There’s a strange connection between WiFi and electricity, and that is the fact that we tend to notice their existence only when they stop working. Panic sets in soon afterwards, and then everything just goes right down the drain.
Guide to WiFi Troubleshooting
Don’t worry. You can do the fixes yourself provided you are patient enough to do it. The following tips can help.
First Problem: WiFi Range Issues
Possible solutions:
- WiFi is made of radio waves that are broadcasted to all possible directions from a central hub in your house. Therefore, if your router’s placed in the farthest corner of your house, you will be covering a great deal of the outer world and not enough of your home.The advice, therefore, is to “MOVE your router to a more centralized location in your house to maximize results in the long run.”
- Adjust your router antennae (if possible). If your house is too tall, alternate between fully horizontal and vertical positions so that the router signal can reach into multiple directions to give you the best possible results.
- WiFi range issues can also occur as a result of interference. If you live in an area with lots of people nearby, changing the channel of your router can help.
Second Problem: Slow WiFi
If the speed of your internet connection has slowed down to a crawl, there is actually a logical explanation that the problem can be fixed by simply moving closer to the router.
Possible solutions:
- If your router’s located in a different room, go into the room and check whether the problem’s fixed or not. Some of the most complex questions have the simplest of all answers. Maybe this is another as well?
- The number of WiFi devices connected to a router at any point in time can heavily affect the performance of the router for good or bad. If the number is too many, you will notice a significant drop in router performance as a result of bandwidth hogging.
- Bandwidth hogging applications [such as Skype (for video conferencing), Facebook, Dropbox, Steam (for online gaming), etc.] can slow your WiFi down to a crawl. Keep an eye out for these and prioritize applications on the basis of your requirement. The Capsa free network analyzer can help you out in this purpose of yours.
- Other noticeable mentions …
- Power-saving mode of the router is turned on.
- The router is placed in a poor location (like hiding it from plain sight).
- CPU signal interference.
- Crowded transmission channel.
Third Problem: No Wireless Devices Can Connect Themselves to the Network
Possible solutions
- Plug your laptop/desktop DIRECTLY into the router through means of an Ethernet cable. See if you can get a connection that way. If you get one, the WiFi is your problem. If you don’t, then there’s a possibility that your internet connectivity’s down. Contact your ISP (Internet service provider) ASAP.
- Reset the router and start it from scratch. Most routers come with a default “reset” button. You can hold this button down through the use of a paperclip. Hold it down for 30 seconds straight, and you will see the router go back to the factory settings with which it came at the start of your use.
- If “router reset” doesn’t work, consider buying a new one. It’s the last and possibly the best solution to the lot.
Fourth Problem: Random Drop in Connection
Possible solutions:
- Do you detect some sort of a pattern? Meaning, do you see the connection drop only when you switch on the tube? Then, it might be happening as a result of interference. Move your router to a different room and see whether conditions improve or not.
- Other routers can also interfere with your device resulting in a random drop in connection. SO keep an eye out. Free software like WiFi Analyzer (available on Google Play for Android devices) and Netspot (made for Mac devices, in particular) can help.
Fifth Problem: No Connection
Sometimes glitches in the modem or the router can result in this “no connection” issue. There’s no definite and rational explanation behind these; it can sometimes happen right out of the blues.
Possible solutions
- Pull the plug. Disconnect the router from power, wait for 30 seconds (at the very least) and reconnect it again. You may just be in luck.
- If the problem doesn’t get rectified, it may be high time for you to get a brand new router as soon as possible.
WiFi Photo via Shutterstock