Wireless Wi-Fi is a basic tool for easy Internet access, media streaming, online gaming, and all kinds of networking. That is why it is necessary to operate 24 hours a day. However, there are not only a few cases where your devices “stick” or are slow to respond, giving the impression that there is a problem with the Wi-Fi connection.
There are several factors that can negatively affect your Wireless Router operation at home or office, but most wireless connectivity problems can easily be addressed. Below you will find a list of the most common “scenarios” that cause Wi-Fi problems and how you can deal with them.
Unable To Connect To All Rooms
Wi-Fi works with radio waves, which means your wireless router emits in all directions from one central point.
If the router is in a distant corner of the house, Wi-Fi power is exponentially decreasing in the farthest rooms. Especially when a wall, floor or ceiling (if it is a different floor), the signal fades. If possible, move the router to a more central point of the home and ideally not behind a wall to weak signal strength.
If your router has external antennas, you can try adjusting them. Switching between fully vertical and fully horizontal positions greatly contributes to the extension of the signal to all directions of the space.
If you live in a densely populated area or block of flats, your router may be within a range of dozens of Wi-Fi networks from nearby apartments or adjacent blocks of flats. There are free programs like NetSpot for Mac and Windows, and the Wi-Fi Analyzer for Android that can show you which wireless networks are near your apartment and which channel you use. If there is interference in your router’s signal in specific locations, consider going to a less “loaded” channel. To define the channel you want in your router, you need to enter its management environment and switch to the wireless network settings where you will find the relevant setting.
You should also know that neighboring Wi-Fi networks are not the only interference that creates problems with wireless connectivity. There are home appliances, wireless and non-wireless (such as cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors, etc.), which can affect your connection. And in this case, you will need to move the router, but also the devices that can affect your wireless connection, so that they do not interfere between the router and the connected devices.
There is always the option to purchase a wireless repeater that connects directly to a socket, wirelessly receives the signal from the central router and relay it to its location.
Low Signal Strength
If Wi-Fi speed is slow, no matter where you are, try to wire a laptop to your modem to monitor your network’s speed on a site like speedtest.net or the related tool provided by EETT National Telecommunications and Post Commission). If the result shows you that the speed you are getting is low then there is a problem due to the Internet connection and not your equipment. In this case, you should contact your ISP.
If your test shows that there is no problem with the connection speed but the wi-fi is still slow, your wireless channel may be overloaded by your wireless devices or other nearby network devices. Examine the possibility of changing the channel in your router.
If this does not help, you will need to reset factory settings. In most routers, there is a “reset” button that you can press with a toothpick, clip, etc. Hold it down for a few seconds and the router returns to the factory settings.
There is also the possibility that your network will be burdened by ‘uninvited visitors’. Make sure your wireless network is locked (ie it wants a password to connect to it) with a good and hard password (numbers, letters, and symbols) of the WPA2 type.
If your router is pretty old and the best protocol it supports is 802.11g, then it’s probably time to buy a new router that supports 802.11n or 802.11ac and ideally be a Dual Band. Passing from an 802.11g router to an 802.11n will improve the coverage of your sites significantly, but it will also be important to increase the speed of data transfer.
Unable To Connect Only One Device
Sometimes the problem you’re experiencing may concern a single device. This usually has to do with the device itself and is not due to the connectivity of your network. It tried to disable the Wi-Fi feature of your device and then turn it on again. Again if this does not work, do the same as your router by turning it off and then turning it on after about 30 seconds.
If the problem still exists or if it reappears soon, deletes the current network from the list of saved networks on your device, and then reconnect. If you are using Windows 10, look for the network troubleshooter by going to Settings> Network and Internet. Windows Network Diagnostics can resolve your connectivity problems. In MacOS, you can run Wireless Diagnostics. Hold down the “Option” button and click the AirPort (Wi-Fi) icon on the menu bar. Locate the “Open Wireless Diagnostics” option, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
Forgotten Password
If you really can not remember the Wi-Fi passphrase (which you changed from the default one), you can test the WPS connection (if supported by your router and your device) that does not require the password to be entered or logged in wired and via the router management application to set a new password.
Alternatively, if you can not connect wired, the only solution is to reset your router to the factory settings and connect to the code that is usually on a sticker on the back of the device. Then, if you want, you can go into your router’s administration and reset your password again.
