Getting the Best Wi-Fi Signal

Do you have trouble maintaining a strong Wi-Fi signal on your devices? Well, we're here to help with some tips & tricks to get the strongest signal possible in your home.

Physical objects can have a large impact on a wireless signal. Here's how you can avoid them slowing you down.

1. Put large furniture and items against the exterior walls of your residence. Signals may have a difficult time traveling through large items. 
2. Walls will impact your wireless signal. We aren't suggesting that you turn your house entirely open-concept for the best signal, but be aware that walls will have an impact on your signal.
3. Are you near a mirror? Go ahead, check yourself out - you look great! But did you know that reflective surfaces, metals, and TVs can all reflect Wi-Fi signals? This includes the thin metal layer found in most mirrors.
4. Certain household items can also affect your signal. This includes (but is not limited to) baby monitors, wireless cameras, and microwaves. You can still enjoy a fresh bag of popped corn while you stream the latest season of Letterkenny on Crave, but it's best to keep these items away from your router.

Outside of physical barriers and items, there are other factors that can affect your Wi-Fi. 

1. The number of devices you have connected to your network. Having too many devices on your network can slow down your speeds. Turning off devices that aren't being used, or turning off their wireless signal can give your in-use devices faster speeds.
2. What each connected device is doing will affect speeds as well. If every device in your home is streaming Bird Box on Netflix (for some reason), this will have a bigger impact on your speed compared to casual online browsing. Activities like streaming and online gaming will use up a lot more bandwidth than casual online browsing. If your Internet package can't support your online activities, it may be time to speed up to a faster service.
3. Distance from the router. The farther you are from your router, the more your signal will diminish. As noted above, having less physical barriers will let the signal travel farther. If you have just one device that has a poor Wi-Fi signal this can negatively impact the performance of all other devices on your wireless network.
4. Your devices "standard" may impact the speeds it can achieve. If your device has the 802.11b (Wi-Fi 1) or 802.11g (Wi-Fi 3) standard, it will not be able to achieve speeds over 100Mbps. However, devices with the 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard can. Looking at your device's manual or doing a quick online search should clear this up.
5. Optimal placement of your wireless router is the best way to get the most from your wireless service. Putting your router around the middle of your home is a strong starting point to having a great wireless experience, just don't hide it behind your TV.

We hope these tips will help you get the most from your Internet services. If you are ever having issues with your CityWest services, technical support is available 24/7. Just call 1-800-442-8664.

You can also strengthen the wireless signal throughout your home and beyond with a Wifi Enhancer. They are built to keep up with the explosion of new devices entering households. To learn more click here.