6 Ways To Extend Your Wireless Network Range

How frustrating it is when you are on the VoIP call in the office or watching a high-definition video while relaxing at home, but that white circle of buffering never stops? Well, too infuriating right?

However, if you are experiencing these problems often, it is sure that there is a problem with your wireless network. Encountering these problems has become quite often these days in offices, homes, factories or other places. Now, as there is a problem or an issue, they are indeed backed by some strong reasons. But if there are reasons for the issues, there is a solution for the same too. 

So, in this post, we will discuss the reasons behind your poor wireless network, and then will come to the solutions as well, on how to extend your wireless networks’ range for a better experience.

Things That Might Be Affecting Your Wireless Signal

• Distance

The Wi-Fi routers, for the home, generally work at 2.4GH, and spread the network to approx., 150 feet, which is 46 meters. Now, the waves travel, and the Wi-Fi works only when it is set free from the obstacles. However, if there are walls in between or there are too many concretive things that are restricting the network, then the performance of the same will always be sluggish. It is always better to place the router in the middle of the home, or at any place where it is installed to get the right kind of network range at all the places.

• Obstacles

When you are getting the Wi-Fi router, you do not have to place it in an enclosed place. The places like cabinets, closets, behind the walls, rooms that are locked always and far from the place where you operate your internet from is not for your router to be placed at. Because if you do so, these walls, or any thick substance work as the obstacle in the network, and thus the network gets weaker. So, make sure you place the router in the place, where it can breathe and at the centre point of the home so that it spreads the waves of the network to all the corners, equally.

• Devices Can Be Disturbing

When you have microwaves, cordless phones, wireless security cameras, baby monitors, wireless speakers, or other alike appliances or gadgets which run on the same frequency, they can be the reason to daunt the speed of your Wi-Fi. However, as these all things and other things as well work on the same wavelength, they can cause a traffic jam, and that hinder the speed of your Wi-Fi. 

Tip - If you detect any of the above appliance or gadget that is causing the problems or the hindrance in the Wi-Fi network, you can plug that off or switch it off, to get the better speed of Wi-Fi.

• Your Wi-Fi Might Be Handling Too Many Devices

When we see the descriptions of the products, there is always the specification of how much burden it can handle. Say it, on the fridge rack, the maximum load it can handle is mention. But do we really fill that rack up with the maximum weight as mentioned in the descriptions? Not really! So, why do we think that we can mark out the maximum capacity of Wi-Fi devices? Now, it might be written that the maximum devices it can control 10, but it is not practically possible to handle all those devices while supplying the high-speed internet to all. So, if your router or the access point is handling the maximum number of users, and they all are using the internet in the given geographical area, then it indeed will not have the high-speed and will have the high-bandwidth for all the devices.

Pro Tip - So, if your Wi-Fi seems to be slow, and do not have a good, speed, consider restarting it. Or switch it off for 10-15 minutes, clean the same, and turn it on. This tip often works. Because not all electronic devices are meant to work without breaks, and they need small halts in the interval of times. So, this re-start might work as a power nap, and then it might come back with full power.

6 Ways To Extend The Wireless Network Range

1. You Should Try Re-Positioning Your Routers Or APs

As we have already mentioned above, if you want the network of your internet evenly in the entire space, the access point or the router should be placed at a place, where they can freely extend their networks without struggling to deal with the obstacles. Therefore, if you are facing these problems of not getting the right speed of the network, consider re-positioning your router or APs. It might help you!

2. You Might Need New Repeaters/Boosters

Do you still have some corners in the home without a network range or a weak network even after putting your router or the APs in the centralized place? Well, in that case, you have to get the repeaters or the extenders. A repeater or the extender is the device that will help to extend the network. They will draw the network from the base point that is your router, and will extend the network to all the corners, you place the extenders, or the repeaters are at.

Now, these devices are advantageous because they not only will get the network all around the place, but they are also inexpensive and can be extended without the use of the wire. Also, they are available at retail shops easily. 

Alongside, this has to be noted, that these devices are only the repeaters or extenders, they draw the signal from the base router and extend the same. Also, they can support only limited devices.

3. You Can Upgrade Your Routers

Every now and then people think that whether they should change the router or add new APs or not. However, if you think this way too, then you should know that there every year, the new routers come into the market and they are all backed by new technologies. So, now as you see, this year we have leapt from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6.

The new Wi-Fi 6 is said to be 40% faster than the previous one, and has more access points in it, transmits the data faster, and has many other features. In the meantime, dual-band technology has become common for APs and routers, as they can broadcast 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals simultaneously. Furthermore, as they support a greater number of devices and a higher signal range by separating network traffic between devices with different bandwidths, they support a more stable and high-speed network on the devices. Consequently, with its dual-band Wi-Fi feature, when network congestion appears, APs switch the 2.4GHz end-users to 5GHz. Doing this will reduce the network traffic load and will also help to extend the wireless network signals.

So, if it’s been more than years that your Wi-Fi system has remained the same, and you are willing to change it, you can get the Wi-Fi 6. The Wi-Fi 6’s deployment will make your network high-speed and also give a great user experience.

4. You Can Get Powerline Adapters

These powerline adapters are now, not much is a trend, as people try avoiding them because they still work on the Ethernet. The powerline adapter can get connected to the base of your internet of the home, and then you can extend the same and get the internet in a particular room, or in a separate building as well but will require the adapter to be strung on the wires. After the adapter is stringed till that room, it will then have Wi-Fi in the entire room. So, if you want, you can do this too, to extend your wireless network.

5. Get The Wireless Distribution System (WDS)

With the help of having the Wireless Distribution System (WDS), the wireless network system can be expanded using the wireless Aps that will not clutter your space with wires, at all. So, this is best for the places where there is one router, but one complete area away from the range of internet stays alienated from the network. So, when you bridge two APs, in that area, then they can have the internet network too.

So, as we are talking about two access points, one AP will act as the base, and the other one will be placed at the place where the range of the network isn’t there. From the base, the other AP will draw its signal, and supply it to the place where there was no internet. This is how WDS can extend the network throughout the place. Plus, they will not be extended over the wire, so it’s a plus point!

6. The Wireless Mesh Network Is The Other Solution

The mesh network is the superior version of the WDS, yet they are very different from each other. So, in mesh, there are many routers and APs that act as individual nodes, which are set up to extend the network all over. These nodes keep communicating with each other. So, if one node’s server is down, it will communicate with the other node, and keep the signal up. These are very advantageous, have very flexible coverage, and as they set themselves up when one server is down by communicating within themselves only, they are self-healing as well. So, you see they are great for the places which can’t afford to lose the internet for even a few minutes.

However, as every technology has some pros and cons, this has a small weak point too. When one node communicates with the other one, in order to heal the one which is down, the signal will be cut in half. So, to avoid the low-speed network, make sure you place the nodes in the optimum places.

Endnote

Now, thus you know what can be the issues that are daunting your network, you can fix them and see if the network gets boosted or not. In case, if they are still not speeding and doing well, then you can choose any of the ways mentioned above to extend your wireless networks range.