Wi-Fi is one of the essential wireless connectivity you can have in your home. If you use Verizon Wireless, you can improve Wi-Fi coverage in various ways, including purchasing a Verizon FiOS Extender. However, this extender is a wireless tool that helps you address how to boost Verizon wifi signal at home. In this article, you will learn many ways to boost the Verizon Wi-Fi signal at home or office.
Wi-Fi signal strength can be so fluctuating. You may have a powerful Wi-Fi signal, and allover a sudden, just a few steps in one direction, it drops to one bar. The unpredictable nature of Wi-Fi networks revolves around many factors that influence their performance, as discussed later in this guideline. If you are experiencing a dead Wi-Fi spot in your house or office, you will get help to improve its performance.
Thus, if you are encountering signal difficulties, you need to look for solutions on how to boost cell signals at home for free to eliminate poor signal and slow connection. Besides, it would help if you look for ways how to upgrade your Verizon Wi-Fi connections.
Interestingly, there are different consumer-friendly ways to boost your Verizon Wi-Fi signal at home. Here, you will learn some practical ways to boost your Verizon Wi-Fi signal, as discussed below.
What Causes Poor Wi-Fi Signal?
Some factors affect Wi-Fi performance, and you need to take a closer look at some of the ways you can improve it.
i) Physical distance
WiFi routers lack the same transmitting capacity as cell towers. Therefore, cheaper routers may be unable to cover a relatively small apartment using a solid Wi-Fi signal. You can check the coverage of your Wi-Fi router with the help of a Wi-Fi analyzer app like NetSpot.
ii) Router capacity
Routers have different power capabilities, and not all routers are equally exact. Precisely, you can’t expect a low-end router to offer reliable wireless connection to a busy office with numerous employees and several office machines, wireless security cameras, and Wi-Fi-connected printers.
iii) Existing internet service provider
Sometimes, you can waste an entire day troubleshooting poor Wi-Fi performance without knowing that your internet service provider is the actual problem. You can connect to the internet via a wired connection and perform an internet speed test to check if your provider is the root cause.
The download and upload speeds should match the speeds advertised by your ISP, and if they don’t, consult your provider.
iv) Obstructions
Wi-Fi signals can partially get absorbed or even entirely blocked by obstacles and objects. These impediments include walls, furniture, ductwork, home appliances, and even people.
Additionally, the said Wi-Fi blockers negatively affect 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks, as higher frequency signals don’t get through solid objects, the same case with lower frequency signals.
v) Interference
Wi-Fi signals carry the same electromagnetic spectrum radio frequency band as cell phones, actual radios, walkie-talkies, microwave ovens, baby monitors, and many other devices.
Similarly, all these can interfere with Wi-Fi signals. Besides, numerous Wi-Fi networks can also interfere with each other, a problem common in apartment buildings and other densely populated areas.
vi) Performance-enhancing features
Modern routers can handle all kinds of outstanding performance-enhancing features, such as Quality of Service, beamforming, Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), and others. However, these features may have to get manually enabled to work, and older routers often can’t support such features.
How Do You Boost Verizon Wi-Fi Signal at Home?
1) Buy a WiFi Repeater/ Booster/ Extender
Wi-Fi repeaters are simple devices that tap an existing signal from your Wi-Fi router and spread it as a new network. Besides, the new network is just an extension of your primary network, and all data that pass through it also pass via the leading network.
Wi-Fi boosters and extenders are the same, and they cost less than $100. These devices work by amplifying the existing signal in addition to rebroadcasting it to create a second network. Wi-Fi boosters take a more excellent range than Wi-Fi repeaters and are ideal when the existing signal is very weak.
If you want to have the best performance when using a Wi-Fi booster or a repeater, getting a Wi-Fi booster app is advisable. This App helps to analyze existing Wi-Fi coverage and gives the optimal way to extend the existing Wi-Fi network.
2) Keep Your Router Updated
Malware attacks are a common occurrence that results in massive losses due to a lack of router updates. The moment malware infects a router; it can attack bandwidth and multiply itself across the network to other devices. Besides, in the absence of dangerous malware, routers with old firmware function worse than routers that get frequently updated.
