Although some of us think, that creating a wireless network inside the house is extremely troublesome and expensive, but it is not so.
Just for $40-60 you can buy a decent router in the store, connect it to a broadband modem and get wireless access to high-speed Internet from any compatible electronic device in the house (laptop, tablet, smartphone, computer, TV and even a game console).
In addition to the absence of a rigid binding to a certain place, users of the home Wi-Fi network can easily communicate with peripheral devices, for example, remotely send documents to the printer located in the farthest room.
However, even those who have been using wireless home networks for a long time, it will be useful to learn how to make your wireless networks coverage even more efficient and wide.
- An ordinary non-directional antenna distributes radio waves to the sides in uniform concentric circles, so the first thing you should install the router in the central point of your home or apartment (Pic.). So you potentially provide a uniform signal level in all remote corners of your home, and sometimes on a bench in front of the porch.
Many people have serious difficulties trying to connect to the wireless Internet a laptop located at one end of the house, while the router is located in the opposite.
In another case, it is not surprising that the signal from the router, placed in the basement of a three-storey building, can not provide high-quality data transmission to the computer installed on the top floor.
Simply put, if you don't have the ability to set the router at the same level as the receiver device, in the case try to place it as high as possible.
- It is desirable to place the router in elevated places, away from walls, furniture and metal objects that weaken or reflect the radio signal. The ideal would be the presence of open space and line of sight between the router and the peripheral device.
Make sure that there are no household appliances near the router that emit interference (cordless phones, microwave ovens, and neighbors routers).
- If you open the list of all Wi-Fi access points in your apartment building, you will be surprised by their number. In fact, now in every second apartment there is a Wi-Fi, and they all interfere with each other and clog frequency channels. For example, in my house Macbook sees 18 (!) different networks.
Try to find out exactly where the neighbor is his Wi-Fi, and, if possible, move your away.
But the best thing you can do is switch to another wireless networks channel. You can find the desired setting on the router settings page.
In order to select the appropriate channel download special applications that will show the most "unforgettable" wireless networks channel.
Unfortunately, Apple has cleaned the App Store of such programs. But do not worry, there are analogues for Mac, for example "Wifiscanner". The program will show the networks in the district and the frequency channels they occupy.
Of course, for owners of Windows computers, there are also a large number of analogy programs.
- It may be time to move from low-speed wireless standards (802.11b or 802.11g) to more advanced 802.11ac or 802.11ax data technology. This standard offers users not only high-speed Internet access, allowing them to watch wireless video streaming and transfer large files to other devices, but also provides a wider coverage area. Routers using the 802.11ac/ax standard is able to support a greater number of peripheral devices. They are more noise-resistant and perfect in matters of data security.
- Modern models of wireless devices can operate in the 5GHz (802.11ac/ax) band. If your devices so can, safely transfer it to this range as it has to be almost completely freedom. No "garbage" frequency interference from neighboring access points.
- If your home equipment perceives the quality of the networks signal transmitted by the router differently, it is possible that its built-in wireless adapters differ in their design or the communication standards used.
For example, SMART TVs or game consoles may have devices that provide wireless Internet access at higher speeds than a router can provide. The same can be said about the new models of e-books and tablets that support Wi-Fi networks.
Many experienced users recommend the use of routers and Wi-Fi adapters released by the same manufacturer in the home network, which practically eliminates the problem of their compatibility.
- Also, don't forget to regularly download the latest drivers and the latest updates for device firmware that manufacturers offer, as they are aimed at improving their performance and security.
- Many craftsmen manually pumped antenna routers, hanging on them cans, foil and so on.
In fact, the game is clearly not worth the candle, but it is better to buy a suitable high-power antenna (Pic.). And it is better to replace the antennas with more powerful ones at the source of the signal, and at the device that receives the signal.
A considerable range of them on the sites of Wi-Fi-equipment, and some look very exotic. Antenna gain is specified in isotropic decibels (dB). The standard antenna from the home router has power in the area of 2dBi, but to find and buy an antenna with a gain of 10-20dBi is not a problem, and the situation with the availability of the signal is solved radically!
The foil also makes sense, for the last time was invented by a particularly virtuosic life hack with the shield from the foil, causing increased interest.
- Also, with the help of special applications (for example, Ping) you can check your Wi-Fi network for the presence of "illegally" connected devices. There is always a chance to encounter a quirky neighbor who as a leech was able to connect to your network and downloading all in a row from internet. You can make a list of allowed MAC addresses of devices in the router settings.
- On the overall performance of the network and the speed is affected by the activity of using the system the rest of the family. So, if someone in the house is constantly downloading movies, playing resource-intensive games, the rest of the users can only be content with the slowing Internet. It is for such cases that QoS (Quality of Service) configuration is provided. It will allow you to set priorities on the speed directions that are more important for you.
- If you have a second router, you can connect it with a cable to the main router and connect to the second router with a different login and password. In other words, you will have two networks connected to the same provider at home.
- If your router's capabilities are not enough to ensure reliable signal reception at the farthest end of the house (on the top floor), try to purchase a wireless repeater (repeater), which will relay and amplify it. The repeater should be placed approximately in the middle of the path between the router and the most remote receiving device.
- There is also an opportunity to use the electrical network of your home to broadcast the Internet to remote areas of the apartment or house. To do this, the so-called Power line network adapters are used, one of which is connected to the LAN port of the router, and the rest are inserted into electrical outlets located in distant areas (Pic.).
- And another option that can greatly change positively absolutely all the parameters of your network, is to change the type of connection to the provider. Namely, you should make sure that you are connected via optical fiber (RJ-45) (Pic.), and not via an optical connection or even worse, via DSL.
- And of course pay attention to the quality of the cable itself. With a bad cable, the signal will be unstable, with low ping and speed. Do not skimp and try solutions from proven manufacturers, such as the Ethernet cable from Pangea Audio, which exceeds the bandwidth of Cat 7 and Cat 8 and is shielded from possible interference from other electrical appliances.(Pic.)
P.S.
All these simple but effective actions will help to improve the speed of home Internet and save nerve cells. Share in the comments which of the ways helped you personally, and whether you found a free joined neighbor.
