Tips and Advice

Get your Wi-Fi working better with this must-know cheat sheet

Article by Homes to Love

There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at the spinning buffer circle of doom. Here are some need-to-know tips from Noel Leeming to ensure slow Wi-Fi will never be a problem again

How to get Wi-Fi working better

Get your Wi-Fi working better with this must-know cheat sheet

20 years ago we had to shout down the hallway that we were “on the phone!” when our conversation was interrupted by the screeching dial-up sound of someone trying to connect to the internet. Nowadays most households have at least four devices using the internet at once. So, it’s not that surprising there’s an increasing demand for high-performance routers to deliver a fast connection to all devices in a home. How else will we all scroll to the end of our Insta feeds whilst streaming Netflix and receiving our emails at once and without delay?

Making sure you’re equipped with a good quality router is the first step to getting the best possible Wi-Fi experience. But there’s more you can do (even if you’re not very tech-savvy).

Make sure your Wi-Fi has the best set-up possible

Don’t expect to be able to binge watch all of season two of Making a Murderer without any buffering when your router is positioned at the back of the house, hidden deep in a closet. Most routers need to be sitting in the heart of the home to deliver the best results. Ideally, it should sit on a table or console, but if this isn’t possible use a wall mount and position the antennas perpendicular (on a 90-degree angle).

Try to position your router away from where it might receive interference from other appliances, such as microwaves, remotes or refrigerators. Otherwise, try using a dual-band router to help minimise the interference.

how to improve Wi-Fi at home

Up your security

Freeloading neighbours hogging your Wi-Fi? Setting up a proper password protection system should be your first call to arms. But if you’re ready to take armament to the next level, you can hide your Wi-Fi network name so users who want to connect have to manually enter the SSID. Employing software such as the Trend Micro Home Network Security System to monitor and manage use and users will also be beneficial for security purposes (and provides you with valuable knowledge of who’s spending a bit too much time on their device).

Increase your Wi-Fi range

No-one wants their bedroom to be the only room in the house to have one-bar of Wi-Fi. Ensure that all rooms receive the golden three-bar status by using an extender or booster.

What’s the difference you might ask? Wi-Fi extenders and boosters have the same purpose; to improve network coverage. But it’s how they do this that differentiates them from each other.

A Wi-Fi booster increases your incoming Wi-Fi signal. It expands the frequency band to allow more data to pass through, delivering faster download speeds.

A Wi-Fi extender, also known as a Range Repeater, extends your internet connection across a larger area. It will usually create a second network to carry the data from one router to the other.

Another way to increase your Wi-Fi range is to install mesh Wi-Fi, also known as a wireless mesh network. Simply put, mesh Wi-Fi is a system of multiple routers that connect with each other to send and receive data via the same network. It uses the closest router to send and receive data to the appropriate device.


Still want to know more about your making the most of your Wi-Fi? Noel Leeming Tech Solutions can help you get the best set up for your needs.  Click here for more information, call 0800 555 989 or visit any Noel Leeming store nationwide.


Words by: Bea Taylor

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