How Wi-Fi works

The principle of operation of wireless computer networks is based on conversion and transmission/reception of radio signal in certain frequency range. For full-fledged work, at least two participants are required - router and smartphone. After they are synchronized on one of the frequencies, the user performs an action, for example, opens the browser and enters search query, after which the smartphone converts the information into radio signal and transmits it. The router receives the smartphone signal, transforms it and transmits it to the provider, which provides Internet access. And then everything happens in reverse order. This is how cyclic data exchange is carried out, which is the principle of Wi-Fi and the Internet as a whole.

Reasons for Internet speed decrease and blind areas

Wi-Fi can function correctly as long as stable connection between devices is implemented, which unfortunately is not always the case. Often the data rate and coverage range are reduced. There can be many reasons for this:

  • Installing the router in the wrong place
  • Long distance from router to device. Especially relevant for rooms over 60 m²
  • Obstacles in the form of concrete walls, furniture, mirrors
  • Presence in apartment and neighbors of equipment operating at the same frequencies: robotic vacuum cleaners, TVs, wireless keyboards, mice, gamepads, speakers, smart lamps, etc.
  • Insufficient power and incorrect antenna directivity
  • Simultaneous connection of large number of users

In world of modern technology, there are no unsolvable tasks, so you can achieve effective Wi-Fi at home without involvement of specialists.

Effective ways to provide good Wi-Fi in apartment or small house

Sometimes problems with Wi-Fi occur even in small rooms. It can be an office of any company, spacious studio apartment, small private house and even two-room apartment, if we talk about layout of the old model. It would seem that there is router, everything works, but as soon as you go to the kitchen or go out to the balcony, connection disappears. Next, we will look at basic methods that will help get rid of blind spots and increase efficiency of home or office wireless network, subject to small rooms - up to about 60 m².

Coverage dependence on power of transmitter in router

Effectiveness of Wi-Fi largely depends on router itself, or rather transmitter in it. Its power in most cases is 20 dBm, which is sufficient for stable and uniform signal propagation in absence of complex barriers - load-bearing concrete floors. The exception is gaming routers, where power rating can reach 30 dBm. Often, manufacturers allow you to change transmitter strength in router settings, although experts recommend resorting to such adjustments only if you have necessary experience and knowledge. Unfortunately, if power of router is not enough, then this can only be changed by purchasing new equipment. However, there are a number of ways that can help in certain situations.

Popular gaming routers

Choosing the right place for installation

When creating their ideal interior, users often resort to hidden installation of the router - they hide it in furniture, pantry, under table. Undoubtedly, this way you can visually hide all the wires, but this also leads to decrease in efficiency of network equipment. Router receives and distributes radio signal, the range of which is significantly reduced when passing through obstacles - wooden panels, doors, concrete walls.

You can see the dependence of signal level on obstacles of various types in the table. These are approximate values given for 2.4 GHz network.

Dependence of effective distance of the radio signal on obstacles:

Let Additional Loss (dBm) Effective Distance*
Open space 0 100%
Window without tinting (no metallized coating) 3 70%
Window tinted (metallized coating) 5 - 8 50%
Wooden wall and furniture 10 thirty%
Interior wall (15.2 cm) 15 – 20 15%
Bearing wall (30.5 cm) 20 - 25 10%
Concrete floor/ceiling 15 – 25 10 - 15%
Monolithic reinforced concrete floor 20 - 25 10%

Let's look at an example. Average signal range of router is 150 m, but what happens when it is installed in cabinet or shelf? Then the efficiency will be 150x0.3 = 45 m. And when passing through the concrete wall in future, istance will be reduced to 45x0.1 = 4.5 m. It is immediately clear that the chance of interacting with router from another room is not very great.

Let's figure out where it is best to install router. Optimal place will be from where direct visibility opens in all directions, i.e. there are no obstacles of any kind. The main task is to reduce number of obstacles in the signal path.

In two-room apartment, corridor is considered such a place, since it is connected to all other rooms through doorways through which the signal will freely propagate throughout the area. Depending on layout, you can also install router on computer desk or cabinet. If rooms and additional rooms (bathroom, kitchen) are separated by ordinary (non-load-bearing) wall, then signal will be strong enough everywhere. In the case of private house, corridor may be the worst option, because, on the contrary, it is separated from the rooms. Corridor in the house usually leads to hallway, which is the center. Depending on layout, it is necessary to find optimal central point from which signal will diverge with passage of maximum of one obstacle.

