable from your modem to a more central room, your router could provide a significant boost in coverage throughout your living space.
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What’s less commonly known is that elevating your router increases its range. Placing it high above the floor helps minimize signal interference for everything from furniture to people. If no high bookshelf is available — and wall mounting or installing a shelf dedicated to your router is impractical — consider placing it atop a tall dresser or an armoire.
Not only does a central location help ensure consistent speeds, but it also increases your network security because your neighbors’ routers are less likely to exploit the signal.
Other electronics can be signal disruptors
My own Spectrum router was originally installed behind my 48-inch TV. That was great for my TV, but it posed problems for my home office setup, only 17 feet away. By moving it out from behind the screen to a small table next to it, my computer and Google Hub devices now maintain a stronger, more consistent signal.
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Of all typical home appliances, a microwave oven presents the biggest threat of electronic interference to your router. That’s because the radiation issuing from a microwave emits a signal very close to the operative band of a router (around 2.4GHz). While I don’t expect many people to put a router in their kitchen, the proximity of a microwave can sometimes be unavoidable in big-city apartments and homes with limited space.
If at all possible, avoid areas where your router might be impacted by devices that rely on Wi-Fi, even if this means moving it away from your home office printer.
Mind your antennas – if you have them
All Wi-Fi routers have antennas, whether sleekly integrated into the device or sticking up like rabbit ears on an ancient TV. Articulating antennas don’t suggest antiquity, however, and in fact, they may help provide more uniform coverage.
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Whether your router has two or eight antennas, you can adjust these to optimize distribution. Antennas emit signals in all directions, traveling in a donut-shaped wave perpendicular to the antenna itself. This means that aiming them skyward can be more beneficial for a smaller or single-level home because the signal blasts outward from its vertical position. The same holds for an antenna positioned horizontally, which might better access upper- or lower-level areas.
The takeaway is to experiment with your antenna orientation while keeping in mind these limitations of physics.
