Tip #3 – Avoid Poor Connections
Out of all the network connections available when you try to find a Wi-Fi network on your android phone, skip those with poor or bad quality network. Although this can be done manually, you can set the settings on your phone that will avoid detecting any poor connections will require. When enabled, it will only show networks that have good quality and strong network.
- To Enable it, go to ‘Settings’ on your phone.
- Tap on the ‘Wi-Fi’ option the screen.
- Now, click on the three vertical dots on the right bottom side of the screen and hit on ‘Advanced’ feature.
- Scroll and locate the tick box ‘Avoid poor connections’ and tick it.
- Now, scan the available networks and connect to those with the only strong network.
Tip #4 – Update The Firmware
If poor Wi-Fi connecting is hindering you, outdated firmware can be a reason. For devices which are currently running on original ROM and unrooted, they will be able to download and install the firmware updates sent OTA. They can check the updates if available at ‘Settings > About Phone > System (Software) Update’. For those who are using custom ROMs on their phone, you’ll have to update the system manually frequently to stay updated. For this, you can download the bootloader and radio for your device online.
Tip #5 – Check If The WiFi Is Blocked Or Not
Walls are known to distribute a fraction of the signal which lowers its strength. Another cause of poor network is if something is obstructing the network between the phone and the router. Most probably, it will be the cover case you bought to prevent damage to the phone and especially if it is made of metal, it will hinder with the signal strength. Whether it is causing an issue in real or not is something that you need to check. For this, analyze the quality of the signal on Ookla Speedtest with the cover on the phone and then repeat the procedure without the cover. If it shows any change, you know the culprit. This will help you either try to opt for other methods if it didn’t work.
Tip #6 – Learning About WiFi Access Point
In simple language, the access point is something that allows the phone to access the internet from the signals received from a router. Use Wi-Fi Analyzer app on your device to check the access point and its strength. Note that this can have significant improvement over the quality of the network as most of the times, the phone will automatically connect to a signal access point by default even where there is a powerful access point with strong connection available. The app will analyze all the access point can describe the best point to select as default. The app also features a tool to check out the spot with the best Wi-Fi network and many such tools are available.
Tip #7 – Relocate The Router In The Right Spot
As I explained above, routers have a fixed ranger wherein it transmits signals. When it is obstructed why a wall or any other structure, the signal losses its strength and thereby if you are too far from the router, the signal will be poor. The way out of this problem is to analyze the spot where you can place the router to transmit signals around the house optimally. For this purposes, you can download ‘Wi-Fi FDTD Solver’ app from the Google Play store or from the internet. It will showcase the layout of your house and the representation of the signals around the house. This will enable you to tweak into its possible and set it at a perfect spot.
Tip #8- Check Out The Channel In-use
There are over 14 channels in the 2.4Ghz frequency band and over 23 channels in the 5.0Ghz band. Since the former is too clustered, it usually suffers from poor internet connectivity. On the flip side, the 5.0Ghz band is comparatively larger and can hold tens of millions of devices without clustering them. If you are using any of the band and discover a poor connection, it can be because of interference from the neighboring Wi-Fi users. Change the channel for a better quality of internet. To check the best channels available in the vicinity, you can download Wi-Fi Analyzer or Network Analyzer Lite that will automatically detect the channels with fewer users and high-quality connection so that you can switch to it.
Tip #9 – Prevent Your WiFi From Prying Neighbors
If you have observed a gradual decrease in the quality and speed of the Wi-Fi, there are chances that someone else is hoarding on the bandwidth. It can be your neighbor or a friend or relative who uses your Wi-Fi. There are more than one ways to the retrieve password from a device in which you or anyone has already unlock it. On the contrary, there are series of steps you can take to minimize and prevent such Wi-Fi thieves from accessing the service you paid for.
You can frame a proper strong password for your router consisting of letters, numbers, and special characters. A combination of these three variables will make a password strong and difficult to crack. Select WPA2 password on the router settings that will make it encrypted. It is more secure than other security protocols like WEP or WPA. Next is to hide the network from any other device. Yes, you can hide your SSID or network ID from the firmware settings on your device, usually accessible at the IP addresses like “192.168.0.0”, “192.168.0.1”, “192.168.1.0”, “192.168.1.1” or others. Search for the feature ‘Broadcast SSIB’ in the settings and untick it. This will hide the network from anyone near the range and the only way to access it will be by entering both SSID and the password. This actually doubles the protection, however, it takes efforts to constantly enter the SSID and password to get access to the internet.
Tip #10 – Hack The Firmware Settings
A router has a fixed range within which, it will transmit signals and it will weaken as and when obstacles come in the way. There is an excellent trick suggested by a popular website where you can install DD-WRT Firmware for your router. The new firmware is more powerful than the generic firmware available with routers. Moreover, there are plenty of features that you can enjoy with this firmware. It will boost the speed of the router up to 70 mW thus, giving a much broader range for an interception.
Tip #11 – Use WiFi Repeater
It is an adjoined tip to the previous method where you can use an old Wi-Fi router as a range extender. Of course, you can buy dedicated extender from shopping websites but if you can’t or don’t want to buy it, you can use the old router in your home as an extender. Simply plug in both the routers at distant places across the house and create two access points by plugging in Ethernet to both the routers. You DD-WRT firmware to properly calibrate and use the routers as a single system.
Hi–I bought the WiFi FTDT but nothing has shown up–how do I access and use it?
This is a great article, btw–very helpful indeed. Thank you.