Follow the guidelines below to check if your router is running the newest firmware.
- Open a web browser on your computer or mobile device and connect to your router’s network.
- Input the IP address of the router into the web browser-if you don’t know the IP address, look if there is any information sticker somewhere on the router.
- Log in using admin username and password- Once more, if you don’t know the correct admin password, check at the information sticker on the back or bottom of your router.
- Choose an option known as Firmware Update or Router Update- there might exist many different routers, which require you to do some digging and detective work to get the right option.
- Wait until your router finds and installs the latest firmware- During this process, never interrupt the update because it may take a long time. You need to give it a few more minutes before disconnecting the router from power and turning it on again.
3) Strong Wi-Fi Password
To avoid Wi-Fi leeches, an encrypted, password-secured Wi-Fi is necessary as many people than ever rely on Wi-Fi. The demand for open, fast Wi-Fi networks is high, and assume that your neighborhood won’t use your Wi-Fi network just because they have their own.
You should secure your Wi-Fi and encrypt it with a strong password that can’t get easily cracked. A strong password entails;
- A combination of symbols, uppercase, and lowercase letters, in addition to numbers.
- Avoid using common passwords, such as 123456, qwerty, and so on.
- The password should be at least eight characters long. Short passwords can be easily get cracked.
- Avoid any personal details in the password, such as your name or your telephone number.
- Have a unique password, and don’t pen it on a piece of paper. You can use a password manager if you can’t remember it.
However, if you have many guests, you can create a separate guest network and either restrict its range or protect it with a unique password and change it regularly.
4) Switch Wi-Fi Channel
There are several Wi-Fi channels through which a Wi-Fi router can broadcast. However, most countries use six non-overlapping channels, and many users have their router set on the default channel, either Channel 1 or Channel 6.
As a result, much Wi-Fi traffic gets experienced due to many packets trying to work on the same line. In this case, the remedy is to find out which channel gets occupied the least and switch to it. You can identify the least used channel using NetSpot, a professionally credited Wi-Fi analysis, and surveillance tool.
When you switch to a new Wi-Fi channel, you need to program your Wi-Fi router to use it by;
- Log in to your router as admin.
- Navigate to Settings and look for Wireless Settings.
- Go to an option called the channel. The chances are that it sets to Auto.
- Choose the desired channel.
- Save the new settings and give time for your router to restart.
You can now check whether your router is broadcasting on the new channel via a Wi-Fi network analyzer such as NetSpot.
5) Switch to 5 GHz
Generally, the 5 GHz wireless frequency offers faster data rates at shorter distances and is usually less busy than the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency. If your Verizon router supports it, consider shifting to it for an instant short-range speed improvement.
How To Boost Your Wi-Fi by Switching Your Router To 5 Ghz:
- Log in to your router as admin.
- Proceed to Settings and launch the Wireless Settings tab.
- Select the 802.11 bands from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz.
- Click apply.
- Restart your router to adjust the new settings.
On the other hand, the downside with the 5 GHz wireless frequency is that it doesn’t penetrate solid objects the same way 2.4 GHz wireless frequency does. This can be a challenge in office buildings and residential areas. Hence, it’s always advisable to use 5 GHz together with 2.4 GHz to experience the best of both sides.
What is the way to Verizon Wifi Extender SetUp?
Verizon offers Fios Extender, which is very convenient for the users, so after purchase, these goods can think that it will be very hard for setting not like that. You can straightforwardly put this Extender. It is better to take place next to your Fios router for better connectivity. You should connect one end of the Ethernet cable from the packaging to the yellow port of the Extender and the other end to the yellow port on the router.
Bottom line
Have you experienced a leggy Wi-Fi connection? If yes, there are several technics that you can use at home to boost the Verizon Wi-Fi signal. This guideline provides practical ways to reduce the poor movement and slow connection of your WIFI connectivity.
If you follow it keenly, you will not only receive the strength of your Verizon Wi-Fi signal but equally experience the most improvement in your internet speed as well.