📝 Where Should You Place a Wi-Fi Router for a Better Signal?

Wi-Fi does not spread evenly through a home. Where the router sits usually matters more than the speed you are paying for. It is common to see the same router, on the same line, with the same devices, deliver twice the throughput simply because it was moved.

How the signal spreads

A router antenna radiates in roughly every direction. Put it in a corner of the house and a large share of that signal goes through the wall into the street or the neighbours’ flat. A position near the centre covers far more of your home with the same power.

Height matters too. A router on the floor loses part of its signal into the ground and the furniture. At around chest height on an open shelf, coverage improves noticeably.

What weakens a signal most

• Water: an aquarium, a water tank, even a crowded room absorbs a surprising amount.
• Metal: a steel door, a metal shelf, a fridge or a washing machine is close to a solid barrier.
• Concrete and brick: plasterboard costs little, a structural concrete wall costs a lot.
• Mirrors: the metallic backing reflects the signal.
• Other electronics: microwave ovens and cordless phones interfere on the 2.4 GHz band.

Good places and bad ones

A good position: central, about a metre above the floor, on an open surface with nothing in front of it. Bad positions: inside a closed TV cabinet, on top of the fridge, on the floor beside the cable entry, and on a windowsill.

Windowsills are especially deceptive. Half the signal goes straight outside, and the usable area inside the home shrinks.

Use the two bands properly

Most routers broadcast two bands. 2.4 GHz travels further and passes through walls better, but it is slower and crowded. 5 GHz is much faster but has shorter reach and copes badly with walls.

Connect nearby devices to 5 GHz and distant ones to 2.4 GHz. To see what each band genuinely gives you, run the internet speed test once on each.

Measure whether moving it helped

After relocating the router, do not settle for “it feels better”. Run the same test at the furthest point in the house, before and after. If video calls and gaming matter, stability counts as much as speed: use the ping and jitter test. A drop in jitter is the clearest proof the new position is working.

Before buying an extender

Range extenders stretch coverage but halve throughput and add latency. Optimise the router’s position first; in many homes that alone is enough. If you still need one, place it midway between the router and the dead zone — putting it inside the dead zone achieves nothing, because there is no signal there to repeat.

Frequently asked questions

How should the antennas point?
Vertical in a single-storey home. In a two-storey home, one vertical and one horizontal usually gives the best spread.

Does restarting the router daily improve the signal?
No. Restarting clears temporary congestion but does not change signal strength, which is set by position and obstacles.