Home Networks & Wi-Fi · Wi-Fi Speed & Coverage · Lesson 2 of 5

Where to Put Your Router

Find the best spot for your router and learn what blocks Wi-Fi.

Center, high and in the open

Where your router sits can matter as much as which router you own. Moving it a few feet can turn a weak room into a strong one. It costs nothing to try.

Picture the signal as light from a lamp. It spreads out in every direction, and it gets dimmer with distance. Every wall it passes through dims it a little more.

That gives three simple rules:

• Central. Put the router near the middle of your home. In a corner, half the signal goes outside to the yard or the neighbors.
• High. Set it on a shelf or a tall table, not on the floor. Up high, there is less furniture in the way.
• In the open. Keep it out of closets, cabinets and drawers. A cabinet door and a pile of stuff all eat signal.

Many people hide the router behind the TV because that is where the cable comes in. It looks tidy, but the TV is a big sheet of metal and electronics. It sits right in the signal's way.

If the cable comes in at the edge of the house, you have choices. A longer cable from the wall can often reach a better spot. Your internet company may also be able to move the outlet.

If your router has antennas you can move, try pointing some straight up and some sideways. That helps devices on different floors.

On the practice computer, drag the router to four spots: the closet, behind the TV, the center and a high shelf. Watch the signal bars in each room.

What blocks Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi passes through most things, but not equally. Some materials barely slow it. Others stop it almost completely.

From easiest to hardest to get through:

• Easy: wood, drywall, glass windows and doors.
• Harder: brick, stone, concrete and tile floors.
• Very hard: metal. Think of refrigerators, filing cabinets, metal doors and big mirrors, which have a metal backing.

Water soaks up Wi-Fi too. A fish tank, a water heater or a wall of pipes can weaken the signal. People are mostly water, so a crowded room can dim it a little.

Some gadgets cause interference, which means noise on the same radio frequencies. A running microwave oven is the classic one. It uses the same frequencies as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Your video may stutter while you heat up lunch. Some cordless phones and baby monitors can do the same.

The answer is usually to change the path, not to buy something. Move the router so fewer walls and less metal block your favorite rooms. Keep it a few feet from the microwave and big electronics.

Every home is different. After you move the router, walk around with your phone. Check the Wi-Fi bars in each room. Then use the spot that works best.