Ways to extend your Wi-Fi range

Experiencing slow internet speed can be excruciation, especially during the pandemic when most people work from home. Thus, it is crucial to have a fast and stable internet connection. But before we complain about our internet provider or connection, the best thing you can do is double-check your actual download and upload speeds.

Go to our Speed Test page and click the "Start" button. Use the tool to test your internet speeds several times to get your internet speed information. But, of course, if you have a fast and stable internet speed, you don't need to do anything about that.

In contrast, if your internet speed is way lower than what you have signed up for your monthly plan, you may suffer from low internet speeds, and one of the most common cause could be poor or weak Wi-Fi signals.

Factors that affect your Wi-Fi range

1. Obstruction:

Various Drywall, stone, wood, or home appliances can block or absorb the internet signals. If you place the router in a room where it is surrounded by many home appliances, it can significantly reduce the signal range.

2. Physical distance:

Of course, physical distance is one of the factors that can affect the Wi-Fi range. The Wi-Fi signal is not the same as cell towers. The further the distance from your Wi-Fi router to devices, the weaker the Wi-Fi signals.

3. Router Capacity:

Although most wireless routers can support about 250 devices connected at once, however, this is properly not a good idea to connect so many devices at once. Keep in mind that every device connected to the router will decrease the bandwidth to other devices that are on the network. Therefore, if you must connect many devices at once, you want to ensure the router has a high capacity to support all the connected devices. Or you can disconnect device that you don’t use anymore.

Wi-Fi Signal Range

Without any doubt, there are various Wi-Fi routers on the market. So naturally, the more powerful Wi-Fi router is the more range they have. But keep in mind that the router's brand and price are not the factors that affect the internet speed. As mentioned previously in this article, many factors can affect the Wi-Fi signal.

However, there are a few ways to fix the problem of weak Wi-Fi signals. Here are the four ways to extend your Wi-Fi signal:

1. Reboot

"Please reboot your devices.” This is the most common thing that people hear from any IT team. Just one simple action (switch the device on and off) can sometimes help you improve the Wi-Fi speed.

If you have no idea how to reboot your device, please see instructions here. And remember rebooting your device can sometimes fix network issues as well. Next time when you experience slow internet speeds, unplug the router and modem first.

2. The right location for your router

As we mentioned earlier in the article, certain obstacles can block Wi-Fi signals and cause a slower internet speeds. So, placing the router in a room with large materials like glass, drywall, shelf, or stone, is a property, not a good idea because it has potential to weaken the signal. Since the router sends out the signal in all directions, it is best to place your router in the house’s central location to optimize the signal.

3. Switch the router frequencies

The newest router allows you to switch between 2.4 GHz to 5GHZ. The main difference between these two is: 2.4 GHZ gives you longer and broader coverage which means the signal can "travel" further than 5GHZ. In contrast, 5GHZ provides faster speeds but with less range coverage.

If you live in a small area, then switching to 5GHZ may provide a better internet speed. But keep in mind that some older devices may not support the 5GHZ connection.

4. Change your Internet package/plan

If none of the above methods work, you can consider changing the internet package. CanNet provides affordable internet packages for everyone. For 75Mbps, high-speed internet we only charge $29.98/month.