Internet is slow! it dose not connect! Immediate improvement by placing the Wi-Fi router

If your internet speed is slow or you can't connect, check your router placement

"The internet is kind of slow." If you're using a new Wi-Fi router and still having trouble, try reviewing your radio wave environment. [Illustration here] Visual commentary Internet communication speed changes depending on how the router is placed

■The external type changes depending on the angle

First, the router antenna. The built-in type basically emits radio waves in all directions, while the external type changes the direction in which radio waves tend to fly depending on the angle. It may be tempting to point the antenna at the handset, but it may have the opposite effect. With the antenna upright, radio waves tend to spread horizontally.

■Avoid places where it is difficult for radio waves to pass.

The radio wave environment is also affected by obstacles such as walls and furniture in the room. Looking at the material of obstacles, glass and wood basically transmit radio waves, but metal has a high reflectance, so the communication speed drops significantly. Therefore, it is ideal to install the Wi-Fi router in a place where radio waves are not blocked as much as possible. In order to grasp the strength of radio waves in each room, it is convenient to use a smartphone that can be moved around and measured. "Wi-Fi Mireru" is a free app that can measure the signal strength in 100 steps. If you import the floor plan of your home into the app, you can color-code the signal strength of each location. This makes it easy to see where the radio waves are strong and where they are weak. (Writer Shunsuke Igarashi) [Nikkei PC21 January 2022 issue restructured]