Steel cabinets, PC housings, thick concrete walls or underfloor heating systems slow down WiFi signals somewhat drastically. If you are experiencing poor WiFi quality, try moving the router. Sometimes, even moving it a couple of inches to the left or right results in the WiFi coverage in the whole house being is much better. Also important when choosing the location for the router:
How to find the ideal location for your router
- The higher, the better: If possible, place the router in an exposed location. It is ideal to place the device on the top of a wall. Because here no other devices with electromagnetic radiation (such as cordless telephone or computer) interfere with the wireless signal of the router.
- If this is not possible: Avoid locations directly adjacent to metal surfaces, speakers and electrical equipment, which shield the wireless signal from the WiFi router through their metal housing.
- Antenna alignment: Try to find out whether aligning the antenna differently (not possible on all routers) improves the reception. The antennas do not transmit in the direction of the antenna tip, but at a 90-degree angle.
How to measure the WiFi reception exactly
It is easy to measure the success of the measures taken, at least if you have a FritzBox router .
This is made possible by the “Fritz!App WLAN” app for Android: It is used, on the one hand, to connect Android mobile phones quickly and easily with the FritzBox or other wireless routers, while on the other hand, it provides information about the current signal strength of the WiFi.
This information can help you determine the optimum location and the ideal settings for the router.
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- Installing the app: Search with your Android smartphone or tablet in Google’s PlayStore for “Fritz!App WLAN”. Install the app and start it. In the “My WLAN” tab, the app shows general information about the WiFi with which the device is currently connected. This includes information on the signal strength, used channel, the maximum transfer rate, on the Android device and on the FritzBox itself. The higher the value displayed in the signal strength, the worse the signal (-0 dBm would be ideal). Values between -30 dBm and -40 dbm are good for a WiFi, values beyond -85 dBm are critical. In addition, the app shows you the data transmission speed in Mbit/s per second (the higher the value, the better).
- Check the channel: In the “Environment” tab, the app shows you the signal strength of your own and of other wireless networks in the area. Important to note: The channels of the wireless networks (X-axis) should overlap as little as possible, otherwise faults can occur. In this case, you should select a different wireless channel. Do not take just the adjacent channel, but go on several channels. If the wireless networks do not overlap, everything is perfect.
- Test the signal strength: Interesting information is also hidden in the menu under “Network analysis” as well as “Measure WLAN”. This allows you to see exactly where the reception is good or bad. If you tap on the speaker icon, you will receive acoustic support just as you would with a Geiger counter. Important to note: Do not move too quickly. The app needs a few seconds to show the correct value at the respective location.
Image: reichelt
