What To Do if Your Router is Too Far Away From Your PC [Simple Fixes]
Problem: Your WiFi router signal doesn’t reach the whole house, and that needs a solution, because your home office is in one corner and your kids’ space is in the upstairs corner and the SmartTV is in the basement. So what to do if your WiFi router is too far away?
Or maybe your router is in a different room and it can’t be moved, but your main work space is far away.
Solution: If your router is too far from the devices you use, and the WiFi connection is weak or drops frequently, you can opt to wire your device (if it accepts an Ethernet cable and is less than 100 meters away) — or if you really need WiFi, give these troubleshooting steps a try:
8 Simple Steps to Fixing a Weak Router Signal Before Giving Up
- First check the strength of your home WiFi, using a WiFi Analyzer app on your phone and walking around the areas where you need coverage.
- Perform a Speed Test. Go to Fast.com or Speedtest.net to benchmark the speeds you’re actually getting from your ISP. (That being said, don’t do speed tests on wireless to assess your service; if your service is rated for 50 Mbps and you test the speed over your phone, you will not get the same speeds as you would over a wired desktop.) This step should be done before and after changing your router settings to check if each step made a difference.
- Check your Router Settings. Is your signal broadcast strength set too low?
Check for Router Updates. For a stable and effective network range, you must keep your router’s firmware up-to-date. If your router is running in an old firmware version, then update it to see if that boosts the low signal strength problem.
- Kick Your Neighbours Offline. Limit the number of devices on your network. If your network is currently open (no password), add a password / WPA2 security.
- Place Your Router at Table Height. Routers can be disgusting-looking things and your first instinct is to hide them behind your television or in a box. …
- Add another Access Point to your network. You can also use a WiFi Extender to boost the WiFi signal strength of your router.
- Get a Longer-Range Router. Some routers have stronger signals than others. Look on the box to see what range your wireless router is designed to cover.
