5 Things In Your Home That Will Weaken Your Wi-Fi Signal
So many things in our homes can seriously dampen and hinder our Wi-Fi signals. Many of them are so basic that unless you’re having Wi-Fi woes worse than your connection, you might not even know it or think to arrange your home in a way to fully optimize for your Wi-Fi signal strength and speed. Whether you have MetroNet, Verizon, EarthLink, or Hughesnet as your internet provider, Here are 5 things in your home that will seriously weaken your Wi-Fi signal and how to work around them.
Other Wi-Fi Networks
If you live in a tight urban neighborhood or in an apartment complex, your neighbor’s Wi-Fi networks can dampen yours and one another’s. You can mitigate some of this by changing the channel. Each router has default channels on each frequency, changing your channel will lessen interference since many people don’t think or know how to change channels on their router. You can also change your devices over to the 5 GHz band if you want to. The 5 GHz band has a shorter range which also makes it less likely to pick up outside interference from other networks. Just keep in mind that it also doesn’t penetrate tough objects as well either so choose wisely.
Walls
Thick walls especially those made from concrete, plaster, or ornate wood paneling (we are not the ugly cheap kind from the 1990s) can also dampen your Wi-Fi range. To solve this, you’ll have to move your devices over to the 2.4 GHz band. The 2.4 GHz band penetrates walls better than the 5 GHz band.
Microwaves
Your microwave uses electromagnetic waves at the 2.4 GHz band to heat food. This is also the same frequency as your baseband on your router. If your microwave is close to your router, it can greatly interfere with your network while in use. The metal sheeting around your microwave is supposed to guard against this, but it doesn’t take much for it to leak out and have a negative effect on your Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do about it besides creating as much distance as possible between your router and your microwave and moving all your devices to the 5 GHz band.
Metal
Most people know that metal also weakens your Wi-Fi signal, but they’re thinking about metal roofs and beams like those inside business buildings. Wi-Fi interference caused by metal doesn’t stop there though. This also includes tin ceilings in old homes and trendy tin kitchen backsplashes that happen to be popular right now. If you love your tin ceiling or kitchen backsplash, you don’t have to necessarily remove them, but you’ll have to do a little bit of work to keep them and have a good Wi-Fi signal. For households with tin ceilings, think of it as a Wi-Fi blocker. You may have to invest in a mesh system to get your Wi-Fi to reach upstairs to downstairs or vice versa.
Water
Do you have a beautiful fish tank? Or multiple fish tanks? Water blocks radio waves near the 2.4 GHz band, which is what most Wi-Fi uses unless you’ve been moving your devices to the 5 GHz band. If you’re a fish hobbyist with Wi-Fi trouble, you’ll have to be mindful of where you place your router, where you use your internet-enabled devices the most, and where you want your fish tanks. At any point in your home, you do not want any of your fish tanks to be in between you and your router. If that’s not possible due to the size of your tanks, floor space, and floor support, you may have to invest in a mesh system to reach the furthest points behind your fish tanks.
