Although it is quite common for the technician to choose where to install the Wi-Fi, it is important that you do not neglect something as important as the best place in the house to place the router. But beyond the location, the height at which we place the router can also make a difference in coverage. In this article we help you choose the best height for your router and we explain why it is relevant.
The importance of placing the router at a certain height
To understand the reason for not neglecting how high the router is placed, it has to do with Wi-Fi waves: keep in mind the signal propagates radially in all directions with the router as source. Something like heat.
But as the signal moves away from the router to try to cover your entire house (that would be ideal), it runs into walls, furniture, appliances, and other types of obstacles that weaken it. The idea is get the best possible range with the least interference.
Now think about where you have placed your router. The normal thing is that we have found a site near the facility that is convenient for us taking into account other factors such as the available space or leaving it in a discreet place, for example it can be behind the TV, in a corner of a piece of furniture or even on the floor. But chances are we haven’t given much thought to how high up it is.
What height is the ideal to place the Wi-Fi router?
In this sense, if we place the router too high, the signal will become weaker as it has to descend to reach the devices, by adding more distance to it. AND if the router is too low, you will run into furniture and objects along the way. In both cases the consequence will be to weaken the signal.
The ideal height to place the router is at least up to the devices, or what is the same, it is usually at least at the height of a table. It is also necessary to take into account not only some devices (perhaps your computer and printer), but also think about the whole of your house and everything that is connected.
Bearing this in mind, it is better to bet on a place that is approximately at the level of your eyes. This way you will minimize the impact of colliding with objects that are in the lower zone but you will not add much more distance either, thus achieving a stronger signal for better coverage.
What if I live in a multi-story house? In this case, and taking into account how the Wi-Fi wave spreads, it is best to place it on an intermediate floor and never on the ground floor or in the attic.
Also consider that the best place to place your router does not end here: the ideal is place it in a more or less central area of your home to favor the distribution of the entire signal as evenly as possible. But since this is not always the case, nor is it possible, taking into account the installation and each house is different (watch out for the neighbors), it is convenient to map the architecture of the apartment in order to know what the distribution of wireless signals is room by room, for which you can use the WiFi Analyzer application, available free for Android and Windows.
Also note that you have to avoid placing it inside a piece of furniture or on a shelf that is loaded with objects. Likewise, as far as possible, avoid placing it near metal objects such as the washing machine or the refrigerator or close to large volumes of water, all of which are likely to block the signal.
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