March 17, 2023
Losing your wifi signal in certain areas of your house? We know how frustrating that can be, whether you're trying to work from home, stream your favorite shows, or find your perfect video game setup.
Here, we'll explain what causes wifi dead spots and share tips you can use to improve connection on your home wifi network.
What causes dead spots on a Wifi network?
Wifi dead spots can be caused by physical barriers in your house, like walls or refrigerators, along with the distance between your router and the area where you want to get signal. Even the material of these blockades impact your wifi signal strength. For example, dry wall can reduce speed up to 50 percent, while a concrete barrier can put a complete halt on any signal trying to pass through.
Find Your Wifi Dead Spots
Follow these steps to trouble shoot your network and pinpoint those wifi dead zones:
- Ensure your wifi router is centrally located in your home.
- Download a signal mapper such as NetSpot or Ekahau heat maps to identify areas of poor or weak signal.
- Optimize your home wifi setup. Not sure how? Keep reading or check out Cox Panoramic Wifi for fast, wall-to-wall coverage in every part of your home.
Tips to Troubleshoot Wifi Dead Spots
First, find a central and elevated location for your wifi router. Remember that your wifi network signal is strongest when it's in direct line-of-sight of your devices. So remove any obstructions between your router and any connected smart technologies.
Experiment with the Position of Router Antennas
Antenna position can affect how signal bounces around in your home. No two houses are the same, so it will take some experimentation to position them optimally.
Try Another Broadcast Channel
Sometimes, default broadcast bands can become saturated in areas where many signals are present. This is especially true in apartments or houses in close proximity to each other, where there are multiple home networks overlapping.
To help mitigate wifi dead zones, experiment with switching the broadcast channel of the router to bands with less competition. You can do this typing in the IP address located on your router, or a custom one you set, and using your username and password to log into the router settings page. Then open the wireless settings to test out different channels.
Make Sure You Update Your Router
Has it been a few years since you received a router for your wifi network? Then your device might not be equipped with the latest firmware from the manufacturer. Ensure equipment is updated to maximize your experience and avoid wifi dead spots.
Use Wifi Range Extenders and Signal Boosters
Some homes are simply too large or obstructed to receive ample coverage from a single device. If your home is spread out across floors or surrounded by signal blockers, such as cement obstructions, consider adding our Panoramic Wifi Pods to extend the coverage of your wifi footprint.
Learn how to extend your wifi network range and get coverage anywhere in your home.
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