The Number One Hack

Don’t get sucked into the Mesh Network Fad.

Mesh networks may (in some cases) be easier to setup up… but they are NOT faster. Every signal in a mesh network needs to be caught and repeated down the chain.

The best way to speed up your Wi-Fi if you need extra signal is to make sure all your access points are connected to your network via wires.

Wires will always be faster than wireless, so if your wireless device is connected to an access point that is connected to your network via a wire, instead of a mesh network, it will always have the strongest connection.

So if you’re in a home that needs multiple access points to ensure strong signal, think about how you can get wires to those location.

Basements & Attics are easy ways to move network hardlines long distances across larger houses.

Small holes in floors or closet ceilings, even if you have no experience moving wires through walls, can help you get the access point to where you want it and where it can do the most good for you.

If you’re not a fan of DIY, hire a professional media contractor or electrician to help set up those lines or move them through walls.

If your home is on the newer side, the telephone wires that were run may actually be Category 5 wire, capable of carrying telephone OR network signals. If you’re not using the telephone wires in your home, convert them to network wires by converting the jacks at both ends.

Hack #2 – Understand the Placement in Your Home

Wi-Fi is a radio signal… and it works like a bubble. It’s three dimensional, in all directions, radiating from the center… the source… the access point or Wi-Fi combo router.

If you’re like a majority of Americans, you’re using equipment given to you by your cable company. Cable installers normally make their lives easy, and install the Wi-Fi next to a tv or at the earliest point in the house they can. A TV Room, or a basement access room - maybe a bedroom if you’re lucky. But these rooms are normally off to the side or edge of the house.

If you’re going to try to run Wi-Fi in your house with only a single device,

make sure that the device is dead center in the middle of your house for the best chance of reaching all corners. Start by looking at a top-down view of your floorplan. That means if you're in a ranch, run wires through the basement and find a hall closet or cabinet in the center of the house. It also means if you’re in a three-story house, start with something in the middle of the second floor.

Use tester apps on your cell phone, like WiFi Analyzer for Android. Check your signals, and if you find dead zones, it means you may need more than one access point.

Runner Up (Honorable Mention)…

Not really a “Hack” --- Upgrade Your Device

Wifi 6 is a new standard, and is the fastest way to connect via Wifi. Think of it like 5g on your cell phone. If your device is older than three years, it likely isn’t Wifi6. If you’re using older equipment provided by your cable company, call them up and see if you’re eligible to upgrade. If you’re paying your cable company every month for equipment they provided, buy your own.

Which leads me to…

Bonus Hack – You Get What You Pay For

Equipment provided by the cable company is given to you so they can make more money off of you. That means they will give you hardware that fits into their bottom line, not necessarily the best to keep you safe or deliver the best service.

Buy your own cable modem, and stop paying the cable company every month for their equipment.

This could save you hundreds of dollars every year, creating a budget for you to buy better hardware than the cable company would provide.

Use that extra money to consider buying corporate grade hardware, like a corporate grade firewall that can keep you safe and protected,

and wifi equipment that will produce stronger signals and faster speeds.

Bonus hack #2

Understand Your Surroundings and Noise Pollution.

If you live in more urban areas or if you can see your neighbor’s home, then you can see their Wi-Fi, and that means there’s a chance it’s interfering with yours.

Think of walkie talkies when you were a kid. Some of them had channels. If two walkie talkies were on the same channel they could talk to each other. If they weren't on the same channel, they couldn’t hear each other.

In the case of Wi-Fi, your device scans all the available channels, and when you connect to your Wi-Fi, it locks in on that channel.

But if someone next door is using the same channel, then you’ll hear their conversations, and you’ll have to wait for their conversation to be over before having your own.

So in the case of Wi-Fi, you want your own channel for your house, and you want the neighbors to have a different one. Most devices attempt to be smart, and find less-used channels, but the devices are only as smart as their programming, so sometimes not that good.

Use tools like the already recommended Wi-Fi Analyzer and check the signals around you and what channels they are on. Then adjust your device to alternative channels manually, and you might get clearer communication with your devices. And don’t worry, once you change the access point, the devices will follow to that new channel all on their own.