Hannah Madden is a writer, editor, and artist currently living in Portland, Oregon. In , she graduated from Portland State University with a B. Hannah enjoys writing articles about conservation, sustainability, and eco-friendly products. This article has been viewed 1, times. Learn more In modern times, connecting to the internet has become a necessity.
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Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Once a malware infects a router, it can steal bandwidth and spread itself across the network to other devices. But even without a presence of a dangerous malware, routers with old firmware perform worse than routers that are properly updated.
Most WiFi routers come with small, weak antennas. Compared to the antenna that came with your router, which probably is just a few inches tall and has around 4 dB gain, a dB antenna can be anywhere between 10 to 15 inches tall. Such antennas use the same RP-SMA connector, and there are many different models available on Amazon and other online stores.
Some even come with a handy extension cable that allows you to place the antenna farther away from your router to achieve optimal signal distribution. To boost WiFi signal, you need to purchase an antenna with more gain than your current one.
The gain of an antenna system relative to an isotropic radiator at radio frequencies is expressed in dBi, or decibels relative to isotropic. Most home routers come with small antennas, whose gain tends to be between 4—5 dBi. Replacing such antenna with a 9 dBi antenna should provide excellent signal boost. An encrypted, password-protected WiFi is a must in this day and age.
With more people than ever relying on WiFi, the hunger for open, fast WiFi networks is real. A strong password should:. If you have lots of guests, create a separate guest network and either significantly limit its range or protect it with a different password and change the password on a regular basis. Even though they are referred to by many names, WiFi boosters, repeaters, and extenders are basically the same thing. WiFi repeaters are relatively simple devices that take an existing signal from your WiFi router and rebroadcast it as a new network.
This new network is just an extension of your main network, and all data that go through it also go through the main network. WiFi boosters and extenders are very similar, but they also amplify the existing signal before rebroadcasting it to create a second network.
Because WiFi boosters typically have greater range than WiFi repeaters, they make sense in situations where the original signal is very weak. You can find a list of the top 5 WiFi boosters at the end of this article. Just like lanes on the highway, there are multiple WiFi channels on which a WiFi router can broadcast.
Even though most countries have six non-overlapping channels 1, 6, 11, and 14 , many users leave their router set on the default channel, which is usually either Channel 1 or Channel 6. This results in a WiFi traffic jam as too many packets are trying to drive on the same line. The solution is simple: find out which channel is occupied the least and switch to it. This can be done with the help of NetSpot, a professional and easy-to-use WiFi analysis and surveillance tool.
You can now verify that your router is broadcasting on the new channel using a WiFi network analyzer like NetSpot. It takes just one bandwidth-hungry application or a client to make download and upload speeds come to a crawl for everyone else on the same WiFi network.
Luckily, modern routers support services like QoS Quality of Service , which allow users to prioritize certain applications over others. Some routers make it very easy to configure QoS settings, while other routers are far from intuitive. When in doubt, consult the manufacturer of your router. The newest wireless technology, IEEE To take advantage of the latest WiFi technologies to boost home WiFi, you need to make sure that both your home router and your WiFi-enabled devices, such as smartphones and laptops, support them.
A good router should be able to serve you well for at least five years, which is approximately how long it usually takes for a major new WiFi technology to become mainstream.
Near the end of this article, we recommend five best WiFi routers from leading manufacturers, so all you need to do is pick one that fits your budget. The 5 GHz wireless frequency provides faster data rates at shorter distances and is typically much less busy than the 2. If your router supports it, consider switching to it for an instant short-range speed boost. That way, you can get the best of both worlds.
A simple reboot is often enough to considerably improve your WiFi speeds. To reboot your router, either press the restart button located on the back you may need a pointy object like a pen to get to it because many router manufacturers use recessed restart buttons or simply disconnect the router from power and turn it on again.
To do that, you need an Ethernet cable and a laptop or desktop computer with an Ethernet port. We recommend you repeat the wired internet performance test several times, preferably at different times of the day.
Some of the most popular mesh WiFi systems available today come from Asus, Eero, Orbi, and Google, and we offer some recommendations later in this article. This means that you can start with just one main router and one satellite unit and upgrade only if your WiFi is still not performing up to your expectations.
