How to Improve Your WiFi Speed

This will be a summary post of how to increase your internet speed and optimize your home or apartment for the best possible WiFi setup under your specific circumstances.

1. First thing’s first: What is the maximum speed you are able to get in your current house or apartment? Go check out your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and see what package you are paying for. If you have 1Gbps or “gigabit internet”, than know the absolute best speed you will attain is 1Gbps. If you are paying for 200Mbps, than know that is your maximum under best case circumstances.
2. Check to make sure you are receiving what you are paying for. The only way to truly do this to use an Ethernet cable wired directly from your computer to your Modem (not router) and go to Fast.com or Speedtest.net. With this direct connection, you should come very close to what your ISP has promised you. If not, call them.
3. From this point, almost anything you do will degrade your best possible speed. In order to achieve the maximum internet speeds, you don’t want WiFi at all. Hardwired will always be a faster and more reliable connection than wireless internet. Hardwire meaning using an Ethernet cable rated to carry your maximum bandwidth. No need to buy a cat7 Ethernet cable if you only have 200Mbps Internet. But if you buy a cat5 cable, don’t expect to see that full 1Gbps.
4. Choose what type of WiFi network will be fastest and most optimal for you. Brands like Nighthawk and Google Mesh sound cool, but remember, these are marketing terms meant to sound great and may not be the option for you. As for the types, you have:
   • Single Router – Best for small coverage area and where the router can be in the center of your living area. Good for a 1-bedroom apartment or less. Perhaps a 2-bedroom if the router is in the middle.
   • Router with WiFi Extenders – I will almost never recommend you use these. There are numerous issues from speed degradation to device confusion where your laptops, phones, tvs, and other devices may not know which WiFi device to connect to: router or extender. There are a few scenarios where WiFi extenders could be of value.
   • Mesh WiFi – This newer technology can be useful under certain circumstances and proper technology is purchased. For example, If you have 1Gbps and don’t mind having 200Mbps on your devices that are far away, this could be a good option for when hardwiring is not available and your home is 2,000 to 4,000 or so square feet. There are certain Mesh systems that will degrade speed less, but you won’t achieve the full 1Gbps in those far off rooms.
   • Hub and Spoke Access Point system – This is my favorite. You have hardwired Ethernet to most portions of your home. Then you connect an Access Point to each Ethernet port. It’s scalable to how large your home is. Each access point will receive the full available bandwidth as long as it is wired in your walls with appropriately rated cables. From there, you just need to make sure you purchase an Access Point that supports your desired internet speed.
   • Hardwire Everything. Ethernet cables everywhere. – if stability and speed is your thing, plug it in.
5. Once you’ve decided on your networking setup, it’s very important that you understand what technology the devices you use have inside of them. For example, there is no need to buy WiFi 6 routers if none of your devices currently support WiFi6 and you don’t plan on purchasing one in the near future. Another example, very few phones are capable of actually receiving 1Gbps over WiFi, so don’t expect it. It’s also worth noting there is likely nothing you will do on your phone that you would need 1Gbps.
6. Optimize what you have. Here are a few tips:
   • 2.4GHz vs 5GHz. – These are two different WiFi bands broadly available in market. 6GHz is coming out, but if you are reading this post, this is probably not applicable to you just yet. 2.4GHz bands are better for further away communication and are available on older devices. 5GHz allows for higher speeds but you must be within a closer range. Determine whether you want to split your wifi into WiFiName2 + WiFiName5 or have both channels under the same name. If you are having trouble getting connection from a distance, it might benefit you to switch to separate networks and force your far-away-device onto the 2.4GHz network.
   • Make sure your current cables and networking devices are sufficient for your available speeds. Don’t use cat5 cables where you want 1Gbps connections. Don’t use a router that in the fine print only supports up to 300Mbps if you want higher. (Yes, that fine print is hard to find.) Ensure you are on 5GHz band if you want gigabit internet.
   • Try changing wireless channels. If you are in a large apartment building, it’s highly possible there are many competing signals flying around you. See if you can force your router onto other channels that could have less interference.
   • Device placement. Yes, WiFi waves can go through walls and floors, but they work better when they don’t have to!
   • Know the facts. If you are using a wireless extender, you will not achieve your fastest internet speeds.

I plan to have further, in depth articles that go into each of these points. In the meantime, let me know where you still need help in the comments or Contact Me.