Choosing optimal position and power of antennas

Antennas are responsible for transmitting and receiving signal, ability to overcome various obstacles. The quality of coating directly depends on their characteristics. They can be internal(built into the case) or external. In second case, there are removable and non-removable modifications. First you need to decide on their power, which is measured in dBi (dBi) - isotropic decibel. Do not confuse this parameter with the amplifier of router itself (dBm). Transmitter in equipment and antennas have one purpose - data exchange with equipment, but the latter simply allow you to expand effective interaction zone, and do not form signal. Typically, manufacturers equip home routers (low-cost class) with low-power antennas of 2 - 5 dBi (exact numbers can be found in the device's passport). With such indicators, radio signal can completely attenuate even after passing one load-bearing wall.

Routers with internal antennas

To check in practice level of Wi-Fi signal in every corner of apartment, you can use one of the applications for your smartphone, for example, Wifi Analyzer. What should an ordinary user do if coverage radius turned out to be small and there are blind spots? Solution is simple - replace factory antennas with more powerful ones. In case of built-in and non-removable options, it will not be possible to do without the help of specialist with soldering iron. Yes, and you can forget about guarantee, since manufacturers do not approve of opening the case and intervention of this kind. But with removable antennas, everything is much simpler, replacing them is not difficult, and the stores are full of options for 6 - 12 dBi, which should be enough for small rooms.

However, even the most advanced transmitter can be ineffective if it is not properly tuned. Directionality of antennas plays important role in formation of Wi-Fi zone. It is best to place them vertically so that the signal propagates parallel to the floor. Using any tilt angles will result in signal loss, which can be clearly seen in the following picture.

Wi-Fi antenna directional diagram.

By following simple steps, you can significantly improve radio signal level and coverage area in apartment or house.

Setting protection and restricting access

Software configuration of router is also important. After installation, the first thing to think about is security of your home network and restricting access to outsiders. Why do it? Let's say your Wi-Fi hotspot is not secure, then everyone can connect to it. Load will grow, traffic will be distributed among the participants, which will lead to slowdown in speed of exchange with your devices. Low-cost routers are not distinguished by performance, so even 5 active devices connected at the same time can cause processor overheating and crashes.

To avoid such situations, you must select one of the security types (best option for home is WPA/WPA2 Personal PSK) and set strong connection password. In this way, you can create secure local area network that only dedicated will have access to.

But what if family is large and number of connected devices exceeds capabilities of router and Internet provider? In this case, you can use bandwidth limit for all network members. This functionality is not available in all routers, but in most for sure.

Configure speed limit for users.

This will allow you to distribute traffic between all gadgets depending on your needs.

Using wired ports of the router

In order not to create additional load on Wi-Fi channel, you must use wired connection. Most routers are equipped with RJ-45 ports, with which you can create stable cable connection with equipment that has the appropriate connector - laptops, PCs, smart TVs, media players. This will unload and speed up wireless Wi-Fi.

Lan ports in router.

Selecting connection channel

If you live in apartment building, then you have definitely encountered problem of poor Wi-Fi signal. This is due to the fact that home appliances ( TV, robot vacuum cleaner, game consoles, TV-BOX, smart lights, portable speakers) use the same 2.4 GHz frequency band. If there are such devices in apartment or at the neighbors, radio interference can be created.

There is also way out of this situation. In router settings, you can set specific working channel (selected automatically by default), which will eliminate interference and ensure stable connection for all gadgets. Usually 11 - 13 channels are available to the user, depending on manufacturer and firmware version.

Choice of channel and its width.

If wireless signal is not strong enough in the far corners of apartment, then you can try to strengthen it by setting channel width to 40, 80, 160 or 320 MHz, depending on Wi-Fi generation. It all depends on router capabilities. This will increase the power of transmitter, but in this case, connection with gadgets that are in close proximity to the router may fail. It's a paradox, but increased signal level can interfere at close range. In this case, you need to change the parameter to 20 MHz or trust the equipment in "Auto" mode.

Use 5 GHz frequency

Back in 2009, with advent of Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) standard, users had the opportunity to use two frequencies for wireless connection at once - 2.4 and 5 GHz. But the real practical application has been swinging for a long time, as manufacturers were in no hurry to release gadgets with support for the 5 GHz band.

Popularity and high demand of frequency has evolved in recent years due to the emergence of large number of various technologies using 2.4 GHz channel for remote control. This resulted in interference, Wi-Fi blind areas, and reduced internet speeds.

Since 2014, the Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) standard has emerged, bringing even greater speed and stability to users. But it only works at frequency of 5 GHz, so only compatible devices will be able to connect to such router. Manufacturers began to mass-produce smartphones, tablets, laptops and, of course, routers with 5 GHz support, which made it possible to separate and unload channels.

