Router Hacks: How to Speed Up Your Wi-Fi

Want to increase Wi-Fi speed of your router? Try these easy steps today!

Everyone likes to stay connected to high-speed internet these days. 

(Photo: iStock)

Nobody can live without the internet nowadays. Heck, you can’t even read this piece if you’re offline, that’s how vital wireless connectivity has become to us.

You see a drop in your internet speed, and the very next moment you are haggling with your service provider to fix the issue. But that’s not always the case, and chances are, the issue might be at your end and you just haven’t found a way to work around it.

Pretty much everyone has Wi-Fi at their home these days, and we’ve got some tips that will make sure any unwarranted drop in the internet speed can be fixed without shouting out the technician.

Too caught up to read? You can listen to this story instead

So, how do you make internet speeds of your Wi-Fi router faster than what it already gives? Here’s what you need to do.

Follow the Basics

Wi-Fi routers are gadgets but because they transmit radio waves, you need to ensure the router is placed at the right height, without any distractions, that could hinder the internet speed.

Where to Keep the Router

• Center of the house, where radio waves travel most effectively
• Keep the router on top of a shelf or a wall mount, don’t keep it on the floor
• Don’t place the router near other electronics items like fridge or microwave
• Even basic electronics items like power cord or halogen night lamps shouldn’t be anywhere near the router

Make sure you adhere to these rules and you would have won half the battle with increasing the internet speed of your router.

Trust Wireless Signal Repeaters

You might say that keeping the router in the middle of the house results in low reception in rooms that are away from the fixed point of the router. What’s the best to take care of that issue?

Wireless signal repeater is your answer. With this device, you can extend the coverage area of your Wi-Fi, without needing additional wires all around your place. Place the repeater bang in the middle of the router and where you need the coverage to improve. The internet speeds will start improving in no time.

Yep, no rocket science behind this method and it works (we’ve tried it).

Change That Damn Router, Son!

The logic, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it does not necessarily apply in this case. Primarily because, routers are based on varied technologies, and these are upgraded every year. The Wi-Fi standards such as 802.11g means that your router is old and won’t support the latest set of bandwidth speeds. Too much techie stuff?

Old routers mean, your thirst for fast internet speed won’t get over, until you update to a new router. These are generally not very expensive and depending on the size of your house, you’ll be spending anywhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000.

So, which one should you go for? In 2018, you’ll be good with any router that supports 802.11ac, offering speeds at 1Gbps. Also, make sure the Wi-Fi adapter of your PC also matches with the standard of your current router. After all, you’ll be using the internet for computers too, right?

You Have a New Software Update

This is also a crucial part of how your router performs. Brands like Netgear, D-Link and Asus among others keep rolling out new firmware updates for their routers. This is basically done at their end to eke out a little more performance and speed.

If you’ve got a router that has a new set of features then the firmware update is just a click away (like with your Windows update).

But anybody with an old-age router (from the early 2000s) should head over to the website of the router brand, search for the latest firmware (if any), download it manually and install it on your router.