How to Speed Up Your Home WiFi

Slow WiFi usually has one of a few causes: a crowded wireless channel, a weak signal from distance or obstacles, the wrong frequency band, or another device using all the bandwidth. The good news is that you can diagnose each of these from your phone in a few minutes and fix most of them without calling your provider.

Why your WiFi is slow

WiFi is radio, and radio gets crowded. In a typical apartment building, many routers broadcast on the same frequencies at once, and they interfere with each other the way two people talking over each other become hard to understand. Walls, floors, and even microwave ovens weaken or disrupt the signal further.

Two details matter most. First, the frequency band: the older 2.4 GHz band reaches farther but is slower and far more congested; the 5 GHz band is faster and cleaner but has shorter range. Second, the channel: each band is divided into channels, and if your router shares a channel with several neighbours, everyone’s speed drops. On 2.4 GHz only channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap, so these are usually the safest choices.

Step 1: Check whether it is your WiFi or your internet

Before changing anything, find out where the problem is. A slow connection on one device that is fine on others points to WiFi or that device; slow speed everywhere points to the internet line itself.

1. Open WiFi Tools (Android, iOS) or IP Tools (Android).
2. Run a Ping to a reliable host such as google.com.
3. Low, steady ping with no packet loss means your local link is healthy – the issue is likely the internet plan or provider. High or unstable ping points to a WiFi problem you can fix below.

Ping measures the round-trip time for a small packet to reach a server and come back. A consistent result of a few to a few dozen milliseconds means packets travel cleanly; spikes and gaps mean some packets are delayed or lost and have to be sent again, and those retransmissions are exactly what make pages stall and video buffer.

This test isolates the problem because the very first leg of any ping is the hop between your device and your own router. If the round trip is already unstable on that local leg, the wireless link is the bottleneck and no faster internet plan will help until you fix it. If the local leg is clean but distant servers respond slowly, the delay lives out on the provider’s network, beyond your control.

If you are not sure what your addresses mean while testing, see how to find your IP address.

Step 2: Find a less congested channel

1. Open the WiFi Analyzer in the app.
2. Open the channel graph tab to see which channels nearby networks occupy.
3. Note where the crowding is, then pick a freer channel – on 2.4 GHz, prefer 1, 6, or 11.
4. Change the channel in your router’s settings and re-check the graph.

A channel is a slice of the frequency band, and devices on the same or overlapping channels must take turns transmitting. When several networks share one channel, each one waits longer for a clear moment to “speak”, so throughput falls even when your signal is strong. On the analyzer’s graph this appears as tall curves stacked over the same channel – that overlap is contention you can see.

Channel width matters too. Wider channels (40 or 80 MHz) carry more data per transmission but overlap more neighbours; narrower ones (20 MHz) move less per device but collide far less often. In a crowded building, a clean 20 MHz channel frequently beats a congested wide one, which is why “more width” is not always faster.

Step 3: Improve signal and band

• Move the router to a central, open spot, raised off the floor and away from metal and microwaves.
• Connect close-range, high-demand devices (TV, console) to the 5 GHz band for speed; keep distant devices on 2.4 GHz for reach.
• Remove obstacles between the router and where you use devices most.

Signal strength is measured in dBm, a negative number where closer to zero is stronger – roughly, -50 dBm is excellent, -70 dBm is workable, and -80 dBm is barely usable. The WiFi Analyzer shows this value for each network, so you can walk around and watch it rise or fall to find dead spots and the best router placement.

The two bands trade range for speed because of physics. Higher-frequency 5 GHz waves carry more data but lose energy faster as they pass through walls and floors; lower-frequency 2.4 GHz waves penetrate obstacles better but cannot carry as much. Water absorbs 2.4 GHz especially well, which is part of why a room full of people, or a fish tank, can noticeably weaken the signal. Placing the router centrally and high simply reduces how many obstacles the signal must cross to reach you.

Step 4: Find devices using your bandwidth

A single device downloading in the background can slow everyone down. To see what is connected to your own network:

1. Open the LAN Scanner.
2. Let it list every device with its IP, name, and manufacturer.
3. Identify anything you do not recognise on your network and, if needed, change your WiFi password from the router.

For a closer look at any connected device, the LAN Scanner help page explains each field.

A home connection shares one pipe, so a single device uploading a backup or streaming in high definition can fill it and leave little for everyone else. This usually shows up as lag that comes and goes rather than a constant slowdown, which makes it hard to spot without looking at the device list.

A LAN scan helps because it reveals every device by IP address, name, and manufacturer, letting you match each entry to something you actually own. An unfamiliar device is worth investigating: besides using bandwidth, it may be connected without your knowledge. Changing the WiFi password is the surest way to remove it, but be aware that it disconnects every device at once – afterwards you will have to reconnect and reconfigure each one you own (phones, TVs, smart-home gadgets, printers) with the new password, and re-pair anything that syncs over the network. Reserve this step for when you genuinely suspect an unauthorised device.

FAQ

Why is my WiFi slower than the speed I pay for?
WiFi speed is almost always lower than your wired plan speed because of signal loss, distance, and channel congestion. Test with a device next to the router to see the realistic maximum.

Is 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz better?
5 GHz is faster and less congested but covers less distance. 2.4 GHz reaches farther through walls but is slower. Use 5 GHz nearby and 2.4 GHz for far rooms.

Which WiFi channel is best?
On 2.4 GHz, channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap and are usually best. On 5 GHz there are many non-overlapping channels, so pick whichever the analyzer shows as least used.

Does restarting the router help?
It can clear temporary glitches, but if slowness returns regularly, the cause is usually channel congestion or signal, which the steps above address.