The good news is that most modems let you change your DNS address, which is often the easiest way how to boost WiFi performance. This free Windows application offers features designed to enable serious DNS performance investigation, and you can use it to find the fastest DNS server in your area with just a few clicks:.
From computers and mobile phones to various smart home products and appliances, these WiFi-connected devices consume a substantial amount of bandwidth, and not all internet plans can provide it.
You might even be able to save some money since the prices of fast internet plans have gone down substantially since the early days of broadband internet. Last but not least, consider contacting your internet service provider and asking for help. If the ISP truly cares about their customers, they will help you remotely diagnose your WiFi performance issues or even send over a technician to measure your WiFi signal strength and help you boost wireless signal. Most WiFi boosters are designed to be plug and play, making it possible for anyone to install them on their own to enjoy a strong and reliable WiFi signal everywhere.
When selecting a WiFi booster, make sure you have at least a rough idea of how large is the area that you want to cover. You can use a network analyzer like NetSpot to create a signal heatmap of your space.
Then you need to set a budget and evaluate the potential candidates based on their features. To make the selection process easier for you, we selected the top 5 best WiFi boosters according professional reviews and real users alike. Perhaps one of your careless neighbors has not set a password on his Wi-Fi, or maybe there is a cafe with an open Wi-Fi near your home. Everyone knows about such a life hack, but not everyone is aware that you can use one of the databases of wi-fi access points, which contain data on hundreds of thousands of WiFi hotspots around the world and allow you to find the hotspot that will satisfy you.
If you need access to the network from your phone, but you do not have unlimited data , you can ask your friends to share the unlimited WiFi Internet from their phones so that you can use it. It can be easily done, no matter if they have Android or iOS.
Perhaps you do not know, but your provider may provide you with access to many wi-fi networks throughout the city only because you are its client. Try the free trial version of the internet service. Most likely there are providers in your city that provide free access to the Internet for a trial period. Besides, some Internet service providers sometimes provide free time on the Internet, so stay tuned for such promotions.
During the registration for a particular service, you will most likely be asked to provide your billing information. Do not forget to cancel the subscription before the promotion expires, otherwise, you will have to pay the cost of the service.
You will be amazed at where you can find free internet. Now wi-fi can be found almost everywhere — at car washes, cafes, shopping centers, libraries. So in any modern city, finding free wi-fi in a public place is not difficult. If you have a good relationship with your neighbors, you can connect to the Internet of your local communication provider and share your Internet bill.
High-speed Internet access allows several people to use one channel without losing speed. If you live near a busy public place, most likely there is a wonderful source of free wi-fi near you. But not always your device has enough power to connect to wi-fi. Then there is the option to think about buying a more powerful wi-fi adapter.
With it, you will be able to connect to the free Internet at any time. A more powerful adapter will allow you to connect even to those points that were previously unattainable far.
Setting up your router is also important. So, our scheme will be obscenely simple — we will connect to free, non-password-protected WiFi and distribute it to our computer or laptop. In order to do this as efficiently as possible, you need a special powerful device for receiving a wireless signal. The internet services from this company are available in over 30 states. The following are the different plans offered by Century Link.
As the name suggests, you will enjoy a speed of 20 Mbps when using this plan. The maximum speed that you enjoy while using this plan is 80 Mbps. According to Century Link, this plan can be more effective for online gamers and others who are heavy internet users. This is the real deal. It is a plan that comes with a speed of up to Mbps. Besides, you are not required to sign any contract with the company to use their plans. For example, the following plans are available in the state of Illinois. This plan is not effective for those who want to do some online gaming and other heavy internet users.
This will surprise you with a speed of up to Mbps. According to WOW Internet, this plan can support up to 3 devices. Its uploading speed is 10 Mbps which is quite fair. This plan can be convenient for gamers. This is the biggest plan with a speed of up to Mbps. It is the plan that is so convenient for large file sharing, VR gaming, and power streaming.
Here is the additional information user also asks to know. We present these as frequently asked questions. Yes, you can get wifi without an internet provider. Yes, you can also use free wifi on your iPhone. This is not the era that we are locked to one option when it comes to the internet. The aforementioned companies that provide non-cable Wi-Fi at home may not be the only ones but they are some of the best options you should opt for if you want good deals.
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