Why your Wi-Fi is slow and how to speed it up

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Identifying and fixing wireless problems.

In big cities, we are surrounded by Wi-Fi signal sources everywhere. In high-rise buildings, each neighbor has a wireless connection point. Naturally, the more broadcast is loaded, the worse the connection quality will be.

We've already looked at simple tricks to help you increase your Wi-Fi speed. Now let's try something more efficient. And, first of all, let's look at the reasons for the low speed of the wireless connection.

Slow internet

Only the connection speed between your wireless devices and the router depends on Wi-Fi. Therefore, no router optimization will help if you have a low connection speed with your provider.

Solution. First, check your internet speed by connecting to your router via Wi-Fi. Then, do the same by connecting the device to your computer with a LAN cable. If the Internet is slow in both cases, the problem is not with the router. Consider changing your connection type (for example, from ADSL to fiber optic). You can also check the speed of the Internet on the Speedtest website or in other ways.

Speedtest →

Too many wireless devices

There are more and more Wi-Fi devices in our homes now. These are not only computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, but also devices for the smart home - bulbs, switches, sensors and cameras. What is really there, even dummies now have a built-in Wi-Fi module.

Note that most common home routers only support up to 30 concurrently connected devices. This is a lot, but not for smart homes and not for large families, in which everyone has several gadgets. If the limit of 30 devices is exceeded, they will spontaneously disconnect from the router from time to time.

Solution. For a Wi-Fi network to which there are too many wireless devices, it is better to choose a dedicated router, ideally an enterprise class one.

Many walls or a long distance

In large homes, a single router may not be enough. It simply does not have enough power to transmit a signal through walls and ceilings. You can check out our guide on how to place your router correctly.

However, sometimes it is not enough to properly position the router to ensure full coverage of the entire area. You may be tempted to make a signal amplifier, for example, from a beer can, but in practice, such crutches only bring more interference into the network.

Solution. There are a large number of Wi-Fi repeaters or repeaters that integrate into your network and increase your coverage. Just install such a thing at a distance from the router, and Wi-Fi will appear even in the most distant places from it.

Clogged Wi-Fi channel

Routers support an average of 10-13 Wi-Fi communication channels, but since many users are too lazy to tinker with configuration, routers use the default ones. As a result, they are the busiest. It is worth choosing the most suitable communication channel for your router, which no one else uses.

Modern routers are equipped with the function of automatic selection of communication channels and themselves can determine the least loaded of them. But it's not a fact that your router can do this, so sometimes you should help it. Wi-Fi channels have simple numbers - 1, 2, 3, and so on. There are tools that will analyze your network and find the best option.

Choosing the best Wi-Fi channel

Windows

To find the best Wi-Fi channel, there is a very light and free application that does not even require installation - WifiInfoView. Download, unzip and run it, and then just sort the Wi-Fi hotspots by the channels they occupy. The more routers use the same channel, the more loaded it is. For example, in my case, most of the neighbors' routers use channels 1 and 11.

WifiInfoView →

Windows 10 users who prefer to use software from the Microsoft Store can use the free WiFi Analyzer app. When you start the program for the first time, you will need to provide the application with access to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi controls. After that, go to the Analyze tab, where a graph will be presented, in which the Wi-Fi channels are marked according to their congestion, and select the appropriate one.

Mac

Mac computers have a built-in Wi-Fi diagnostic tool. To open it, press the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. In the drop-down menu that appears, select "Open Wireless Diagnostics".

In the dialog box that opens, click Continue and enter the user's password. Then choose Window → Scan from the menu bar.

Now click the Scan Now button. After completing the process, you will see a list of found networks. The best channels for one or the other will be listed on the left.

Android

Android also has a Wifi Analyzer app. In fact, a smartphone app is even better than a desktop app, because the phone has the advantage of being able to wander around the house with it, identifying dead zones in your Wi-Fi network.

On the Wifi Analyzer panel there is a "View" icon, by clicking on which you will see a list of application functions. Find "Channel Rating" among them. All channels of nearby Wi-Fi networks will be displayed in front of you, marked with asterisks, depending on the workload. More stars - better channel. You can also evaluate the congestion of Wi-Fi channels using the graph in the application window. The more intersections on the X axis, the more loaded the channel.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with Wifi Analyzer, you can try its open source counterpart called … WifiAnalyzer. Yes, the names differ only by a space. This app provides the same features and can also be used to find the best Wi-Fi channel.

iPhone

IPhone users are out of luck. Due to Apple's policy of prohibiting third-party applications from accessing the characteristics of the wireless network, it is impossible to use Wi-Fi analyzers under the iPhone to find free channels.

However, if you have a jailbreak device, you can use the WiFi Explorer or WiFiFoFum apps from Cydia's unofficial repository to find the right channel.

How to change your Wi-Fi channel

So, you have chosen the best channel from the proposed ones. Now you need to reconfigure your router.

Unfortunately, there is no consistent workflow. Therefore, it is worth referring to the instructions of the device.

Basically, the router is configured either through special applications (like, for example, new Xiaomi routers), or through the device's service page. You can access the page by entering the router's IP 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in the address bar of your browser. The router will ask you for a username and password - they are usually standard and are most often indicated on the case.

Find the item related to wireless networks in the settings, and find there the field in which the Wi-Fi channels are indicated. Choose the best channel from the dropdown list and save the settings. After that, the router will reboot. Ready.

It will also be useful to switch your router to the IEEE 802.11n wireless standard. This also improves the connection speed quite well. This can be done in the settings of the router on the "Wireless Settings" tab. Find the "Mode" option and select "11n only" from the drop-down list.

The choice of a low-bandwidth channel can significantly increase the speed of wireless connections. But in the event that there are too many access points around you and all channels are busy, you will not see much change. The solution is to choose a new router. Most of them operate at 2.4 GHz, but the newer dual-band routers also support 5 GHz. Channels with this frequency are less loaded, and the connection through them is much faster.