IT Services For New San Francisco Businesses

Welcome to IPSOFACTO… a magical place of LOVE and I.T. in Downtown San Francisco! joy@ipsofacto.net

Anytime you’re out and about, your smart phone comes out and you want to check stuff out! (Yes, I rhymed out with out… I’m no Seuss, okay?) But you’re trying to save as much data as you can and we’re always on the hunt for WiFi. It’s like the new manna from heaven. Even at home, we want to make sure we can get the best WiFi coverage possible. And to do that, here are some tips to possibly implement so you can have that sweet WiFi spot.

Place your router in a central location

It almost goes without saying, but you want to make sure you place your router in as central a location in your home as possible. Your router’s signal extends out from its antennae’s. If you’re placing it in the corner of your house, you’re only sabotaging yourself.

You might feel like your location is limited because the cable modem you’ve bought from your ISP is stuck in a spot of your home. That might be true, but you can always string Ethernet cables through your house to ensure that your primary WiFi router is right in the center.

There may be some work to put in to acquire this effect. But if you don’t want to (or can’t) get behind your walls, you can always just run Ethernet cable along the ground or ceiling. Secure it to the wall with some handy cable clips to keep it out of the way. There are some great tutorials online for this.

Don’t put your router in a cupboard

Routers may look blocky and unsightly, but that doesn’t mean you should hide them away in a cupboard or cabinet. If you’re wanting the best signal, you’ll need it out in the open. You want it free of any walls and obstructions. If your router’s optimal location is a space without a table or flat surface, look into possible wall mounts for your router. Make sure it’s in the center of your house, so you have the best coverage possible throughout your entire home.

How much does keeping your router out into the open matter? A lot. Without any wooden walls and restrictions, you’ll see a huge difference in coverage and connection. Just go and try it.

Boost your router’s signal with third-party firmware

Another great way to extend your range is to hack your router and install third-party firmware such as DD-WRT or OpenWrt. Not only will you get many great security features and other enhancements to play with, but you might be able to boost your router’s transmitting power. This can be dangerous for your router, but most routers can handle an increase up to 70 mW without causing any issues at all, and you may (9 time out of of 10) get a little performance boost in the process!