If you don’t tune and tweak your home WiFi often, you will find it as reliable and predictable as the weather!
Read on to find the best WiFi productivity boosts, going by our unruffled mission – having a reliable, fast WiFi is a key to a happy home!
🧩 First, for those on Wifi-5 – is the 6 Ghtz WiFi upgrade worth it or should I wait for Wifi 7?
In short, if your current internet has no real issues – it is not worth the Wifi 6 upgrade, instead you could even wait for Wifi 7. Wifi 6 has ability to manage more devices, has lower latency but has a lower range as well. And you might not notice the difference with the upgrade as many devices are still Wifi 5 only.
❇️ Most important troubleshooting tip
As legendary Peter Drucker said, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
👉 For speed testing, use apps like Speedtest or websites like Speedtest.net or Google Speed Test on the browser.
So, the very first step to boost your Wifi, is to measure the speed in different areas:
• Plug your device directly to your provider’s router using a physical ethernet cable and test the speed. If the speed is a lot slower than your internet plan, then you need to call your internet provider and have them troubleshoot the external line.
• Use the speed test apps at different areas in the house. If you have major blind spots, it is better to have a mesh router close by or use the hard-wired Wireless Access Point vs going for Wifi extenders. I prefer mesh routers over wireless access point – they provide a ton of convenience and less management overhead. Typically, in a single family home – having a mesh router at each floor works well.
• Measure the speed with different devices. Sometimes, the issue is local to the device vs the Wifi.
So, here are the Wifi speed hacks you can use to get your internet into mint condition. You should repeat these steps once in a while.
#1 Choose right Wi-Fi channel:
Ensure that you are using the right Wi-Fi channel with lowest congestion. This issue is more important when you are in apartments type buildings with a lot of other Wi-Fi networks in close vicinity.
👉 For Windows users, you can use a Wi-Fi analyzer app to find the appropriate Wi-Fi channel. For Mac users, you can use the native ‘Wireless Diagnostics’ app for this purpose.
#2 Use your own powerful router:
Always use your own powerful router equipment, rather than relying on your WiFi provider’s equipments.
#3 Use passthrough mode:
When you use your own routing device, use the passthrough mode to negate the inefficiencies of double NAT-ing. This requires you to be little tech-savvy.
#4 Ensure you are not connected to old 2.4 Ghtz band
Sometimes, the devices connect to the old 2.4 Ghtz band instead of the newer 5/6/7 Ghtz depending upon your router. Most of today’s devices should get auto-connected to the newer, faster bands but sometimes the devices could wrongly downgrade to a lower band. 2.4 Ghtz has higher range but works at a diminished speed due to collisions with other devices at home which work at similar frequency. Here’s how you check where you are connected currently on your device:
👉 On your Mac, you can click Option key on Wi-Fi icon to know your frequency. On Windows, you can click on Wi-Fi properties to see the info.
#5 Use a mesh network router:
When it comes to routers, I am a big fan of mesh router vs traditional ones. Here are the advantages. If you live in a big house, buy a mesh system of 3 or more devices, I like the Deco Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers a lot.
#6 Have latest Wi-Fi equipment from your provider:
Whether you are using Comcast’s router or AT&T’s gateway, call your internet provider and ensure you have the latest equipment from them.
#7 Power cycle your modem and router every month:
Just plain-old modem and router reboot once in a while helps to clear any unwarranted digital residue.
👉 You can use a smart switch like this to connect your modem and router and create a monthly routine to do it once and forget.
🧘♂️ Unruffled Life Pro Tip
Ever heard of ‘A Wealth of Common Sense‘?
Renowned financial guru Ben Carlson’s highly acclaimed book is a must-read for all.
As always, stay rich and unruffled!
Disclaimer: The intent behind this post & any other material on this portal is to help our readers cultivate total wealth of health, money, time & social life (in that order) – essentially amplifying the joy and contentment in life. None of the content substitutes professional financial, tax, legal, health, home care or any other kind of advice. Please perform your own due diligence before acting on any of the ideas & material shared here.
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