The 4 finest and worst locations to place your Wi-Fi router

To an extent, I perceive not placing a lot effort into positioning a Wi-Fi router. Typically, placement is dictated by the place you may put your modem, which in flip relies on the place the energetic co-ax ports are positioned. In the event you’ve solely acquired a single internet-ready port within the nook of your living room, it might be easier to depart your router on the ground than work out a method of propping it up. Many individuals don’t love the concept of getting a router out within the open, anyway — they see it as an eyesore taking over beneficial actual property.

Placement might be completely important to the well being of a Wi-Fi community, nonetheless. I am going to clarify extra as I’m going alongside, however consider it this fashion — simply as you would not anticipate clear music from a radio tower blocked by the mountains, or 500 miles away, you should not anticipate the quickest web from a router affected by sign points. That is all of the extra necessary in the event you put money into a mesh Wi-Fi system — your routers have to speak with one another, not simply together with your gadgets.

Right here, then, is a small assortment of a few of the finest and worst spots for a router. There are different prospects, however hopefully these ought to offer you some meals for thought.

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1

The perfect: A desk in your front room

Strong and equal attain

Each time doable, it is best to place a router within the middle of your property, and usually that is the lounge. With a lone router, this could present most attain, leaving few if any lifeless zones. In a mesh system, a central unit is vital to a strong backhaul community, particularly if you cannot hyperlink the routers immediately to one another through Ethernet cables. Personally, I do not know anybody who’s tried the wired route — that is lots of Cat 6 to string round stairways and furnishings.

As a bonus, there’s not less than one co-ax port in any front room, and that is normally the place we go to take pleasure in films, reveals, and console video games. It is onerous to think about a greater place to place a router exterior of particular use instances.

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2

The worst: On the backside of a cupboard or closet

Out of sight, however not out of thoughts

For individuals who deeply dislike the concept of getting a router out within the open — a lot much less a nest of energy and networking cables — it may appear pure to stash one in a closet, a cupboard, or perhaps a drawer. We do, in spite of everything, conceal different electronics that method. There’s little hurt in sticking your PlayStation in an leisure middle, or a PC in a desk enclosure, so long as there’s nonetheless airflow, and you may entry issues once you want them.

With a router, nonetheless, you are mechanically limiting bandwidth, since alerts are going to decrease earlier than they attain open air, by no means thoughts particular person gadgets. And that is assuming the router is surrounded by wooden. If there is a substantial quantity of metallic round, the scenario could possibly be far worse. Hypothetically, you could possibly even create an unintended Faraday cage and block alerts solely, though that is unlikely.

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3

The perfect: Your workplace desk

Most bandwidth, quick access

Eero

Your workplace house could or is probably not central in your house, however even when it is not, there’s not less than one benefit to having a router there — peak bandwidth for work and gaming. In my own residence, I exploit an Eero Professional 6E system, and one of many routers is inches away from the laptop computer I am scripting this on. The one bandwidth issues I’ve are about how properly my workplace unit connects to the web gateway router.

For on-line gaming and different high-bandwidth actions, placing a router in your workplace makes it simpler to hardwire important gadgets utilizing Ethernet, bettering lag and reliability. It additionally makes troubleshooting easier more often than not — you may verify standing lights at a look, and rapidly power-cycle your router if software program tips aren’t serving to. In case your modem is in the identical room, you may power-cycle that as properly.

Understand that in the event you’ve solely acquired one router, and your workplace is positioned on the highest flooring or within the basement, you may want a way of extending protection. Which means a devoted Wi-Fi extender, manually linking a second router, or upgrading to a mesh system.

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4

The worst: Behind your TV or stereo

A literal wall of interference

Sonos

A TV can cowl a large number of sins, by which I imply a tangle of video and audio cables, and generally consoles and streaming add-ons. By extension, the again of a TV could appear to be a pure place to place a router, all of the extra so in the event you intend to attach as many gadgets as doable through Ethernet.

The difficulty is how properly alerts can attain the remainder of your property. A TV will not be solely a wall of metallic, plastic, and glass, however a supply of electromagnetic alerts in its personal proper. That is going to create a point of interference, even when it is not essentially deadly to your Wi-Fi connections. If there’s little selection however to put a router close to your TV, it ought to not less than sit in one of many corners of your leisure middle, not on the very rear. Do not stick it inside a cupboard or immediately underneath your TV, both.

Comparable conditions may come up with elaborate AV techniques, say in the event you’ve stacked audio system, a receiver, and a Blu-ray participant. They should not be as a lot of an issue as a TV, although, simply because few stereos or receivers are 50 inches lengthy.

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