Troubleshooting a Weak Wi-Fi Signal
© Linksys
Now that we've
verified that it is the Wi-Fi signal giving us the problem
rather than an issue with where the router is positioned, we can start
looking into a few different ways to improve the signal strength.
Unfortunately, some of these steps can require a certain bit of
technological savvy as you navigate the settings on the router.
Remember to only go as far as you are comfortable when following these
steps.
- Reboot the iPad and the Router
The first step to troubleshooting is always to reboot the devices.
This will solve more problems than any other step to try, so first off,
let's power down the iPad and any other devices we are connecting to the
network. While they are powered down, let's reboot the router. Leave
the router off for a few seconds before powering it back on and wait
until all of the lights come back on before powering up the iPad and
other devices.
How to Reboot the iPad
If we are lucky, this will fix the problem and we won't have to proceed to the next steps.
- Remove other wireless technology
If you have a wireless phone or any other wireless technology near
the router, try moving it somewhere else. Wireless phones can sometimes
use the same frequency as a wireless router, which can cause the signal
strength to degrade as it weeds out the interference. This can also be
true of other wireless devices like
baby monitors, so make sure the area around the router is clear of these devices.
- Update the Firmware of the Router
Just as it is important to keep your iPad's software up to date, it can be important to keep your router's
firmware
updated. The firmware is what runs the router, and as we add newer
devices (like the iPad), older firmware can run into problems.
You'll need to log in to your router to update the firmware. You can
log into the router from a web browser on your PC or your iPad, but you
need to know the right address, the username and the password. These
might be located in the manual or on a sticker on the router itself.
The standard address for logging into a router is
http://192.168.0.1, but some routers use
http://192.168.1.1 and a few use
http://192.168.2.1.
If you don't know the username and password, try "admin" as a
username and "admin" or "password" as the password. You can even try
leaving the password blank. If those don't work, you will need to find
the correct username/password combo or refer to your particular brand of
router on how to do a hard reset (if possible).
You can usually find the option to update the firmware under advanced options.
- Change Your Wi-Fi Broadcast Channel
This step will also require logging into your router. In your
wireless settings, you should be able to find an option to change the
channel of the frequency band. This is often set to '6' or 'automatic'.
The best channels are 1, 6 and 11.
If your neighbors have Wi-Fi broadcasting on the same channel as you,
there might be some interference. Try changing this from automatic to a
hardcoded channel, starting with 1 and moving to 6 and 11. You can try
other channels as well, but you may see even worst performance if the
channel isn't one of the three mentioned here.
If you are still having problems with multiple devices, you may have a
hardware problem. But before you go out and replace your router, you
can try buying an external antenna. Make sure that your router supports
connecting an external antenna before you run down to Best Buy.
There are two types of Wi-Fi antenna: omnidirectional and high gain.
A high gain antenna broadcasts the signal in only a single direction,
but the signal itself is much stronger. This is great if your router is
on one side of the house, but if your router is in the middle of your
house, you'll probably want an omnidirectional antenna.
Also, make sure you buy the antenna from a store that allows returns
for any reason. We're basically troubleshooting the router's antenna,
and if the problem is with the router itself, hooking up an external
antenna won't fix the problem
If your router came from your broadband company, you should be able
to call them up and get it replaced for free. They may take you through
some of the same troubleshooting steps you have already gone through
here, and because they know the specific hardware you are using, they
may have a few new steps that could work.
If your router didn't come from your broadband company and you don't
know much about wireless routers, it is best to go with a well-known
brand name like Linksys (
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