Having a wireless internet connection at home is great. It allows you to connect with multiple devices, all over the house. Unfortunately, using wireless doesn’t always give us the speeds we want. However, there are a few simple tricks that can help you boost your wireless signal and get the fastest speeds available. You can check out iinets wireless internet plans directly on their new website.
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Upgrade your Hardware
In order to get the fastest speeds from your wireless connection, you need to have hardware that’s up to the task. This may involve upgrading your hardware if you’re currently using wireless A, B and G equipment. Upgrade to the faster wireless N – both the wireless N router and wireless N card – to boost your wireless speeds. If you upgrade any part of the wireless hardware you are using, make sure it is still compatible with your old hardware, and remember, your wireless connection will only be as fast as the slowest link in the chain.
Boost your Signal
There are various ways you can boost your wireless signal. Start with the positioning of your router – make sure it is clear of any walls and obstructions, place it in the centre of the house, and elevate it if you can. You can also try adding a better antenna to the router for outgoing signal, or adding a better antenna to your devices to improve incoming signal. If this still doesn’t provide faster speeds or wider signal range, try using a Wi-Fi repeater. These can be bought new for around $100, or you could repurpose an old router to do the same job.
Reduce Interference
When you’re connecting via wireless, sometimes other signals can get in the way. Appliances in your house, such as cordless phones and microwaves can interfere with your internet signal, causing it to slow down. Try moving the router further from the interfering appliances, or consider investing in a dual band router.
Change the Channel
Signal interference doesn’t just come from household appliances, it can also come from your neighbours. If you’re using the 2.4GHz band, there are 13 channels available, many of which overlap. Try changing to one of the channels that don’t overlap (1, 5, 9 or 13), to have more chance of avoiding interference from your neighbours’ signals. If your router is capable of using the 5GHz spectrum, try using that. It’s less common and it has more channels, which can result in faster connection speeds for you.
Stay Password Protected
Always password protect your Wi-Fi network. If you don’t, someone could easily hitch a ride, steal your bandwidth and slow your connection, not to mention the security issues involved. Turn on Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) on your router, and assign a password to your network. While this is a good start, it’s still pretty easy to hack a password-protected network, so do some research to find out what else you can do to protect yourself.
Control Bandwidth
Certain internet usage – streaming, online gaming, video chatting, downloading torrents – uses more bandwidth. When these applications are connecting to the wireless network, wireless speeds elsewhere in the house will slow down. Either reign in this type of usage, or prioritise applications by setting up Quality of Service (QoS) on your router.
