Improving Your Router's Wireless Signal Strength

Almost everyone these days uses a router in their homes. Many create their own wireless networks as well so they can access the internet without cables. This is great and all but sometimes the signal strength from your router can be poor causing you to lose connection speed and timeout all together.

I will discuss some household "remedies" to improve your signal strength.

1. The first method I will discuss is relatively straight forward. Keep your router away from your modem. Although it isn't "scientifically proven", it is still a popular networking rule of thumb to keep the two separated. It is believed that the wavelengths interfere with the two causing delay in the connection.

2. The second method seems pretty obvious but is commonly misconstrued. Make sure the router is in a spot where it isn't locked in by walls. I used to keep my router under my television in a television stand and it crippled the signal strength significantly. Even your typical drywall can weaken the signal strength. This is why it is important to keep the router in a nice open location.

3. If your router has antennas, make sure they are pointing up and intact. If not then you need to either replace the antennas or purchase a new router. Make sure there are no interfering objects around it that may dissipate the signal.

These are some things that you can do to make sure your router is exposing its signal as strongly as it can. If you are still having issues then you may need to consider replacing the router. For casual "at home" routers I personally recommend Linksys as they make great routers and are the mainstream routers these days.