How to Extend Wi-Fi Range on the CHEAP

The Art and Science of Wi-Fi Range and Speed

When it comes to Wi-Fi range and speed, there are several factors at play that can affect how well your router performs in different areas of your home. As we demand faster speeds for high-definition streaming, gaming, and file transfers, simply slowing down our Wi-Fi to make it go farther is not a viable solution. Instead, we need to explore other strategies to improve our Wi-Fi connectivity.

One trick that actually works fairly well is to focus the Wi-Fi signal in one direction. A typical home router has omnidirectional antennas that transmit the signal evenly in all directions, creating a big doughnut shape. However, if your router is at one end of your house and your couch is at the other, it's not the best setup. Instead, you can use something called a patch antenna, which looks like a big flat panel and sends the signal out in one direction. They're more common in commercial settings or at trade shows, but there's nothing stopping you from sticking one on the side of your house to blanket your backyard with a strong Wi-Fi signal.

Another trick that's built into some Wi-Fi standards is the use of a long guard interval. This means that between short parts of the transmission called symbols are short time intervals before the next symbol is sent. These guard intervals are there to cut down on interference between symbols, so if they're short you get more data, but if they're long you get less interference and therefore longer range at the expense of some speed. Wi-Fi 6 is introducing extra long guard intervals for outdoor use, where ranges often need to be longer.

In addition to these technical tricks, cutting down on interference in other ways can also make a difference. You can do this by using narrower channels, such as 40 megahertz instead of 80 on the 5 gigahertz band. Additionally, making sure that you don't have unnecessary transmissions flying around your house, like from baby monitors or Bluetooth devices that you're not actually using, can also help. This one can make more of a difference than you might think, as it's a huge part of how wired Ethernet has gotten faster over time.

However, other than the tips we've mentioned in this video, I wouldn't expect too much new tech in the near future that can extend Wi-Fi range without adding more antennas. Speed and range are always going to be balancing acts, so you have to pick do you want the Baconator or do you want to lose weight and feel good? You only get to pick one.

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If you have any suggestions for a future video on fast Wi-Fi or just want to let us know that we're doing something right, leave a comment below. And don't forget to subscribe - it's worth it, I promise.