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Finding the best location for your wireless router to get the best performance can be tricky.
Routers use radio frequency (2.4 gigahertz & 5 gigahertz), so they are susceptible to interference from a variety of things.
Your home structure also plays a role.
If you have several walls between your device and your router, performance will be impacted.
And the more dense the walls are, the harder it will be for the wireless signal to reach you.
WiFi routers can have two bands (2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) that provide different speeds and coverage.
Place your router in a central location of the devices that will be connecting to it.
Your router should be placed as high as possible in your room.
Keep your router away from electrical devices or appliances that generate RF noise. Also, try to keep away from electrical wiring.
If your home has multiple stories, you will want to put your router on the story that WiFi gets used the most.
If you aren’t getting a strong enough signal on the other levels, you should consider getting a mesh type of wireless system. This generally consists of two or more access points that would be placed on each floor.
You can use a WiFi Analyzer app on your mobile device to test your signal in each room that you will be using wireless. There are several to choose from.
I use WiFiman by Ubiquiti Inc.
Go into each room where you will be using WiFi and write down the signal strength you get from the app. You will want to have a strength of -60 dBm or higher.
Excellent > -50 dBm
Good -50 dBm to -60 dBm
Fair -60 dBm to -70 dBm
Weak < -70 dBm
If you don’t get a good enough signal in all rooms, you can try moving your router and testing again in each room.
By doing these things, you are on your way to having better and more consistent wireless connections.