Facing frequent dropping of Wi-Fi or Limited access problem? Want to improve your wireless connection? Outdated drivers, wrong device settings and signal interference are some of the most common causes of poor wi-fi connectivity. If you are facing problem with your home wireless network, check that everything is up-to-date and your settings are right. Yes, a mechanical failure can also cause such problems. But before throwing away your router or taking your laptop to servicing, try to solve few issues by yourself. For your help, we are proving few tips on improving your wireless connection.
5 tips to improve your Wi-Fi connectivity:
Some tips to improve home wireless network performance, speed and range.
1. Update the driver or firmware:
Updating the WLAN Adapter Driver and/or the firmware of your router will improve stability, compatibility and overall performance of your wireless connection. Check for available updates of your wireless driver. If available update it at once. In case of the router firmware, consult your ISP before upgrading.
2. Disable the Power Saving:
Turning off the power saving settings on your computer will not only improve the performance but will also help in solving home wireless network issues such as sudden dropping or disconnecting of wireless connection.
Steps to disable Power Saving settings:
- Open Control Panel (press Windows key+X and select Control Panel from the menu).
- Go to Hardware and Sound section and open Power Options.
- In the Power Options, select High performance as your power plan.
- Open the Change plan settings link in the High performance section. Click Change advanced power settings to open the Power Options window. Expand the Wireless Adapter Settings and make sure that Power Saving Mode is set as Maximum Performance for both On battery and Plugged in.
- Press the OK button.
3. Disable U-APSD:
Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery (U-APSD) is a power saving mechanism. Disabling U-APSD will solve problems like Limited access or no connectivity problems. Try it once, specially when you are using Windows 8.
Steps to disable U-APSD:
- Open Device Manager (Press Windows Key+X and selection Device Manger from the menu).
- Go to Network Adapters. Right click on the name of your wireless device and select Properties from the context menu.
- The Properties window for your wireless device will appear. Go to Advanced tab and Set value for U-APSD as Disabled.
- Press the OK button.
Note: The U-APSD option is not present in certain wireless adapters.
4. Tweaking wireless settings:
The wireless network quality can be improved by tweaking several settings. For example: Setting Transmit power to Highest; setting Roaming to less aggressive; disabling Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM); disabling Bluetooth Collaboration; using 2.4GHz as preferred band; using 20MHz as channel width; using HT (High Throughput) Mode etc. All these changes can be made from the Advanced tab inside the properties panel of your network adapter.
5. Reduce interference:
a) Location of your router: Find a right place for your router. Try to place it in the middle of your house. Don’t place it near outer wall, metal objects or mirrors. To improve performance of your router, you can also use a bigger, external antennae.
b) Turn off Bluetooth devices. In laptops, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth usually shares same set of antenna and bandwidth. When the Bluetooth is on, bandwidth for wi-fi is limited and signal interference increases. By turning it off, you will provide the whole bandwidth and antenna at the disposal of your wireless device. So, when not in use, turn off your Bluetooth devices. You’ll see the difference.
c) Turn off your microwave or keep it away: A running microwave can also cause signal interference. Because Wi-Fi and microwave ovens operate on the same frequency – 2.4GHz. To improve the performance of your wireless network, keep your microwave away from the router and your computer.
d) Other devices: Cordless phones, wireless webcam and several other devices can interfere with wi-fi signal. If possible, keep them away.
Low speed or poor performance of your wireless device is not always due to a mechanical failure. In most cases, the above mentioned tips will help you in improving your home wireless connectivity and speed.