Getting the most out of your wireless router
Does your wireless router run sluggishly? Are there dead zones in your house? Does your router cover your entire home seamlessly? If you answered no to any of these questions, keep reading and try a few things that are mentioned… you will be surprised what performance you will be able to squeeze out of your router.
One thing to take note of when first setting up your router is its location. Generally speaking, if you want full coverage for your home you will want to centrally locate the router to achieve an even amount of performance throughout the structure. If your router has antenna’s, try changing their position and see what performance boosts you get. Still not getting the desired performance? Maybe it is time to try upgrading your routers antenna [if possible]. Aside from different positions, it could be a firmware issue.
Many routers on the market today allow you to upgrade the firmware [software embedded by the manufacturer] which can also have significant performance boosts. Check your manufacturers website for more information on firmware updates, and remember that a simple Google search with your router model and symptoms might help narrow down whether or not the issues you are experiencing are firmware related.
Quick-Tips:
More Range - Still want more range and coverage? Try purchasing a wireless repeater or upgrading your router Power Settings - Some routers have transmission power settings that can be adjusted, if signal strength is an issue of yours, make sure it is set to 100% or Maximum Broadcasting Channel - do you have neighbors close by? Check to see what channel they are broadcasting on and select a different one to avoid interference with their network. Try using channels 1,6, or 11, as they are non-overlapping channels. If someone near is on channel 6, shoot for 11 or 1. Firmware Upgrade - Check the manufacturers website for step-by-step instructions, can be a definite performance/stability boost Remember - positioning of the router is key; know the limits of your omnidirectional antenna. Your Antenna - try detaching and repositioning or upgrading your antenna [if possible] Check Phone - If its a cordless, and its a 2.4ghz model, then consider your options as Wireless B/G [802.11B/G] run in the 2.4ghz zone as well. Simplest solution is keeping the phones base station as far away from the router as possible.
The above are recommendations for Wireless B/G routers; if you have anything you think I forgot to mention in this overview please feel free to let me know… comments are always welcome. Security will be covered on upcoming posts.
My name is Oliver Fair. I am a freelance computer technician & consultant. I have been working in the field for several years and can attribute my success to always striving for the highest level of customer satisfaction possible.