You may be running on protein, carbohydrates and fat, but the world is definitely running on wifi. So, what can you do when the wifi is weak or without a signal in a certain corner of your smart home? You just take out that possibility from happening if you know what you are doing. We have here our secret formula (of sorts) to make the best all-around wifi set up in your smart home. And we will get to that in a minute but before that, let’s just question the wifi and its part in your smart home and what happens when it fails. 

If you are considering or already own a smart home, you will be aware that the wifi is the most popular choice for the connection protocol for your smart devices, and it is also the one that is ready at hand. It uses radio waves (more on this later) like most other protocols to communicate your command with any of your smart devices and even enables these devices to communicate with each other. Because the wifi is present in almost every household, nearly all smart devices have it as a protocol option. 

Another characteristic of wifi that influences the smart devices manufacturers and homeowners is that they are less expensive than other connection protocols and also the fact that it has now become just an instinct to navigate through. However, wifi is a local area network, and like other radio wave communications, it also has a finite range that is optimal for its communication. A weak wifi connection can disarm your garage from having any smart devices. It won’t be possible for the wifi connection to reach your garage (especially if the area of coverage required is large). Furthermore, weak or insufficient wifi can disrupt your smart home’s daily activities. Therefore here are our 8 ways to build more capacity and strengthen your wifi connection.

8 Ways To Improve Your wifi Connection

2.4GHz Instead Of 5GHz

Let’s go from the very basic and then upwards to more complicated jargon. This means as beginner-friendly as choosing the plan for your wifi. When choosing the plan, remember that the costliest plan may not be the best choice for your unique situation. A higher frequency plan like 5GHz is the right path to take if you require to transfer large amounts of data. But if it is coverage that you seek, then you should go for 2.4GHz. This is because the higher the frequency, the lower the wavelength. Also, higher frequencies have a difficult time penetrating through solid objects. 

Optimum Router Position

More often than not, a weak bandwidth of wifi can be related to the router position. It has become really a normal situation to find households where the router is placed somewhere in the corner or in the cupboard or any other fully enclosed area. This can prevent the best movement of the radio waves. Therefore, position your router in the optimal spot depending upon your smart home. Optimally, your router should be placed in a central spot to easily communicate with the smart devices. Locate smart devices that require large bandwidth near the router, and those requiring small bandwidth can be liberal in their placement. Also, keep the router away from an appliance such as microwave etc., that uses electromagnetic waves (this can disrupt the wifi connection).

Stronger Router

All routers are not the same. The premium the router gets, the more efficient it can be. This is the fact. Also, the router choice would depend on your own unique situation (which is becoming a common theme of the story). In other words, your router choice would depend on how large or small your smart home is. If the area is large, you need to go a little premium and get a router that can pair with repeaters to broadcast signals the farthest. However, if the area is on the smaller side, then you can get away with a simpler router model.

Switch Your wifi Channel

Another way of freeing up your wifi signals is to switch the channel. A wifi channel can be the cause of not responding to signals in smart homes where the neighbour households also use the same wifi connection and router. When the channels are the same in the neighbouring houses, it can interfere with your wifi channel and make the signals convoluted. You can put a stop to this by simply changing the channel. Most routers allow multiple channels. Channel 1, 6 and 11 are some of the best selections as they have the least interference. Also, a higher frequency plan can be the solution if convoluted signals are your problem. 

Stronger Antennas

All the wifi routers come with either internal or external antennas or both. If you use a router without an external antenna, adding it will create a significant difference in the signal. Most manufacturers provide external antennas along with routers that you can plug in. if it didn’t come with one or the one that is present makes no difference, replace it with a much stronger “high gain” antenna. It is also important to keep in mind that antennas can be of two types: omnidirectional (most of the regular antennas, and also the internal antennas fall into this type) and directional antennas. Directional antennas will help you to send strong signals in a particular direction. So, a “high gain directional antenna” is what you want to improve the signal on a particular corner of your smart home.

Mesh Network Kit

If you haven’t heard of mesh networking, it is the practice of connecting two or more routers together to get a much stronger signal in a larger area. A mesh network has wider coverage than what a single router is capable of. This is the best option for homeowners who have multiple devices in various parts of their homes. You can subscribe to a mesh network by bringing home one of the mesh network kits. For installation, you need to connect a unit to your current wifi router spare port and use that to connect with all your primary appliances. The next step is to place the remaining units in the various other parts of your smart home.

Power Line Adapters

The difference between using a wifi extender and a powerline adapter is that power line adapters do not boost the network like the former. But these are cheap equipment to enable wifi extension to different rooms or any shared building where the signal won’t reach. In the case of the different buildings, it should share a power source from the building where the router is connected, for this to work. For installation, connect one adapter to the socket near the router and then use an ethernet cable to connect with the router. Next, connect the second adapter in the socket of the room you want the wifi to reach.

Wifi Extenders

If you have a little more money to put on the Wi-Fi and are not satisfied with the power line adapters, then wifi extenders are the premium choice for you. A wifi extender is also called a repeater or a booster (so don’t be confused by these names). These gadgets are easy to install and even easier to understand. If you want a less hassle-free connection than the powerline adapter, this is your choice.

To Wrap It Up

Wifi is one of the most popular smart home connection protocols out there because it has become a basic necessity for all households. However, weak signals or not so wide coverage can impact your smart devices that are spread across your smart home. So, eliminate such inconveniences by employing any of our secret formulas mentioned above to get the best coverage all around your smart home. 

 If you have further questions or are still a bit confused, “The Smart Hive” has been helping homeowners and builders ensure convenience and efficiency for their smart home with the right daily smart products. 

Equip and build your homes with these security features and witness a shorter sales cycle, more buyers, increased property value and greater customer satisfaction. 

To know more about security devices for your homes, do read our blogs. For any questions, enquiries, feel free to contact us. We are just a call away!

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