We have more devices than ever and all those devices need an Internet connection. How can you make the most of your bandwidth and home network? Read on for a few helpful tips.
Router Placement
The best place for a router is in a central part of your home, so it can cover the most area with good strong signal. The farther away you are, the weaker your signal will be, so try not to put your router at one end of the house. If you have a large home, a repeater can increase the range of your router’s signal. Also, remember that rooms like kitchens and bathrooms, which have a lot of metal pipes and insulation in the walls, can cause more signal degradation than other rooms.
Check Your Speed Wisely
It’s always a good idea to know what kind of bandwidth speed you’re getting. To get the most accurate results, it’s best to use a third-party testing site like speedtest.net or speakeasy.net. Make sure that no other devices are using your connection, including smart tv’s or streaming devices, and use an ethernet connection if possible. A wireless device might show different results depending on what frequency it uses, so you might see one result on your laptop and another on your phone.
Add or Reset a Password
Just to make sure that you don’t have any freeloaders on your wireless network, it’s a good idea to keep it locked by a password and change that password periodically. This isn’t something you have to do often, just a couple of times a year in case someone in the house gave out the password to a few friends too many.
Replace Hardware
If your router is more than about five years old and causing connection issues, it might be time to consider replacing it. Upgrading to a newer router can give you more security as well as more wireless frequencies to choose from which can then give you better speeds on some wireless devices.
We can provide reliable, high-speed Internet access in your neighborhood. Contact us today to learn what we can do for you!