Slightly Adjusting The Router Position Can Noticeably Improve Signal Reception

Is it a joke? Not at all. In fact your Wi-Fi router can create dark spots with poorer reception in your home depending on your floor plan. You can potentially change these spots by simply nudging your router.

The reason behind this gets into some complex electromagnetic theory, but the gist is that when you pick a spot for your Wi-Fi router, the signal bounces around the rooms of your home. Much like the surface of a still lake.

If you frequently find that a particular device like a TV or desktop is getting consistently poor signal, you can adjust the position of your router. This will cause the signal to broadcast in a different pattern, which can change where these dark spots appear.

If you’re curious how this phenomenon works in your home, the author has created an app that allows you to simulate Wi-Fi signal in your home (provided you bring your own floor plan) to see where these dark spots may appear. This video also demonstrates this effect mapped in three dimensions. While you can’t necessarily control where these dark spots occur due to the complexity of how they appear, it does at least make some sense of why your signal strength can fluctuate so wildly based on seemingly unimportant changes. [via lifehacker]

Read more about improving your Wi-Fi with these 5 easy steps.