The problem is especially relevant for apartment buildings, since every family has enough wireless devices. In this case, to connect to Wi-Fi, it is better to use 5 GHz frequency, which has several advantages:

  • Faster transfer rates: up to 600 MB/s for Wi-Fi 4 and up to 7 GB/s for Wi-Fi 5
  • Optimum coverage range: about 100 m for Wi-Fi 4 and 30 m for Wi-Fi 5, greatly reducing chance of interference from nearby devices
  • Increased channel width: 20/40 MHz for Wi-Fi 4 and 20/40/80/160 MHz for Wi-Fi 5
  • Does not overlap with 2.4 GHz frequencies, so there is no interference

All these advantages allow you to create stable and really high-speed Wi-Fi connection. If your router is capable of operating at frequency of 5 GHz or combined 2.4 / 5 GHz connection, and your mobile gadgets are compatible with this standard, then it is recommended that you use this particular communication protocol to access Internet.

Dual-band routers (2.4 and 5 GHz)

How to provide good Wi-Fi in large rooms

If the area of apartment or house is more than 60 m², then methods listed above most likely will not help, although they remain relevant. It also depends on the layout.

Modern two-story townhouses, spacious studio apartments, large mansions and country villas require very different approach when creating effective Wi-Fi zone. Manufacturers offer new generation solution - Mesh systems, as well as repeaters (amplifiers) known to everyone.

Mesh-system is fundamentally new approach, which was previously used only in business due to high cost. Manufacturers are now offering affordable options for home, such as TP-LINK Deco M4 or Asus ZenWiFi XD4 Plus.

Modern Mesh system has set of advantages that are not available when using conventional routers:

  • Eliminate blind areas
  • Stable signal level and Internet speed anywhere in coverage area
  • No disconnection when moving around the house and switching between points (names can be different - satellites, nodes, nodes)
  • One network name (SSID) and password for all nodes
  • Fast synchronization between satellites without complicated settings
  • Dedicated communication channel within the system is immune to interference
  • Multi-user connection
MESH systems

How it works? In essence, Mesh is an independent system with main gateway (main device) and additional satellites (nodes). Provider's cable is connected to the gateway, and one-time network settings are configured. Nodes are placed evenly over the entire area of premises, floors, creating effective coverage area. Next, all devices are synchronized into single system. User connects to access point, enters password and gets access to the local network and Internet in any part of the room. Main feature is the seamless connection. When moving around the house or apartment, there is an automatic seamless switching between nodes. This is especially important during webinars, video calls, online games, as the connection will not be lost even for a second. Another advantage is independent communication channel between satellites, which differs from 2.4 GHz, so there is no signal interference from home appliances.

Reliability and effectiveness of Mesh has been proven over the years, but pricing is still major concern for home use. Therefore, users often resort to simpler and more cost-effective options with repeater (other names are transponder, signal repeater, amplifier, coverage expander).

With the help of repeater, you can significantly expand coverage area. For example, in two-story house, router can be installed on the first floor, and repeater on the second. This will ensure full Wi-Fi coverage on both floors, eliminating appearance of dead zones after the signal passes through several walls. However, this method has its drawbacks:

  • Setting up repeater can be tricky for beginner
  • In fact, these are two (or more, depending on the number of repeaters used) separate networks, each of which has its own name (SSID) and needs to be configured
  • Switching occurs with disconnection
  • Susceptible to radio interference

In most cases, these shortcomings will not matter much to user, unless you run around the house with tablet turned on online.

There is another type of network equipment designed to expand Wi-Fi coverage - PowerLine adapters. Essence of the work is the use of house electrical wiring for signal transmission. Multiple adapters can function simultaneously in system. Main (basic) module is connected to the router via network cable through LAN port. Adapter plugs into an outlet. Its task is to convert signal into electrical and redirect it through the wiring. Receiver adapters are also connected to the outlet, but already in those places where you need to provide Wi-Fi zone. They convert electrical signal into familiar radio wave and distribute it to all connected gadgets. On the one hand, everything seems simple, but this is only under ideal conditions. In practice, there are always factors that affect the efficiency of work:

  • Old in-house wiring with branches and twists can cause disconnections and slowdowns
  • Some electrical appliances can cause significant interference, such as microwave ovens
  • In the event of voltage fluctuations in mains, there is a risk of failure of adapter and equipment connected to it via a cable
  • Incompatibility of adapters with uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors due to signal transformation

Good repeater can be purchased for $30, Mesh system or set of PowerLine adapters will cost about $100. Which way to choose depends solely on user.

Router reference - main characteristics and capabilities

Good router is quite capable of providing stable high-speed Wi-Fi connection, at least with small area of \u200b\u200bthe room (up to 60 m²). To do this, it must have certain capabilities both in hardware and in software:

  • At least two external detachable antennas with approximately 9 dBi gain
  • Availability of LAN ports for creating wired connection
  • Simultaneous operation at frequencies of 2.4 and 5 GHz
  • Multi-user connection support
  • Ability to select channel and its width
  • Availability of bandwidth settings for connected devices

If all the above methods did not help, you should think about buying right network equipment. However, even the most advanced routers will not be able to cover large areas, so in this case, best helpers will be amplifiers, PowerLine adapters and Mesh-systems