Wi-Fi is a tricky beast. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home or bringing a mobile hotspot on the road, honing in on the perfect signal can sometimes be difficult and even maddening. The latest wireless routers are designed to power even large homes, but walls, floors, interference, and a whole laundry list of other things can get in the way. Consider these four tips to achieve full bars and get the maximum signal wherever you are.
Find a Good Router
The first step is to buy a good router (buy a good modem first if you haven’t already). Brand is somewhat important — Cisco and Apple are usually very reliable — but what you’re really looking for is the type of signal it produces. And it’s not just the signal coming from the router, you need need to make sure your devices (laptop, tablet, smartphone) can receive the signal your router is putting out.
The newest routers use a signal called 802.11ac, which is capable of transfer speeds up to 1.2Gbps (that’s fast). But if your devices aren’t new enough to speak with that signal, those same routers also use 802.11n, which is only slightly slower but more compatible with older tech. A good router should cost no more than $200 (like the Apple Airport Extreme).
Put It in a Good Spot
This is free but does require some creativity. Some routers may be ugly but you shouldn’t hide them. Stuffing routers behind a desk or TV stand blocks the signal and severely limits the range in your home. Make sure the router is out in the open and free from major obstructions. If possible, find a high place like the attic or upstairs. Wi-Fi signal travels down better than it travels up.
Consider Your Mobile Options
We need Wi-Fi on the road too. We often rely on our smartphones as mobile hotspots and they do a pretty good job. Now that unlimited data is ancient history… carriers don’t charge extra for using a hotspot, the data is just subtracted from the existing plan.
Wireless carriers have comprehensive coverage maps on their websites, but if you really need coverage from the north pole all the way to the south, consider a satellite phone that will connect anywhere on the planet.
Beef Up Security
There are plenty of Wi-Fi leeches out there: your neighbors, your roommates and the people sitting next to you in public spaces. Strangers using your signal can possibly see the websites you’re browsing and other personal information, but on top of that, they are hogging your bandwidth and slowing down your connection.
Your router needs a password, but not just any password. Most people don’t know how to make a proper password. We’re taught that a few numbers, capital letters and symbols makes a secure password, but the opposite is actually true. This comic from XKCD explains how passwords should be a random combination of words that are easy to remember, at least 12 characters.
