Scientists are broadcasting Earth’s location to aliens, YouTube keyboard shortcuts, 8 photos you need on your phone and the surprising things your phone can do when it’s dead. Plus, a survey reveals shocking stats about nudes, how mouse jigglers trick bosses and a Verizon phone scam you need to watch out for.
Where to put your router for better speeds
If you sink a ton of money into a high-performing router, you probably expect it to function perfectly. Though, just buying a good router isn’t enough. You need to put it in the ideal spot to maximize efficiency.
Regarding routers, it’s all about location, location, location. By that, we mean you need to think about anything that could obstruct its signals.
Placing your router in the right spot can maximize the wireless connection throughout your home. Of course, it can be tricky to suss out the best place if you don’t know much about how routers work. Luckily, we have all the answers in this easy guide to placing your router.
1. Pinpoint your central spot
No, this doesn’t mean you should plop your router in the center of your home. You don’t want it in your kitchen or bathroom, for example. (And you absolutely don’t want it in your basement or attic.)
The ideal router placement depends on where you want to get Wi-Fi coverage. If you spend a lot of time in your home office, you should place your router closer to that room than the kitchen. Take a minute to think about all the spaces that use the most internet.
Compare how far away they are from one another and pick the middle point between these spaces. Once you pinpoint this spot, you have a solid starting point. Of course, consider the many barriers your router has to deal with while choosing this center.
2. Remember how your router works
When trying to identify that perfect spot, you must consider all the interferences in your router’s way. For some background, your router creates a computer network that lets you connect several devices to the internet. It manages traffic between all the devices in a network.
If that sounds complicated, think of it as a digital mailman. It delivers packets of data from one gadget to another. It does this through radio waves that transmit the internet to different devices throughout your house.
Walls, ceilings, furniture and other physical obstacles can weaken these signals. That’s why you should try to map the path of least resistance. Instead of putting your router in a cluttered room full of furniture, try to put it in an open space. Whatever you do, avoid metal, brick and concrete; they can block Wi-Fi signals.
3. Try to put your router as high up as possible
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