WiFi is a part of most home networks, but it can be very fickle. You might have wonderfully strong signal one minute and then the next have some extreme buffering. This can happen by simply turning your body into a different direction.
Some networks have a stronger wireless signal and better speeds than others do. So, what’s their secret? As it turns out, WiFi signal strength and speed is contingent on many different factors, many of which you have the power to do something about.
This is what you should do to improve your speed and wireless quality.
Look at your router
The first thing that you should do is take a look at your router. Are your using the best router for Spectrum? How old is your router? Wireless technology is on the move. It is not a stagnant kind of thing.
It is evolving and progressing all of the time. It might be time to upgrade your Spectrum router to a newer type of WiFi, including WiFi 6. The WiFi 6 standard is much faster than the WiFi 5 was, and it is practically future-proof, so you do not need to worry about replacing your router again in the near future.
Where is your router in your home?
The next consideration that you need to look at is where you are keeping your router. It is a common mistake to stash your router away so that it is out of the way. The flashing lights can be distracting and depending on the type that you have, it might take up a lot of room. But, putting your router somewhere out of the way is a mistake.
WiFi signals can easily be obstructed by furniture, humans, and other obstacles. The more the signal has to pass through something to reach the destination, the slower it is going to be. It is ideal to have your router in a central location in your home, where the signal can travel outward in all directions.
Likewise, do not put your router in a basement as the signal has a better time traveling downward than it does upward. If you are irritated at the size of your router, consider getting one that is smaller and much easier to conceal.
How close are you to the router?
Another thought here is how close are you to your router when you are using it? Take a look at the range that you are supposed to be getting out of your router and then compare it to where you are at when you are trying to get signal. If you are too far away from your router when you are trying to use it, naturally the strength and quality of the signal is going to go down.
If you are in a larger home, your router might not be able to reach all of the places that need the wireless signal. For larger homes, you might need to invest in a mesh system that will have the ability to reach the entirety of your network. A mesh system works by using satellite points for your router to send the signal to.
The satellite points can then bounce the signal to the devices that you are using. This is a great way to extend the reach of your network, especially if you are in an odd-shaped space that has a lot of corners for the signal to work around.
You might be getting interference
Interference is another factor that might reduce the quality of your WiFi. Remember that it is traveling on a radio frequency that is often occupied by other devices or even other users. If you are in an apartment building, there might be several users who are all using the same frequency, causing traffic congestion.
In those cases, make sure you have a dual-band router that can use the 5 GHz band. The 5 GHz band doesn’t travel as far as the 2.4 GHz band, so you are less likely to run into traffic.
Additionally, appliances in your home can interfere with the signal, including microwaves, cell phones, baby monitors, and even radios themselves. It is important to keep your router away from all of those devices so that you will not experience a reduction in signal quality from your router.
Talk to Spectrum
It might actually be your first step to take, but how long have you been on the same speed package with Spectrum. You should do a speed test before talking to them, but once you have a good idea what your actual upload and download speeds are, you can compare them to what you are paying for.
You might be due for a service upgrade or they might have new speed packages available that were not available in the past. If you are not getting the speeds you are paying for, they should be able to walk you through the process of identifying why this is.
They will want to retain you as a customer and not have you switch ISPs, so they should be willing to give you a hand. Regardless, never settle for slow or unreliable WiFi.
There is far too much wonderful technology out in the world to be stuck with unreliable and mediocre wireless speeds. You deserve the best speeds possible.
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