5 tips on how to increase your Wi-Fi speed – Times of India

Wi-Fi connectivity has become ubiquitous in most urban homes. A good Wi-Fi router and stable connectivity can give users relatively fast Wi-Fi speed. However, there are certain things you can do to increase the Wi-Fi speed. Here, we tell you five ways to boost your internet connection.
Move the router to a better location
Although Wi-Fi signals can travel far, they can easily get blocked by walls, floors, ceilings, furniture or any kind of large object. Wi-Fi signals can also get interrupted by radio waves from other devices like cordless phones, microwaves and Bluetooth speakers.
So, if you place a router in the corner of a room, you might face some issues with the speed of the connectivity. A router should generally be placed in a central or elevated location, where you generally use the internet. Avoid keeping your router on the floor or inside an enclosed area as this may trigger connectivity issues.
Switch your Wi-Fi frequency band
Almost all new routers — even the ones provided by ISPs — come with two frequency bands — 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The band that you use daily for your office work or watching something online, might affect your network speed. If you are on the 5GHz band, then you will get faster internet connectivity but the con is, it has a shorter range. If you are even a little far from the Wi-Fi, you will either lose connectivity or the speed will drastically drop.
If your work area is a little away from where the router is kept, it is advisable to switch your network band to 2.4GHz and operate. This may not offer you blazing fast internet connectivity but it will most definitely keep you connected so that you can get your work done. The 2.4 GHz band is the most commonly accessed Wi-Fi connection. This band is used for many other wireless operations apart from Wi-Fi.
Adjust the antennas of your router
This is the most basic hack. Nowadays, many routers have internal antennas and if you have one of them, you can skip this. Others, however, can try this. If your router has adjustable antennas, try reconfiguring them. Router antennas are generally omnidirectional, which means they can fire signals in all directions perpendicular to them. If someone needs to stretch his/her Wi-Fi signals to multiple floors, they can adjust the antenna to a position where they are horizontal and can spread Wi-Fi signals up and down.
Extend your Wi-Fi network
If you’ve positioned a router correctly but you are still having problems with connectivity in some areas of your home, then you might have to consider other options like extending your home Wi-fi network. A few ways through which you can do it are Wi-Fi boosters, using an ethernet cable to connect with the access point in your router or getting mesh Wi-Fi systems that can replace your normal router with one or more devices to weave one Wi-Fi network that covers your entire home.
5) Upgrade to a faster and better internet connection
Sometimes, we get the basics wrong. A slow internet connection might simply be the only reason behind bad connectivity. The connection, which you think can sustain your daily activity, may not be enough. Internet providers may advertise blazing-fast connectivity but they can’t promise that you will receive that speed at all times. It is important to keep checking your internet speed at intervals and if you think that your connection is never at 100%, you should definitely call the service provider to upgrade your plan or check your existing connection.