#WIRELESS SIGNAL STRENGTH APP HOW TO#
#WIRELESS SIGNAL STRENGTH APP PATCH#

If you’ve discovered that you can only travel a short distance from your router without losing signal strength, it may also be worth looking into a WiFi system for a mesh network setup to easily patch that range gap.

#WIRELESS SIGNAL STRENGTH APP HOW TO#

Choosing a better WiFi channel (Here's a guide on how to find the best WiFi channel).

Switching between the two WiFi frequency bands (2.4 GHz is ideal for coverage 5 GHz is ideal for speed).

Updating your router firmware to the latest version.

Re-locating your router to a more central location in your home.

There are many things that you can do to improve your WiFi signal once you've measured it, including: Testing the strength of your WiFi signal is the first step towards a faster, more reliable connection. If your signal falls outside of the -67 dBm to -30dBm range, however, you’ll want to start exploring options for boosting your WiFi signal strength. The minimum strength that you will want to maintain is -67 dBm, which will still allow you to enjoy most online activities with a reliable connection. The average home should be looking to fall within the -60 dBm to -50 dBm range. The scale runs from -30 (a perfect connection) to -90 (unable to connect at all). The most important thing to understand about dBm is that it is displayed in negative values, so there will always be a minus sign in front. Since many manufacturers convert RSSI to dBm anyway, we’ll focus our attention there. Signal strength can be measured in a variety of ways, the most common of which are decibel milliwatts (dBm) and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). Now, while tools like this will do most of the work for you, it may still be beneficial to understand a few of the basic WiFi signal measurements.

Minim app users can then click into a certain device to track its WiFi signal strength performance in the past hour, day, and week: This will give you a good idea about where in your space your WiFi signal is the strongest, and approximately how far you can travel away from your router before your connection takes a dive.įor a more comprehensive, specific look at your WiFi signal strength, you’ll want to use an online WiFi analyzer tool or leverage a mobile app like the Minim® app, which tracks your WiFi signal strength and gives you indicators per device: If you’re a do-it-yourself type of person - and don’t mind that your results will not be as precise - you can simply walk through your home holding each device to see where the signal increases or decreases (based on the number of bars that appear). Now that you’ve found a baseline for where your signal strength lands, you can test your WiFi in one of two ways: manually, or with an app. Look under Settings, WiFi, or Network, and search for a gear or WiFi icon next to the network you're connected to. Select the blue WiFi link to see the signal strength.

In Windows, go to Network and Internet, and then Network and Sharing Center.

On a Mac, the WiFi indicator is still located in the upper-right corner of the screen in the menu bar, but you’ll need to hold down the option key to see the dBm measure in the RSSI entry field.

You’ll want to see how other devices, like your laptop or tablet, are receiving signal as well: Generally, this indicator appears as four to five curved bars stacked on top of each other- the more bars that are filled in, the stronger your connection.ĭon’t just check your phone, either. You’ll want to look for the universal WiFi symbol in the upper right-hand corner of your device to gauge your current signal strength. To get a better idea as to where your WiFi is underperforming and how you can fix it, follow the steps below on how to both check and test your WiFi signal strength. A weak WiFi signal- when left unfixed- can lead to the dropouts, slower speeds, and unreliable connection that we could all use a bit less of nowadays, especially if you’re working from home. If your WiFi has been an added source of frustration lately with longer load times or dropped Zoom calls, your WiFi signal strength is likely the issue.

Wireless signal strength app