I have recently been giving advice to neighbours here in Eliana on how to improve their WiFi speeds. Instead of sending individual messages I have decided to write a quick guide.
This guide will focus on implementing a solution that can be taken between houses if you are renting, or if you are looking for a solution that does not require drilling holes and running network wires around your house.
Most people’s first instinct when you get a poor WiFi signal, poor downloads and dropped connections is to blame your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Unfortunately complaining to your ISP or changing them will not solve most of the above problems. It is generally not the fault of your provider, but instead it can be due to the placement of your router, the devices you connect to it and most of all the material used to construct your house. Trust me, flooring, walls, ceilings all have a huge effect on WiFi signal strength! Just think what happens when you get in a lift and then lose your phone signal when the doors close….Faraday!
If you want to verify the speed of your ISP then you will need a computer that can connect via ethernet (network wire) to one of the ports on the router from your ISP. when connected you should be able to connect to the internet at the full speed of your purchased bandwidth from your ISP. (small caveat you need to use a Ethernet cable of Cat5e or above, old cat5 cables are limited to 100Mbps – if you get less than 100 use a new cable, or one that says Cat5e/Cat6/Cat6a etc) If you are getting near to full speed (+/- 10%) the ISP is not at fault…
So how do you improve your WiFi Coverage and speed cheaply and without much technical knowledge?
Using a WiFi Mesh – basically these are several APs (Access Points)that communicate between each other either wirelessly or via cables. Hopefully you will not need to use cables, but I will cover that eventuality with another cheap solution.
There are many different types of WiFi Mesh and you are free to search around different manufacturers and also websites to find a suitable device that is in your decided budget. Generally it is best to get a WiFi Mesh that has Three units, generally they are cheaper than buying two separate units, and also you do not have to use all three units, but if you do you will be able to cover a larger area with a better quality WiFi signal.
I am an android user for my phone and IoT devices and installed Google Wifi at my parents in the UK, it is almost idiot proof and being well known to the public they have a very slick offering that is very easy to set up. Lots of information can be found at the official Google web store: https://store.google.com/product/google_wifi_2nd_gen?hl=es
As I said there are many other options, I installed Linksys Velop in my home back in the UK, it was an early version though and I would not buy the version I bought 5years ago now. I would recommend that you try to future proof your purchase. At the moment I would make sure you get a mesh product that utilises WiFi 6, you will thank me later…
Dlink Wifi6 Mesh Pack 3APs – https://amzn.to/32OT1Ea
TPLink Wifi6 Mesh Pack 3APs – https://amzn.to/3Jtqsgp
Huawei WiFi Mesh 3Aps – https://amzn.to/3HudGMZ
Google Wifi – Amazon Sells everything: https://amzn.to/3zes74D
Basically all these systems will either extend or replace the current wifi in your house, and as you can see it is not super expensive.
Once one unit is connected via an ethernet wire, (remember use at least a cat5e cable) to your router it can then send wirelessly the information for the other devices to basically replicate that wifi signal and pass any of your connected devices between the different access points you place around your house.
I am sure there is much more I can add, but it is New Years eve and I need to start cooking.