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How to boost your WiFi internet speed

Posted at 3:32 PM, Aug 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-13 10:18:57-04

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — With parents and students getting ready to do their school work from home, internet speeds could play a factor when students are learning from home.

If you want to help boost your wireless internet signal at home but don't have the budget to do so, there are a couple of options you can do at home right now.

Related: If Your Wi-Fi At Home Is Slow, It Could Be Your Neighbor’s Fault

According to John Garza, an expert with Altex Computers & Electronics in Corpus Christi, you would need to move your wireless router to the center of your home.

Placing a wireless router near a wall or other equipment could decrease the internet signal range. You should try to avoid locating your router near devices that emit wireless signals. Motors, microwaves, and wireless telephones can also cause issues, mimicking the signals a Wi-Fi router sends and creating interference.

Also, you might want to cut down on video streaming services. Garza said, "Streaming video causes issues with bandwidth if you don't have a good internet provider."

But if you have issues connecting to the internet in just a few specific rooms, you might be better off manually programming the router.

If those steps didn't help out, you might want to look into buying certain devices to help boost your internet speed.

Garza recommends buying a wireless range extender. According to IT experts, Wi-Fi extenders expand the range of Wi-Fi in your house or office by rebroadcasting your existing signal from your wireless router. The range extender works best inside an apartment home.

If you have a large home, Garza recommends creating a wireless access point network or a mesh Wi-Fi system.

Garza said a wireless access point will broadcast signal throughout the house. "It pretty much uses the internet coming from your router and makes it wireless. And that way, having a wireless access point can alleviate traffic coming to the broadband coming to the router."

Before you start thinking about going down those routes, you're encouraged to talk to experts over at Altex Computers & Electronicsabout seeing what best fits your family as students do their school work from home.