Wi-Fi routers are the central hubs of your home’s wireless network. They connect devices to the internet and offer features that make life easier, from parental controls to ad-blocking. They also provide the speed and bandwidth your entire household needs to stream videos, games, and browse the web.
Routers use radio bands that act like invisible highways to keep your data on separate routes, avoiding congestion. The number of bands a router has — single, dual, or tri-band — can have a significant impact on its performance and efficiency.
Position Your WiFi Router
The best way to ensure your router https://router-login.io/192.168.l00.1-192.168.100.1/ has consistent coverage throughout your house is to place it in a location that offers a clear line of sight between it and the devices you want to connect. This means it should be high on a shelf, mounted above a ceiling, or positioned in another way that doesn’t block the area’s airflow.
Putting your router higher up will also help it reach more of the room, especially if you have multiple floors. It will also mean you won’t have to worry about it coming into contact with things that can interfere with its signal, such as metal.
Aim for a central location
If you have a particular room you want to cover with the strongest Wi-Fi, try positioning your router there. This is especially true if you have an unusually large room, such as a basement or a second-story living room.
It’s also a good idea to put your router close to the floor in rooms where you need stronger Wi-Fi coverage, such as the kitchen or the home office. This is because the signal doesn’t travel as well through dense materials, like concrete or bricks.
Avoid Electronics and Bulky Furniture
While electronics are an obvious culprit, it’s not just the devices you own. The microwave and large televisions in your home also emit strong signals that can impede your router’s coverage.
To avoid this, look for a router that supports the 2.4GHz band, which has more range than the 5GHz band. It’s also worth looking for a model that has a mesh network, which uses a series of additional routers to boost coverage across your home.
Mesh networks are particularly helpful if you have a lot of smart home devices in your house and don’t want to rely on a dedicated smart-home gateway. Many of these products come with mesh networking apps that let you measure the speeds your wireless network is getting around your house and recommend optimal placement for the router and the mesh networking points.
The Asus GT-AX11000 ROG Rapture is one such router, offering triple-band connectivity, Wi-Fi 6 (AX), and some nice software features. It’s aimed at gamers, but it’s a great option for anyone who wants a wireless router that is powerful enough to support the latest smart-home protocols and deliver an excellent signal.
While it doesn’t offer the quickest connections or the best coverage, this model has a touchscreen display and is easy to setup with a smartphone app or web browser. It’s also got basic parental controls and some manual networking control.