7 easy ways to improve your home WiFi signal

A lagging video call, a failed file transfer, a dropped connection during a critical remote support session—these are the modern-day frustrations that can bring productivity to a halt. In a world powered by remote access and digital collaboration, a weak Wi-Fi signal is a barrier to efficiency and a direct hit to your bottom line. Getting a faster, more reliable internet connection is fundamental to success.

The performance of your home network directly impacts your ability to work seamlessly from anywhere. For IT professionals managing a distributed workforce, ensuring every team member has a stable connection is paramount. Unreliable home Wi-Fi can lead to increased support tickets, decreased productivity, and security vulnerabilities.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a network engineer to make meaningful improvements. Understanding the basics of how wireless signals work is the first step. This guide offers actionable strategies on how to improve your home WiFi, helping IT professionals and remote employees boost performance, enable seamless collaboration, and support a more secure digital workplace.

In this article

• Find the optimal location for your router

• Update your router's firmware

• Secure your network from unauthorized devices

• Adjust your router's channel settings

• Prioritize traffic with Quality of Service (QoS)

• Upgrade your hardware to modern standards

• Extend your network with a mesh system

1. Find the optimal location for your router

One of the most effective and cost-free ways to enhance your connection is by physically repositioning your router. Wi-Fi signals are radio waves that radiate outwards from the router, much like ripples in a pond. The farther they travel and the more obstacles they encounter, the weaker they become. The ideal placement is a central, elevated location in your house, away from walls and obstructions.

Physical barriers are the primary culprits behind a weak signal. Materials like concrete, brick, metal, and even water (like in an aquarium) can significantly degrade or block Wi-Fi waves. This is a key factor when considering how to boost WiFi signal through walls. Placing your router in an open area, like on a high shelf in a central living room, minimizes the number of dense materials the signal must penetrate to reach your devices.

Avoid placing your router inside cabinets, behind furniture, or near other electronic devices. Appliances like microwave ovens, cordless phones, and Bluetooth devices operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency band, the same as many Wi-Fi routers. This creates radio interference, which can disrupt your connection and slow down your internet speeds. A few feet of separation can make a substantial difference.

For multi-story homes, the best spot is often on the top floor if most work happens there, or near the ceiling of the first floor if you need coverage on both levels. Experiment with different locations and use a Wi-Fi analyzer app on your mobile device to measure signal strength in various rooms. This data-driven approach will help you pinpoint the best possible location for your specific layout.

2. Update your router's firmware

Firmware is the essential software that runs on your router, controlling its hardware and managing its functions. Manufacturers regularly release updates that not only patch critical security vulnerabilities but also improve performance, stability, and sometimes even add new features. Running outdated firmware is like using an old operating system on your computer. It leaves you exposed to threats and prevents you from getting the best performance.

Updating your firmware is a straightforward process and a simple way how to boost your WiFi signal for free. 

1. Open your router’s administrative interface. Most modern routers have a built-in update function.

2. Type your router’s IP address into a web browser (often 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1).

3. Log in with your credentials.

4. Navigate to the “Administration,” “System,” or “Firmware Update” section.

Many routers now offer an automatic update feature, which we highly recommend enabling. This ensures your device is always protected and optimized without requiring manual intervention. If your router does not support automatic updates, make it a habit to check for new firmware versions quarterly. This simple maintenance task can resolve mysterious connection drops and speed issues.

From a security perspective, regular firmware updates are non-negotiable. Cybercriminals constantly look for exploits in network hardware. A compromised router can lead to data theft, malware injection, and unauthorized access to your entire network of devices. Keeping your firmware current is a foundational step in securing your digital workspace and protecting sensitive corporate data.

3. Secure your network from unauthorized devices

An unsecured or poorly secured Wi-Fi network is an open invitation for neighbors or malicious actors to use your bandwidth, which directly impacts your internet speed. Every unauthorized device connected to your network consumes a portion of your available bandwidth, slowing down the connection for everyone else. Securing your network is crucial for both performance and protecting your data.

The first and most important step is to use strong encryption. WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) is the current security standard, offering robust protection against attacks. If your router doesn't support WPA3, use WPA2 with AES encryption, which is still a very secure option. Avoid outdated protocols like WEP and WPA, as they are highly vulnerable. You can change this setting in your router's wireless security configuration page.

Next, change the default administrator username and password for your router's settings panel. Many routers come with generic credentials like "admin" and "password," which are widely known and easily guessed. A strong, unique password prevents unauthorized users from accessing your router's settings and compromising your network. Also, consider changing your Wi-Fi password periodically to remove any unwanted devices that may have connected over time.

For an added layer of security, you can disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), a feature designed for easy device connection that has known security flaws. You can also enable MAC address filtering, which allows you to create a list of approved devices that are permitted to join your network. While a determined attacker can circumvent this, it provides an effective barrier against casual bandwidth theft and keeps your connection reserved for your approved devices.

4. Adjust your router's channel settings

Wi-Fi networks operate on specific channels within the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. In densely populated areas like apartment buildings or corporate offices, many networks often compete for the same channels, leading to interference and a degraded connection. Think of it like trying to have a conversation in a crowded room where everyone is talking at once. By manually selecting a less congested channel, you can significantly improve your network's performance.

Most routers are set to "Auto" by default, which means they attempt to choose the best channel on their own. However, this feature doesn't always work perfectly. You can use a Wi-Fi analyzer tool on your computer or smartphone to scan the surrounding area and see which channels are most crowded. These apps provide a visual representation of nearby networks and the channels they occupy, making it easy to spot an open lane.

