There can be many reasons why your Wi-Fi is slow – an older router, dodgy service from your ISP or outdated firmware could all be the culprits – but one of the most common reasons is where you choose to put your router.
Wi-Fi routers aren't always the prettiest gadgets to look at, so most of us put ours somewhere where they won't attract too much attention. But if your network system is struggling in certain rooms and you want to increase its speed, it's worth auditing your router's setup — even with a network system.
I have been testing and reviewing routers for yearsand few things have as much of an impact on Wi-Fi speed as the location of your router. While A a traditional Wi-Fi router sends a signal from one point to your home, a network system uses multiple devices to broadcast signals from different points. It makes it more like a team of routers working together to relay your traffic back to the modem.
It's a much better approach for home networking, especially in large, multi-story homes, where a traditional single-point router is likely to leave you with dead zones in the most distant rooms.
Where should you place your network router?
Mesh routers and other Wi-Fi devices perform best when they are outdoors and off the ground.
You'll want to think about where you put your router and satellite extenders, sometimes called nodes (or “points” if you're Nest Wi-Fi user), as their specific location will significantly affect system performance. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind as you go. (You can also check out our tips on the best location for your Wi-Fi router and how to protect your home Wi-Fi network from hackers.)
Move the main router
First, you'll want the main router in your setup — the mesh device that's connected to your modem — to be located as centrally as possible in your home. It is the same approach you would take with a single routerand the reasoning is the same: routers emit Wi-Fi signals in all directions, so placing your router in a central location in your home will make the most of your connection.
That goes double for mesh systems, where the strength of the connection near your extenders will depend heavily on the strength of the incoming signal from the main router. A stronger connection between the two will help ensure you get the fastest possible Wi-Fi speeds throughout your home.
Your options for moving your router may seem limited by its location your modemand incoming wires for your home's internet connection. Extra long Ethernet cable can help here, giving you the freedom to move the router away from where the modem sits, if necessary. If that's impractical, you'll at least want to move the main router outdoors, and preferably as high off the ground as possible.
This guide from Asus highlights a networking rule — for best performance, try to keep each device in your setup no more than two rooms away from another.
Move those extenders around
Once you've got your main router in the best possible spot, you'll want to pick good spots for the extenders. With most systems, you can connect each device to the main router with an Ethernet cable for the fastest possible speeds, but most users prefer to connect everything wirelessly. In that case, you'll want to be extra-strategic about where you place the extenders throughout your home.
Again, outdoors and up out of the country is your best bet for a clear signal, but you'll also want to consider the layout of your home, as physical obstacles between your main router and extenders can slow things down.
In general, a good rule of thumb is to try to keep devices in a network setup no more than two rooms apart. It will vary from home to home, especially if yours is built with thick materials like brick or concrete in the walls that can be difficult for Wi-Fi signals to penetrate. You'll also want to watch out for electronic interference from TVs and other large appliances, so if you're sticking a mesh extension cord in the kitchen, resist the urge to hide it on top of the fridge and move it away from your appliances. in its entirety.
Most network systems come with companion apps that include guides for setting up your devices, signal strength checks, and other diagnostic tools to help make sure you have everything in the best place possible.
Furniture can also block Wi-Fi signals, so if you have anything large or bulky between two of your network devices, consider moving them. Aquariums are another classic antagonist for your network setup, as Wi-Fi is difficult to transmit over water.
The best way to make sure your Wi-Fi network is as connected as possible is to open its app and check the signal strength on each device, which is something most systems offer. You can also find system-specific instructions online at the links below:
Avoid these dead zones
If you have a back corner of your home where the signal drops out, it can be tempting to stick a mesh extender in the middle of that dead zone to boost speeds. In many cases, that would be a mistake.
Remember, just like your phone or laptop, your network extenders need to connect wirelessly to the main router in your setup. And if that back corner is a dead zone for your phone or laptop, then it's likely to be a dead zone for your network extender as well.
The better approach is to install that extender the neighboring ones to the dead zone in a place where it will be easier to connect to the main router. In some cases, it may be halfway between the dead zone and the main router, but you may need to experiment a bit. Hit the sweet spot and the Wi-Fi signal it provides should be healthy and one that will extend into the dead zone to bring it back to life.
A good speed test will help you understand how your Wi-Fi holds up from room to room.
Run a speed test
Aside from the diagnostic tools in your network router's app, the quickest way to check your system's performance is to run some speed tests. There are many free online services we recommendany of them will tell you the upload and download speed of whatever device you're using in a minute or less.
For the best intelligence, take your laptop or phone and run multiple speed tests in every room of your house where you need a usable Wi-Fi signal. Ultimately, you should have a good sense of pace for where speeds are most stable and where they drop off. From there, you can try moving your extenders around to try and balance things out, or you can consider buying an extra extender to fill in any gaps. Either way, your home should be fully set up with a strong signal wherever you need it.
Running a speed test can help you figure out the best place to place your network router.
Other considerations for your network router
Just remember that your network router can only offer speeds that are as fast as what you pay for from your Internet provider. If the speeds are sorely lacking in your home, then it might be time to reconsider upgrade to a faster plan (and it might be worth seeing if your ISP will let you try a faster plan for a few days to see if that's really the problem). Your ISP may be able to provide it updated modem it will bring better, faster speeds to your network system to begin with. I can't be hurt to ask.
If speeds still seem slower than you'd like and your ISP isn't the answer, then there are a few other things you can try. For starters, if your ISP's modem is a gateway device that doubles as a router, then you'll want to disable its Wi-Fi network so it doesn't cause interference with your network system's Wi-Fi network.
Speaking of interference, it's possible for your neighbor's Wi-Fi network to interfere with yours. To fix that, go into your network router's app and look for channel settings that allow you to tune your network to a different part of the Wi-Fi airwaves, potentially moving away from whatever channel nearby networks are using. You'll also want to make sure your network system's firmware is up-to-date, which should be easy to check in its app.
For more, check out our picks the best routers for Wi-Fi 6and how to find free wifi anywhere in the world.