Dealing with Weak Wi-Fi

So there you are, laptop switched on, USB or Ethernet cable discarded into a box at the back of the sofa as you sit and enjoy wireless Internet, routed through the air to your computer from a shiny new Wi-Fi router.

With wireless Internet you can enjoy the pleasures of the web, email, chat and other services from anywhere in your house and even your garden.

However, over time you might just notice that something isn’t quite right. Could it be that there is something wrong with your Internet connection? Surely not, because when you call your ISP, they perform a series of remote checks that confirm the veracity of your connection and the cabling used to hook your router up to the fibre optic network.

And yet… there is still something Not Quite Right.

Could it be that a problem between your wireless router and your computer is causing a slowdown in Internet speed?

Wireless Internet and Your Computer

The chances are that you have walls in your home or property. Unless you have an office with temporary partitions and standing dividers, the walls will be pretty thick in most cases and act as barriers between your current position and the wireless router.

Throw in some furniture, glass cabinets and unusual architecture and what you’re left with is one room where the signal from your router is really strong and a series of other rooms with a much weaker signal.

So what’s the deal?

Well it’s simple. Wireless routers send out radio waves along a certain frequency that are then picked up by the wireless receiver in your PC, laptop, mobile phone, etc. The frequency is selected so as not to interfere with other things like wiring, refrigerators, cordless phones, remote controls, the human brain, etc., and as such it has a bit of trouble penetrating bricks, breeze blocks and plaster.

It isn’t too hot with ceilings, either.

All of which means that if you want the full benefit of wireless Internet, you need to take advantage of channel switching (a feature on your router which is often more trouble than it’s worth, particularly if there are several wireless networks nearby) or position yourself and/or your furniture in order to achieve a stronger signal.

Boosters and Furniture

There is such a thing as a wireless signal booster, but these tools are flimsy, unwieldy and look pretty ridiculous. If you just splashed two and a half grand on a top of the range Sony or Apple MacBook Pro then a signal booster is going to knock half the value off within minutes.

Your best option is to make sure your laptop or desktop computer has line of sight to the wireless router, possibly by moving furniture, opening windows or even opening cupboard doors to “bounce” the signal in your direction.

Avoid curtains and soft furnishings too – these will dampen a signal rather than reflect it.

If possible, purchase a repeater, a device that can be placed between your wireless router and your computer. Repeaters collect the signal and reroute it with greater strength, ideal in such situations.