Tips to boost your Wi-Fi reception

The first tip is the easiest and it involves turning off you router and modem for at least 1 minute. It is called power cycling and can often flush out a bunch of problems that affect your speed.

WI-FI signal travels from a router in circular fashion, so if you place it near an outside wall, window or closet – some of the signal may be projecting outside your home or into a dead space. Consider placing your router in an open area in the middle of your house. It is also best practice to place the router higher on a shelf versus on the floor

Older routers only have 2.4GHz frequency, which means the signal is competing with many other devices that operate within that band like microwaves, cordless phones, baby monitors and even some alarm systems. Newer routers offer ‘dual’ bands – 2.4GHz as well as 5GHz frequency and provide faster speed and flexibility. Therefore, the dual-band router avoids connection issues or interferences and offers more stability.5GHz is likely to give you faster speeds because the 5GHz frequency can transfer more data. However, there is a tradeoff, the 2.4GHz frequency may still be better if you have a large home or particularly thick walls, as the wavelengths in 5GHz aren’t so good at penetrating barriers or traveling long distances.

Most modern routers are plug and play, meaning most individuals don’t fiddle much with the settings within the router after setting it up. This means many routers are working within the ‘default’ channels within the factory settings. If you have neighbours nearby who are also using default channels on their router, it could cause some congestion. There are apps like WI-FI Analyzer that allow you to scan the WI-FI channels in your area and determine those with less congestion. Changing your channel settings isn’t hard but does require going into the settings of the router. There are some good ‘how to change your router channel’ videos available to walk you through the process.

If you’re still using an older 802.11g or 802.11n router known as Wireless G” or “Wireless N,”—it may be time to upgrade to something new. The newer 802.11 AC routers allow for multiple inputs and outputs leading to a much better overall performance. Many new devices may already support this standard, so a new router will help take better advantage of their capabilities.

At Xplornet, we offer a Wi-Fi router (and Whole Home Wi-Fi) that has been configured and tested to work effectively on our LTE and Satellite networks. Additionally, our service representatives can walk you through updating the Wi-Fi router settings to optimize its performance in your home. Visit our website or contact us to learn more about this option. You can also see Internet Packages available at your home!