5 ways to boost your Wifi speed and signal

Are you sick and tired of always refreshing your browser, restarting your router and rebooting your computer hoping that it would load your webpages faster? 

Today your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides even the fastest and greatest network speed and bandwidth out there but if your Wifi router isn’t set up correctly, it will still feel like a dial-up at the end of the day. Setting up a brand new router can be rarely fun but if you are brave and determined enough, here are five tips that can your wifi to the next level.

1. Choose the right channel and frequency
Just changing the channel on your router can make a huge difference. Try channels 1, 6 or 11. If those don't work, go to 2 or 10 next. Try until you feel like your Wifi speeds are gaining.
Wi-Fi routers can broadcast in different frequencies. If you have a bigger home choose 2.4 GHz because the signal travels farther and can more easily penetrate through walls. But for smaller rooms or homes, 5 GHz is the way to go: it offers much faster speeds, albeit in a shorter range.

2. Move your router to its ideal position
A tall shelf in the middle of a room is the best place for your router. Think high and centrally located. 
If your Wi-Fi router has antennas, and you need the signal to go through a wall, position the antennas in straight angles so they go right through the wall. Signals that travel through walls at an angle can severely reduce Wi-Fi speeds.
Also, it's important to adapt to your surroundings -- ceiling height, room size and certain building materials can adversely affect Wi-Fi speeds. Keep your router away from thick walls made of brick or concrete. But the biggest enemies of Wi-Fi are water and windows. Nearby pipes and even plants (there's water in all those leaves) can slow Wi-Fi to a crawl. Reflective surfaces can make Wi-Fi signals bounce at strange angles.

3. Make sure your router is secure
Apart from security putting a password on your router or limiting which devices can access your network will keep Wi-Fi hoggers from slowing down your network. 

4. Get a newer router
New routers have smarter technology that can directly transmit to devices instead of beaming signals randomly around a room. Apart from faster speeds and multiple frequencies, they also know which devices to give priority to. 

5. Buy a network extender
Network extenders are a cost effective way to boost a signal in those hard-to-reach corners of your home. If you have some old routers lying around you can use them as a network extender as well. Too complex? May be you can give us a regarding laptop repair or network fine tuning and our geeks will be more than happy to be of help :)