BEST INTERNET ROUTER 2018 PROFESSIONAL

The one material most likely to foul up your Wi-Fi signal isn't wood or glass or even concrete. Glass doesn't do much to impede a wireless signal, meaning that a big window might just be letting your Wi-Fi signal spill out into the yard, or right into your neighbor's home. You'll also want to keep your router away from windows. And be wary of denser materials, like concrete or brick, which absorb radio waves far more than regular wood and drywall.Īlthough routers aren't the sort of gadgets we want to put on display, sticking it in a closet or tucking it behind another object will have a negative impact on performance, since you're surrounding it with signal-killing materials. That said, you want to keep the number of walls between your device and your router to a minimum. Thankfully, most building materials will still let a Wi-Fi signal through – wooden beams and drywall won't disrupt the signal too much, and neither does glass. Water is much denser than air, so keep your router away from that aquarium. One Wi-Fi impediment you might not have thought of is water. The ideal situation would let you have a direct line-of-sight between your device and the router at all times, but that's rarely feasible when trying to cover multiple rooms in a home. Radio signals travel best through open air. Cut down on walls, and stay away from windows For a two-story home, the best position will be located either near the ceiling on the first floor, or near the floor on the second, providing consistent coverage both upstairs and down.ģ. If you're in a multistory home, you'll also want to consider how the different floors get covered.

BEST INTERNET ROUTER 2018 PROFESSIONAL

When in doubt, take a page from professional installers, who will place routers on high shelves, or even mount them on the ceiling or high on a wall. Higher positions allow more signal to cover the areas where you actually use your Wi-Fi, and let the router broadcast with fewer objects impeding the signal (more on that in a moment).

Best internet router 2018