How to Fix Your WiFi

The internet is a tremendously important part of our daily life. Only seven percent of Americans don't have an internet connection, yet despite its ubiquity, many of us still have to deal with wifi problems on a daily basis.

Wifi problems can disrupt productivity, cause issues with your social life, or just be plain irritating. This means that part of having internet at home is knowing how to fix your wifi.

In this guide, we'll take a look at what you should do if your wifi's not working and what might be causing your problems.

Are you ready to learn more? Then read on!

1. Restart or Reset Your Wifi Router

There's a saying in computer repair: "restart, restore, reinstall." If you've started to have issues with your wifi connection, it's always worth restarting your wifi router. This can fix issues ranging from poor signal strength to connection drops, so it's a good place to start.

To restart your router, you should go unplug it from the wall outlet and then leave it for several minutes. Then plug it back in and check your computer or phone. 

If this hasn't worked, you should try resetting your router. This will wipe any custom settings on the router such as the password, wifi name, and more, giving you a clean slate to start over with.

The reset button on your router will likely be a small, recessed button. You'll need to get a paper clip or another thin implement to press it with. Put the paper clip into the hole and hold it there for a few seconds: depending on the router, you will probably see the lights blink, which means you should then remove the paper clip.

Your wifi router should start up again and be back to its default settings. Try connecting and seeing whether the problems have been solved.

Read More: Boost your App Installations With These Marketing Strategies

2. Try Changing Your Wifi Channel

If you're having issues with wifi speed, changing your wifi channel may help. Wifi works via radio waves, in a similar way to television broadcasts. If multiple television signals were on the same channel, you'd get a scrambled picture: with wifi, this congestion gives you a slow connection.

To change your wifi channel, you'll need to log into your router's settings. While the exact method for this varies from router to router, they generally involve opening up your web browser and going to 192.168.0.1, your router's default IP address.

Here, you'll need to log into the router with your username and password, then go to the settings page. Here, you should be able to tweak the wifi channel. Try multiple ones, restarting your router in between attempts.

3. Wifi Not Connecting

Is your wifi not connecting at all? This is a serious issue, as it totally disrupts your access to the internet across all of your devices.

Before you ring your ISP and complain, there are a few things that you can try.

On the back of your router, you will find ethernet ports. Grab an ethernet cable and plug one end into the back of your router, then plug the other end into your computer. Can you get the internet through a wired connection?

If you can, the issue isn't with your ISP's connection but with your router, which means you should contact your ISP and get a replacement.

Read More: How to Connect AWS EC2 Server With SFTP

4. Wifi Network Has Disappeared

Your wifi network disappearing means that something is wrong with the router. Is your router turned on?

If you check your router and it has turned off despite being plugged in, then you may need to order a replacement. There could be an issue with the power supply of the router.

If the problem is intermittent, it's possible that the wifi router is overheating. Is the router in a warm spot in your home? If it is, try moving it to a cooler area and seeing whether this fixes the issue.

5. Weak Wifi Signal

If a weak wifi signal is driving you around the bend, there are a few ways that you can fix it. First off, check to see whether the signal is stronger near the router: if it is, then the problem isn't with your router but with your settings or your home's layout.

Routers can operate on two different frequencies, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. A 2.4 GHz wifi network is slower than 5 GHz but is much better at penetrating walls and other obstacles than a 5 GHz one. A 5 GHz network is faster but will often bounce off obstacles, which means that it has a lower effective range.

Many routers today are dual-band, which means that it uses both of these, but some still favor one over the other. Try switching the frequency in your router's settings and see if that fixes the issue.

Radio waves from other devices can also interfere with a wifi signal, including microwaves and Bluetooth signals, so make sure you aren't overpowering the wifi signal with these signals.

If neither of these solutions fixes your weak wifi signal, it's probably just not strong enough to cover your whole home. You should purchase a wifi range extender, which will pick up the signal and repeat it. Put this in between your router and where you're having issues.

Read More: How To Know Connected Wifi Password In Window 10

How to Fix Your Wifi: Answered

We hope that you now feel a lot more informed about how to fix your wifi! Wifi issues are very annoying but they're rarely unsolvable. If you're still experiencing issues after trying our solutions, we'd recommend contacting your ISP and seeing how they can help you.

For more informative and interesting articles like this, check out the rest of our blog!