Wi-Fi is considered one of the greatest inventions in networking and it paves the way for new kind of connectivity. If it is configured correctly, it can make the digital life easy. If it is not working properly then you need to get its signal coming at the right place. The people can get 7 ways to use the extended range of the existing Wi-Fi network.

1.      DIY Hacks

If you want to get the work done, you need to do it as DIY (Do it yourself) technique and it does not cost much. When it comes to increase in range and strength of Wi-Fi signals then good quality antenna can do much better. It is fairly easy to create your own antenna with few sheets of tinfoil.

The viewers can watch the process significantly to boost the Wi-Fi range up to 80%. If it is improved much then you look that whole of the process will consume 5 to 10 minutes. You need two tinfoil cans, glue stick and that is about it. This method will not void the warranty of the router.

2.      Use Old Router as Wi-Fi Repeater

If you have old Wi-Fi router lying around, you can simply use it as the Wi-Fi repeater to extend the range of current Wi-Fi network even if it does not support it.

Pre-requisites

• An extra router
• Custom firmware — Check if the extra Wi-Fi router can be turned into a Wi-Fi repeater by going to its admin page. If it doesn’t, you can check out custom firmware (more on this later) like DD-WRT, OpenWRT, and Tomato.

When the process to convert the old router may vary depend on the manufacturer and model, there is generic list of steps, which they will need to go through.

1. Find out the MAC addresses for both the routers (old and new).
2. Plug in the old router, turn it on, and go to the admin page and log in. Most routers have their admin page at an address like http://192.168.1.1. However, you can google your router’s name to find out yours if this doesn’t work for you.
3. Find out the settings for enabling the Wi-Fi repeater function on your specific router model. Again, Google is your friend here.
4. You’ll find a drop-down menu of sorts that will let you choose your router’s mode. On default, it should be set to “AP” (Access Point). You can simply change it to “Wireless Repeater”.
5. Once you have enabled it, it will ask you for the MAC address of your new router.

The process of converting the Wi-Fi router into the repeater is different when you use the custom firmware.

3.      Placement

The placement of your Wi-Fi router has the important role how the signals can propagate across the whole area. Here are some of the tips for the optimal router placement.

• A Wi-Fi router needs to be somewhere in the center of the house in order to evenly spread the signals.
• It also needs to be placed in an open space and away from clutter.
• It should be placed at a decent height so there are minimal obstacles between it and other areas of the house. A great way to do this is to use a Wall mount or a tall cabinet.

The users can also use tools like HeatMapper to visualize the weak and strong spots in the Wi-Fi network.

4.      Minimize Interference

Heavy duty appliances or the electronic devices including cordless phones, microwaves, which run with close proximity of the Wi-Fi router and they can have the harmful effect on the Wi-Fi range. They can try moving the devices away and another way to circumvent the issue to buy the dual band router.

5.      Change Router Channel

The router can have the number of different channels on which it is operated. If you do not get good signals, then you need to try change the default channel of router. You can use tool like WiFi Analyzer to find the channel, which is interference free and switch to that channel by going to the admin page of Wi-Fi.

6.      Updating Firmware

Sometimes, when you update the firmware of the router, it can improve your performance. There are many modern routers have the built-in update process but you can go through the documentation of the router to find how to update it.

7.      Install Custom Firmware

The users can install the Custom Firmware, which is called ‘DD-WRT’ and this open source project is improving the router to the point that you can utilize the full potential.

The process is pretty lengthy and you can refer to guide to know about the full procedure. You should note that the installation process is fairly technical and you will definitely void the warranty of your router, if you choose the flash to custom firmware on it.

Wi-Fi signals