A poor signal on your Wifi could be caused by a number of factors, even an electric fence can cause disruption to the signal.
There are however a few things you can check and change to try and improve the signal.
Placing your modem router
Put your modem in a clear, central place in your home. A typical indoor WiFi signal has a range of about 30 metres, but this distance can be reduced by a large number of obstacles (e.g. walls, cupboards) between you and your modem.
If you have a larger area to cover, you may want to buy a WiFi signal extender from your local electronics store. This device will plug into a power outlet and relay your WiFi signal over a longer distance.
- Place your modem on a desk or elevated shelf; WiFi signal travels better “downwards”. A modem should never be placed on the floor as the ground causes a lot of signal interference.
- Keep your modem away from any trees, plants, microwaves, metal objects and also any other devices that broadcast a WiFi signal. Try to avoid having these obstacles between you and your modem while you’re using the WiFi.
Changing your WiFi network mode
WiFi comes in a variety of modes/standards, which are WiFi signal technologies that were developed over the years.
The most common WiFi mode is 802.11n, which has been around since 2009. However, the older 802.11g and 802.11b modes can have a greater range and stability, which is ideal if the structure of your home causes a lot of WiFi signal interference.
The downside is these modes have a lower throughput speed, but this shouldn’t be noticeable on the vast majority of ADSL connections.
- Changing to a mode setting like 802.11g only or 802.11b only may improve your WiFi experience.
You’ll need to log into your modem’s default gateway to change the WiFi settings.
The layout of modem settings can vary greatly for each device, so please consult your modem’s user manual or check the manufacturer’s website for support information about changing the WiFi settings.
Finding the best WiFi “channel” to use
Depending on how close you are to your neighbours, you may find that their Wifi is interfering and disrupting your Wifi if they are using a similar or the same channel as your modem.
Changing the Wifi channel to something that is not too close to other Wifi modems in your area may assist with your Wifi signal.
Open the Command Prompt program. You’ll find this by typing “cmd” into your computer’s search bar. It can also be found in the Accessories folder in the All Programs list in the Start Menu.
A black box with a flashing cursor will appear; this is the Command Prompt. Type “netsh wlan show all” and then hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
A list of information for each WiFi network (SSID) detected by your computer’s WiFi adapter will show up. Scroll through this list and take note of the channel being used by each network.
You may find a long list of items that come up, simply scroll through the list and write down all the channel number you see (including your own). The best channel for your WiFi is the one not being used by other WiFi networks around you (e.g. the neighbours). For example, if most other WiFi networks are using channel 11, try using channel 1 or 6 in your modem’s WiFi settings.
Changing your WiFi network channel
You’ll need to log into your modem’s default gateway to change the WiFi settings.
The layout of modem settings can vary greatly for each device, so please consult your modem’s user manual or check the manufacturer’s website for support information about changing the WiFi channel.
Here’s an example of where you’d change the channel on a Huawei B618 LTE router.
If the above does not help, you can also try going through your home and turning off any device/appliance that emits a wireless or radio signal to see if that is interfering.
Some examples include:
- Electric Fences
- Cordless Phones
- Baby Monitors
- Bluetooth Devices
If all this still does not improve your Wifi performance you may need to look at purchasing a Wifi Extender from your local electronics store.
Please note: All Webafrica deals and packages are subject to change without notification. These include our terms and conditions as it relates to costs and deal/package structures for all of our service providers.