7 Ways to Make Your Wireless Connection Stronger

Even if you’ve paid for high-speed internet service doesn’t mean that you’ll actually get it. The issue may reside with your internet service provider, or it could be a result of your wireless internet signal transmitted by a router for home or office use.

A slow internet access can greatly reduce your productivity whether you’re logging on for business use or personal use, but these tips can help you to make your wireless internet connection stronger and improve your speed.

1. Place your wireless router in a central, open location
The more items there are to interfere with your wireless internet connection, the more likely you are to receive a notification that you have limited or no connectivity, meaning your internet is active but your laptop or desktop computer is struggling. Don’t put the router somewhere where it’s always going to be buried under stacks of paper, surrounded by metal grilles, sandwiched between heavy concrete walls or flooring, or in the farthest area of the home from where you’ll typically be going online. If you often use your laptop on the main floor of your house and the top floor, choose a central location on one of those two floors – don’t stick it in the basement.

2. Avoid interference from other electronics
There are a number of other electronic devices that can interfere with the wireless signal transmitted by a wireless internet router and it’s best to position the router away from them to get the strongest wireless signal. Other electronic devices that may cause interference include microwaves, garage door openers, baby monitors and cordless phones. Placing the router on an elevated spot will also help to reduce interference and create a stronger wireless signal.

3. Find hotspots in your home or office
Once you’ve placed the router in an area you believe to be ideal, walk around with your laptop to see where you get the strongest signal. If it’s not in the areas where you’re most likely to be surfing the internet, then you likely want to reposition your router to a better spot so the hotspots with the fastest connection speed are in the areas where you need them to be!

4. Change channel
If you live in a built up residential or business area, then chances are that there are many routers broadcasting their signal on the same channel as yours within a very short distance. This is a known cause of reduced strength signals and dropped connections. Fortunately, changing the channel your router broadcasts on is easily achieved by logging into your router. Each brand of router will have a different admin backend, so you should consult the manufacturer’s instruction manual to find out how to change channel. If you threw out the manual with the box the router came in, head on over to their website and find the support section for help.

5. Get a new wireless card
Laptops now are equipped with internal wireless cards which are universal, but getting a wireless card that is specifically compatible with your wireless router can create a stronger signal. Make sure it is also a stronger one and ideally the same brand as your router – this could help create a better connection and in turn a better signal.

6. Get a high gain antenna
If your wireless router has an omnidirectional antenna, you should replace it was a high gain antenna for a better signal. Most routers purchased come with omnidirectional antennas that are designed to send the same signal strength in every direction. Since often people place their routers on a desk near a wall or in the corner of a room, this means that some of the signal is wasted and in turn creates a lower connection speed where it is needed to be transmitted for use. In order for this to work, you have to have a router with an additional antenna jack or a detachable antenna.

7.  Install an additional wireless access point
If none of the above method works, an additional wireless access point or WAP can be used. To make this technique effective, you have to run an Ethernet cable from the original router to the secondary WAP. It’s a more costly option since you need to invest in two devices, and the WAP tends to be more expensive. But, for faster internet access it can be worthwhile!