How to Improve WiFi at Home: Coverage Tricks That Actually Work
By Carla Serra ·
To improve WiFi at home, the most effective steps are placing the router in a central, elevated spot, away from thick walls and appliances, using the 5 GHz band when you’re close by and the 2.4 GHz band for longer distances, and keeping your equipment updated. With these tweaks and a Wi-Fi 6 router, the signal reaches every corner better.
Why WiFi coverage fails
WiFi doesn’t fail “for no reason”. There’s almost always a physical or configuration cause behind dead zones and drops. Knowing it is the first step to fixing it without overspending.
- Router location: tucked away in a cabinet, in a corner, or sitting on the floor.
- Obstacles: load-bearing walls, mirrors, concrete floors, and metal doors weaken the signal.
- Interference: microwaves, cordless phones, and neighbors’ routers on the same channel.
- Old equipment: an old router doesn’t make the most of today’s fiber speeds.
- Too many devices: phones, TVs, consoles, and smart plugs all competing at once.
Where to place the router to improve the signal
Placement is the free trick with the biggest impact. The router broadcasts the signal in every direction, so it’s best placed in the center of the home and at a certain height.
Basic placement rules
- Put it in a central area, not at one end of the house.
- Raise it up: on top of a piece of furniture works better than on the floor.
- Keep it in the open, out of cabinets and drawers.
- Keep it away from the TV, microwave, and other electronic appliances.
- Position the antennas (if it has any) vertically to spread coverage across the floor.
A change as simple as taking the router out of the corner by the entrance and moving it to the central hallway can transform the experience in the living room and bedrooms.
Bands and channels: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Modern WiFi works on two bands, and each has its moment. Knowing when to use each one avoids a lot of speed problems.
| Band | Range | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4 GHz | Longer, passes through walls better | Lower | Far-off rooms, smart home devices |
| 5 GHz | Shorter, more sensitive to obstacles | Higher | Streaming, video calls, and gaming near the router |
About channels: in apartment blocks, many routers use the same one and interfere with each other. If your equipment allows it, try a less crowded channel on 2.4 GHz (channels 1, 6, and 11 interfere with each other the least). Many Wi-Fi 6 routers pick the best channel automatically.
Quick tricks to extend coverage
Before buying anything, try these tweaks. They’re free and solve most dead zones.
- Restart the router every so often so it renegotiates channels and connections.
- Update the firmware to improve stability and security.
- Change the network name and password to kick off connections you don’t recognize.
- Connect by cable your TV or desktop computer: you free up WiFi for everything else.
- Bring demanding devices closer to the router when making video calls or watching high-resolution content.
When to use extenders, powerline adapters, or mesh networks
If you’ve optimized placement and still have signal-free corners, it’s time to extend the network. There are three routes depending on the size and layout of your home.
- WiFi extender: affordable and easy, ideal for extending the signal to one specific room. It loses some speed.
- Powerline (PLC) adapters: carry the internet through your electrical wiring to another room. Good for different floors.
- Mesh system: several access points that create a single, seamless network as you move around. The best option for large or multi-floor homes.
Common mistakes that make WiFi worse
Sometimes, in trying to improve the signal, we do exactly the opposite. Avoid these common mistakes that affect many homes.
- Hiding the router inside a closed cabinet or behind the TV “so it’s out of sight”: that’s where the signal gets smothered.
- Filling the house with cheap extenders: each hop reduces speed and, if poorly placed, creates more interference.
- Never changing the password: neighbors or forgotten devices could be eating into your bandwidth.
- Placing the extender at the far end of the house, where the signal barely reaches anyway: it should sit halfway between the router and the dead zone.
- Forgetting about cable: for fixed devices, an Ethernet connection will always be more stable than WiFi.
How to know if your WiFi has improved
After making changes, it’s worth measuring to see if they actually worked, rather than just relying on how it feels.
- Run a speed test in different rooms, not just next to the router.
- Check how a video call or a high-resolution video performs in areas that used to struggle.
- Watch stability over a few days: what matters is that there are no drops, in addition to peak speed.
The foundation is everything: Wi-Fi 6 router and symmetrical fiber
Distributing a weak signal well doesn’t get you far. Coverage improves enormously when you start from a solid foundation: symmetrical fiber optic and a modern router. At Floutel, we include a Wi-Fi 6 router with all our symmetrical fiber optic plans at 600 Mb or 1 Gb, designed to spread the signal well throughout the house and handle plenty of devices at once.
Wi-Fi 6 handles the simultaneous connection of phones, computers, TVs, and smart devices better, exactly what a modern household needs. And because it’s symmetrical fiber, you upload content at the same speed you download it: key for video calls and remote work.
If you also want to take your connection outside the home, you can combine your fiber with mobile with 100 GB and 5G on a single bill, with a personal touch and no small print.
Summary to improve your WiFi today
- Place the router centrally and up high.
- Use 5 GHz up close and 2.4 GHz for long distances.
- Switch channels if you live in a crowded building.
- Restart, update, and secure your network.
- Extend with mesh, powerline, or an extender if needed.
- Start from a solid foundation: symmetrical fiber and a Wi-Fi 6 router.
Want help getting WiFi to reach every corner of your home? At Floutel we make it easy from Manresa, with plans from €11/month. Call us on 900 525 523, get your questions answered in our FAQs, or discover our fiber with Wi-Fi 6 router included and feel the difference.