For the 2.4 GHz band, channels one, six, and eleven are the best choices because they are the only ones that do not overlap with each other. If your neighbors are using channels two or three, for example, choosing channel six or eleven will minimize interference. The 5 GHz band offers many more non-overlapping channels, so congestion is generally less of an issue, but it is still worth checking for the clearest frequency.

Changing the channel is a simple adjustment within your router's administrative settings, usually under "Wireless" or "Wi-Fi Settings." This is a powerful technique for anyone wondering how to increase WiFi range from router settings, as a clearer signal can travel farther and more reliably. After changing the channel, be sure to test your connection speed to confirm the improvement.

5. Prioritize traffic with Quality of Service (QoS)

Quality of Service, or QoS, is a feature on many modern routers that allows you to prioritize certain types of internet traffic over others. This is incredibly useful for ensuring that mission-critical applications, like video conferencing or remote desktop sessions, receive the bandwidth they need to function smoothly, even when other devices on the network are streaming videos or downloading large files. For a professional gamer, this might mean prioritizing their gaming traffic.

For example, you can configure QoS to give top priority to traffic from a specific device, like your work laptop, or to a particular application, such as Microsoft Teams or TeamViewer. When the network becomes busy, the router will automatically allocate more bandwidth to your prioritized activities, preventing lag and buffering. This is an effective way to manage a shared home network and ensure your work isn't disrupted by others' online activities.

• Setting up QoS is done through your router's administrative interface, typically in an "Advanced" or "QoS" section.

• Some routers offer a simple, user-friendly interface where you can drag and drop devices or applications into high, medium, and low priority categories.

• Others provide more granular control, allowing you to set specific bandwidth allocation rules based on IP address, MAC address, or port number.

Implementing QoS is a smart strategy for IT managers to recommend to remote employees. It helps ensure a consistent and reliable user experience for enterprise applications, reducing frustration and support requests. By managing bandwidth effectively, you can optimize your connection for productivity and know that your most important tasks will always have the resources they need. This is a great answer to how to increase net speed in mobile and other critical devices when the network is congested.

6. Upgrade your hardware to modern standards

While optimizing your existing setup can yield significant gains, sometimes the most effective solution is to upgrade your hardware. Router technology has advanced rapidly, and an older router may simply not be capable of handling the demands of today's connected home or the speeds provided by your internet service provider. If your router is more than four or five years old, a new model could provide a dramatic boost in performance.

Look for a router that supports the latest Wi-Fi standards, such as Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) or the emerging Wi-Fi 7. These newer standards are designed for efficiency, offering faster speeds, greater capacity to handle multiple devices simultaneously, and better performance in congested environments. Wi-Fi 6, in particular, uses technologies like OFDMA and MU-MIMO to communicate with many devices at once, reducing latency and improving the overall experience for everyone on the network.

When selecting a new router, consider its processing power and RAM. A router with a more powerful processor can handle heavy traffic and advanced features like QoS and VPNs without slowing down. Also, ensure your new router has gigabit Ethernet ports if you subscribe to a high-speed internet plan, as this will ensure your wired connections are not a bottleneck.

Upgrading isn't just about the router. The Wi-Fi adapter in your computer or mobile device also plays a role. An older laptop with an outdated Wi-Fi card won't be able to take full advantage of a new Wi-Fi 6 router. In some cases, a simple and affordable USB Wi-Fi adapter can be a cost-effective way to upgrade a single device's wireless capabilities and improve its connection speed.

7. Extend your network with a mesh system

For larger homes or offices with persistent dead zones, even the most powerful single router may struggle to provide consistent coverage. In these scenarios, a mesh Wi-Fi system is often the best solution. A mesh system consists of a main router that connects to your modem and a series of satellite nodes or modules that you place throughout your house to create a single, seamless Wi-Fi network.

Unlike traditional range extenders, which create a separate network and often cut bandwidth in half, mesh nodes communicate with each other to intelligently route traffic. This ensures your devices are always connected to the strongest signal as you move around your home, without any drop-offs or manual network switching. This technology is particularly effective for learning how to boost wifi signal through walls and around complex architectural features.

Setting up a mesh system is typically very straightforward, often managed through a simple mobile app that guides you through the process and helps you find the optimal placement for each node. The app also provides tools for managing your network, such as parental controls, guest network setup, and device prioritization, making network administration accessible to everyone.

While a mesh system represents a higher initial investment than a single router, it is the most effective way to guarantee strong, reliable Wi-Fi coverage across an entire property. For IT professionals supporting a remote workforce, recommending a mesh system can be a definitive solution to chronic connectivity issues, ensuring employees have the stable connection they need for seamless remote work and uninterrupted productivity.

Empowering your connected world

A fast, stable, and secure home Wi-Fi network is the backbone of the modern digital workplace. The transition to remote and hybrid models has made reliable connectivity a business-critical asset. By following these seven strategies, you can systematically diagnose and resolve common Wi-Fi issues, transforming a frustrating connection into a powerful tool for productivity.

From simple, no-cost adjustments like optimizing your router's placement and updating its firmware to more advanced solutions like implementing QoS and deploying a mesh network, you have a range of options to improve your home Wi-Fi. Each step you take enhances your ability to collaborate effortlessly and access your digital world without interruption.

At TeamViewer, we understand that seamless connectivity is the foundation of everything you do. Our solutions are designed to empower you from anywhere, but that empowerment begins with a solid network. By taking control of your home Wi-Fi, you are not just getting faster internet; you are building a more resilient, efficient, and productive environment for the future of work.