No thanks to the ongoing pandemic, most of us have been spending a lot of time at home. If you think about it - parents, kids, housemates, friends, partners, and everyone is now constrained to their respective homes. In addition to everyone being at home together, there comes the common need and dependency on the Wi-Fi to get things done. Whether it’s work meetings, online classes, paying bills or ordering groceries and food - we all rely on the internet.
But that comes with challenges as well - there are times the godsend technology [Wi-Fi] fails or slows down on us. To avoid any further frustration when that happens, we have put together several ways to improve your Wi-Fi speed at home.
1. Check Your Wi-Fi Connection
First off, you need to check your Wi-Fi speed in order to confirm and assess the issue. There are many websites providing free internet speed tests like Speedtest by Ookla and Fast.com. It’s important to cross check the internet speed with the plan you signed up for to make sure you are getting what you paid for. Or else, you should contact your Internet Service Provider and request for a maintenance check. Better yet, you can consider upgrading your plan if the speed is not satisfactory.
2. Wi-Fi Router Spot
This is something that a lot of people tend to overlook. Truth is, the placement of the Wi-Fi router actually plays a big role in ensuring a smooth connection for your devices. Most of the time, the agent setting up the router would pay attention to this. But in any case, you can always double check to make sure the router is placed in an optimum location whereby it is centered to your home. In addition to that, the router should be placed in a space with the least obstruction and not too close to other wireless devices.
3. Add Mesh Wi-Fi or More Routers
There are two ways to go about this step. One is to add more routers by adding more access points in your house. The second method is to purchase wireless mesh and place it around your house. These are best suited for large houses with multiple floors. Wireless mesh will offer better bandwidth as it transmits internal signals to other mesh Wi-Fi devices to create a wireless network. But do note that this will not work if your initial internet speed is not at its optimum level.
4. Change Frequencies
Frequency channels can get busy, so if your entire neighborhood is on the 2.4GHz frequency, that could impact your Wi-Fi speed. Hence, if you own a dual-bandwidth router, it would be best to switch up to the 5GHz band instead. You will find that you have less interference and faster internet.
However, the only downside is that the 5GHz channel does not work well with distance and physical blocks, which means it would not cover as much ground as the 2.4GHz channel.
5. Secure Wi-Fi Network
If you have been the free-neighborhood Wi-Fi provider, it is time to cut off those Wi-Fi leeches. It's common knowledge that internet speed can be reduced due to multiple devices being connected to the router at the same time. If you do not already have a password, set up a strong password for your Wi-Fi connection.
That being said, if your internet is already secured but too many family members are utilizing it at the same time, it could also slow down the internet. Prioritize or limit the devices being used at one time. For example, during the day, those who are working from home or studying from home would need the Wi-Fi more than the rest of the household members watching Netflix or streaming Youtube on their mobile phone.
6. Choose the Best Internet Service Provider for Your Location
In Malaysia, every location is tagged to one or two Internet Service Providers. That explains why it is recommended to check the best available provider in your location before signing up for an internet plan. I-Money Coverage Check is a free website that provides a service to find broadband coverage for you – all you need to do is to fill up your address.
That wraps up some key points to take note of and check for better Wi-Fi speed at home. While you are at it, if you are looking for an online stationery store to purchase your office supplies and stationery needs - do check out Lion File.