8+1 Tips to Fix Slow Wi-Fi

Is your Wi-Fi slow and you do not know why? Or does it work quickly for everyone else, but not for you? Here are a few tips that could help improve it.

1. Do not hide the router

A router is hardly the most attractive piece of home décor, so it is understandable that you might want to hide it inside a cupboard or behind the TV. From a Wi-Fi perspective, however, these are not the best places for it.

The router communicates with your devices using radio waves. These waves can pass through certain objects and walls, but they gradually become weaker as they do so.

If you place the router inside a cupboard, you are putting an obstacle in the signal’s path before it even begins travelling towards the rest of the home. Where possible, keep it in an open space rather than inside enclosed furniture or behind large metal objects.

2. Place it near the centre of your home

Routers are often placed wherever the internet cable enters the property. This is frequently in the hallway, near the front door or in one corner of the home.

These devices are generally omnidirectional, meaning they transmit roughly equally in every direction. If the router is positioned at the edge of the property, part of the signal will travel towards the stairwell, the street or a neighbour’s home. Meanwhile, it must pass through several walls to reach the rooms furthest away.

Where possible, it is worth placing the router in a central part of the home. In many cases, a longer network cable is a cheaper and more effective solution than buying a new router or Wi-Fi extender.

3. Consider what the walls are made of

Not all walls weaken a Wi-Fi signal to the same extent. A thin plasterboard wall is generally less of an obstacle than a thick brick wall or a reinforced-concrete floor.

The connection can be particularly badly affected by:

• concrete
• thick stone or brick walls
• metal
• large mirrors

In a multi-storey house, the signal may therefore be weak even when the router appears to be only a few metres away. A reinforced-concrete floor between two rooms can present a serious obstacle.

4. Use 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi appropriately

Most modern routers use at least two frequency bands: 2.4 and 5 GHz.

The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band generally reaches further and passes through walls slightly more effectively. In return, it is usually slower, and many other devices also use this frequency range, including Bluetooth devices.

The 5 GHz Wi-Fi band can offer higher speeds, but it has a shorter range and is weakened more severely by walls.

Put simply:

• near the router, 5 GHz is generally the better choice
• in rooms further away, 2.4 GHz may provide a more stable connection

The client device decides which band it wants to use. This does not always work perfectly, although it is possible to configure which one it should prefer. A phone may sometimes hold on to a weak 5 GHz connection for too long, even though 2.4 GHz would be more stable. Switching Wi-Fi off and on can help by forcing the device to reconnect. Routers may also offer a feature known as band steering, which can guide devices towards the more appropriate band.

(Note: devices operating on 6 GHz are now also available, as this band is supported by the Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards.)

5. Slow internet ≠ Slow Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi speed and internet connection speed are not the same thing.

It is worth testing the speed using a device connected by cable. If the connection is also slow over Ethernet, the problem is probably not the wireless coverage. If it is fast over cable, it is worth checking the following:

• whether too many devices are transferring large amounts of data at the same time
• whether the Wi-Fi channel currently in use is overcrowded

6. Keep the router away from interference

Wi-Fi is not the only technology that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency range. Certain Bluetooth devices, wireless cameras and other household appliances may also operate within it.

The operating frequency of a microwave oven is also close to this range, so it can interfere with a nearby 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection while it is running.

For this reason, do not place the router directly next to a microwave oven or another appliance that produces strong electrical interference.

7. Use a Wi-Fi extender

A Wi-Fi extender, also known as a repeater, receives the router’s signal and then retransmits it towards more distant parts of the home.

Many people place it somewhere that already has almost no Wi-Fi coverage. This is not ideal, as the extender itself will then receive only a weak connection and attempt to retransmit it.

It is better to position it roughly halfway between the router and the poorly covered area, in a location where the connection is still reasonably strong.

It is also important to remember that basic extenders can reduce the available speed because they receive and retransmit data over the same wireless connection.

8. Do not increase the transmit power unnecessarily

When the signal becomes weak further away from the router, increasing its transmit power may seem like a possible solution. Some routers allow this in their settings, but it will not necessarily solve the problem on its own.

Firstly, the permitted radiated power of Wi-Fi devices is restricted by regulations and technical standards. Secondly, Wi-Fi is a two-way form of communication: it is not enough for the router’s signal to reach the phone or computer, as the device’s response must also make it back to the router.

If only the router’s transmit power is increased, the phone may still show a strong network signal while the router is unable to receive the phone’s weaker transmission reliably. This can result in an unstable connection, frequent retransmissions and lower speeds.

+1 Restart the router

When nothing else helps, it is worth restarting the router. This may establish a new connection with the internet service provider, clear stalled processes and free up memory, potentially resolving certain temporary problems.

However, if this has to be repeated every few days, there is probably another issue, such as outdated software, overheating, too many connected devices or simply an ageing router.