- Do you want faster WiFi?
Of course you do, everyone does.
But is there really anything you can do
to speed up your WiFi?
Yes.
In this video I'm gonna share four practical tips
to speed up your WiFi.
Before I get to the WiFi tips
we have to talk about ethernet.
Using the ethernet cable is not using WiFi
but it's ultimately the fastest speed
you're ever going to get out of your internet connection.
It's not always practical to have
long ethernet cables running all throughout your house,
but you could consider having a contractor
install an ethernet jack into the wall
of your bedroom or office.
You can use apps like Angi or Thumbtack
to find a local professional who could do this.
I installed ethernet jacks at my house.
I use it at my desk, and I enjoy blazing fast internet.
But even if you aren't able
to install ethernet at your house
it's still important to have fast,
reliable WiFi for your phones,
tablets, Smart TVs, and other IOT devices.
So, what are the best ways to increase your WiFi speed?
Here are four tips to consider.
The first tip is to check your router's
channel settings and DNS settings.
These are two settings that directly impact
the speed of your WiFi connection.
It's important to note that your ISP provided router
may not let you change these settings,
so stay tuned to the end of the video
for recommendations on router upgrades.
Your WiFi router broadcasts a signal
within a range of channels,
if other networks nearby are using the same channels
there's going to be interference.
You can think of it like radio,
each radio station uses a different unique frequency
so they don't interfere with each other,
your WiFi acts in a similar way.
You can scan all your local WiFi channels
using Wireless Diagnostics for Mac
or WiFi Analyzer for Windows.
This tool will allow you to see
which WiFi channels your neighbors are using
so you can pick a unique channel for your network.
And while you're in your router settings,
I would also recommend switching your DNS server.
The default DNS settings are often slow
so I would recommend changing your DNS servers
to 1.1.1.1
and 1.0.0.0.1,
these are proprietary DNS servers from CloudFlare
and they're way faster.
The second tip is to check
which WiFi speed you're paying for.
To do this,
log into your internet service providers dashboard
and look at your plan.
There will be an advertised download speed
and it's important to note
that you're probably not gonna see
an advertised upload speed,
this is because unless you have a fiber connection
the upload speed is typically pretty slow,
so your download speed is what
you should be concerned about.
Once you've identified your advertised WiFi speed,
take an ethernet cable and connected to a device
and run a speed test,
you can do this using speedtest.net,
and if the speed you're getting
is less than 70% of your advertised speed,
call your internet service provider and let them know
because there may be a problem with your connection.
And if you're in the US
and you're getting terribly slow speeds,
you can actually file a complaint with the FCC
and they can work with your ISP
to make sure you can get speeds closer to what's advertised.
And if the advertised speed you pay for
is less than 250 Mbps,
you should consider upgrading to a faster plan.
The third tip is an easy change that anyone can try
and it's to move your router to a better location.
If it's currently located in a cabinet or small closet
move it into an open space if possible.
Sometimes it's not possible to move your router
depending on where the internet connection
comes into your house
but if you have any flexibility with location
get it out of tight spaces and move it into an open area.
You may need to buy a longer ethernet cable to do this
so we'll have what I would recommend linked below.
And that brings us to the last tip
and this may be the most important tip in this video,
and that's to avoid using your ISP provided router.
Unless you've purchased your own router
there's a good chance you're using a router
your internet service provider gave you.
Oftentimes you're gonna be charged
an equipment rental fee for this,
but even if they're not charging you anything extra
you really don't want to be using your ISP router.
These are cheap, one-size-fits-most routers
that are not gonna be a good setup for a lot of houses.
Houses all have different square footages
and number of floors and floor layouts,
and just having one single router
sometimes may not be the best setup for your house.
At a minimum, purchasing your own router
is likely gonna save you money
so you don't have to pay that equipment rental fee.
But it's very likely that if you use your own equipment
and ditch the ISP router
you're gonna see significant improvements.
So you might be wondering which WiFi router
you should be using.
If you go to Amazon and search for WiFi router
you're gonna find thousands of options
ranging from $30 to hundreds of dollars.
So, how do you know which one is right for you?
First, make sure you understand
the different WiFi standards.
You're likely gonna see routers advertising speeds
with numbers like AC1200 or AX3000,
these letters refer to different WiFi standards.
AC is short for 802.11AC,
which is also known as WiFi 5.
AX is short for 802.11AX,
which is also known as WiFi 6
or sometimes WiFi 6E,
the numbers refer to a maximum advertised speed
the WiFi router can deliver.
These numbers can be deceptive though,
in this example with this AX3000 number,
if you look at the description
you'll actually see that the 5 GHz network
can deliver a maximum of 2,402 Mbps
and the 2.4 GHz network can deliver
a simultaneous 574 Mbps of bandwidth.
So when you combine the two, they're 3000
but your device is only gonna connect
to one network or the other.
So the fastest possible speed this router
can provide is actually 2,402 Mbps.
Also, you need to consider how many of your devices
actually support WiFi 6.
Right now, WiFi 6 is a relatively new standard
meaning not many devices support it.
You can't connect old devices to WiFi 6 routers
but they're not gonna be able to take advantage
of the fastest speeds and the benefits of WiFi 6.
So you have to ask yourself
if it's really worth paying the extra money
to get the WiFi 6 standard
when a lot of your devices probably aren't
gonna be able to take advantage of it.
But I will say that I'm a fan
of future proofing your network,
so if you're going to invest in a router,
WiFi 6 routers aren't that much more expensive
than WiFi 5 options.
And if you're buying a Mesh Networking System
you definitely should be buying WiFi 6 Mesh devices.
This is because they communicate
with each other using WiFi 6
so that connection, if nothing else,
is going to make for a much better WiFi experience.
But how do you know if you need a Mesh Networking System?
Well, if your house is less than 1500 square feet,
I'd say you'll be fine with a single router.
This TP-Link AX1800 router supports gigabit speeds
and will give you a much better WiFi experience
for under a hundred dollars.
The AX means that it supports WiFi 6
and if we look in the description
we see that it supports 1200 Mbps on a 5 Ghz network
and 574 Mbps per second on a 2.4 GHz network.
If you have a bigger house
or want the most reliable WiFi connection
that's when I'd recommend a Mesh Networking System.
These systems have multiple access points
that communicate with each other wirelessly
to expand the reach of your network
without you needing ethernet cables or anything complicated.
A few options for Mesh systems would be
the Linksys Velop Mesh System for under $200
or the Eero 6+ Mesh System for just under $300.
Either of these systems are going to offer
great value and reliability
and be a significant improvement over a single router.
If you're anything like me
and you know that ethernet is the best way
to enjoy your internet connection,
you can actually have a networking system
with multiple access points
that are all hardwired via ethernet
using enterprise level systems like UniFi or Meraki Go.
That's why I spent $2,000 on my networking system
and I have a video you can watch about that here.