Where to Place Your Router for Faster Home WiFi

When setting up your home WiFi after moving, it’s important to keep in mind how your WiFi router location will affect your connectivity. This is an especially important consideration when it comes to making sure all your smart home devices and computers are able to access the Internet at the speeds they need to function properly. 

So, when you’re thinking about the best router placement for your home WiFi, here’s what to keep in mind: 

What devices require the fastest WiFi. If you work at home, you may want to consider placing the router in your home office to ensure the fastest possible connection. Or, if you stream a lot of movies and television on a smart TV, that may be the best place to put your router. 

The size and layout of your new home. When you’re moving into a new home, consider the layout of your home as well: if you have thick walls, the signal from the router may be dampened a bit for the rooms that are furthest away from it. If your router is on the second floor, the first floor may have slightly slower Internet speeds, depending on how many walls the signal has to pass through. Try and place the router next to the rooms that will be utilizing it the most: the more central the location, the better!

Keep your router up high, and away from metal or microwaves. While these tips may seem a bit odd, they do improve the speed of your home WiFi. Metal objects and microwaves can disrupt your WiFi router’s signal, so try and place your router away from places like the kitchen. Keeping your router on a shelf or somewhere higher will also help optimize the signal.

Keep away from bodies of water. Keep your wireless router away from bodies of water like aquariums which can absorb some of the signal. If you place your router somewhere like in a guest house by a pool, you may not get the best signal.

Adjust the antenna. Where do you want the signal to go in your home? If you’re looking to direct the router’s connection horizontally, place the antenna so it’s pointing vertically. If you’re looking to direct the router’s connection vertically (i.e. if you’ve placed it on the second floor and want the ground floor to operate at a faster speed) then place the antenna at a horizontal setting. Play around with different directions to see what works best for the devices that you want to operate at the fastest Internet speeds.

Whether or not you should get a WiFi extender. If you’re still struggling to get fast Internet in all areas of your home, consider getting a WiFi extender to boost your router’s signal and ensure that every room can surf the web effortlessly. This is a great solution if your home has thick walls that dampen your router’s signal. 

In our tech-savvy world, everything relies on fast WiFi, so make sure you’re not slowing down your home by putting your router in the wrong place. Nothing ruins movie night than a constantly buffering connection.

To make sure you’re getting the right Internet package near you, we’ve got you covered. Enter your location on our homepage and we’ll help you make sure your scary movie nights go as planned. (Warning you about the next jump scare: not included.)