Want to make Wi-Fi faster?

None of these crooked tricks

  Today, the Internet has become an indispensable part of people's lives, and Wi-Fi routers are an important helper for us to connect to the Internet.

As long as you enter the room, connecting your mobile phone to Wi-Fi has become a subconscious action of many people.

  Because of this, the Wi-Fi network speed is too slow, which can be called "the greatest torment in life".

Obviously the signal is full, but I can’t click on the photo in Moments, the video I want to watch is always loading, and the chat content cannot be posted...

  Therefore, in order to enhance the Wi-Fi signal, netizens used their brains and came up with various tricks.

A recent tweet about improving Wi-Fi network speed is very popular in Moments.

The article introduces many ways to enhance Wi-Fi signal, such as placing the router in a remote place, one antenna upright and the other sideways... So, do these methods work?

In this regard, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant experts to find out.

One antenna is upright and the other is sideways, and the network speed is faster?

Truth: Conducive to reasonable signal distribution, but limited improvement

  Rumor has it that if the router has two antennas, one antenna is upright and the other antenna is horizontal, which can significantly increase the network speed.

So, what are the facts?

  “Putting the antenna horizontally and vertically may make the router receive more signals. Indeed, some people will place it like this, but the antenna placed horizontally can easily block the signal, which may reduce the speed.” Beijing Institute of Technology Information and Li Hai, an associate researcher of the School of Electronics, said in an interview with a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily that the antennas of Wi-Fi routers are generally omnidirectional to ensure that they can receive signals in multiple directions, but there are still certain signal reception "dead spots."

  "Therefore, most Wi-Fi router manufacturers will suggest that the two antennas should not be placed in parallel, preferably at a certain angle. However, although the placement angle of the antenna may be helpful to increase the network speed, the improvement effect is very Limited." Li Hai said.

  Associate Professor Yan Huaizhi of Beijing Institute of Technology told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that if the router has multiple antennas, placing these antennas at a certain angle will indeed help expand the Wi-Fi signal's spatial coverage and even signal distribution.

"Although the Wi-Fi signal has not been enhanced, and the network speed has not been significantly improved, due to the reasonable signal distribution, users may feel that the signal has become better." He said.

Routers with more antennas have stronger signals?

The truth: the number of antennas does not determine the strength of the signal

  When many people buy Wi-Fi routers, they buy more antennas. "The hero is based on the number of antennas." They think that the signal coverage with more antennas is wider and the signal must be stronger.

Merchants have launched routers with 3, 6, 8 or even 16 antennas.

So, is the number of antennas really that important?

  "The pros and cons of a Wi-Fi router depend on many factors. It is not that the more antennas the better, nor the greater the signal coverage of the router with more antennas." Yan Huaizhi explained. This is because of the Wi-Fi coverage and its transmission. The power is directly correlated. The greater the transmission power, the wider the coverage and the longer the transmission distance.

If the transmission power has been determined, blindly increasing the number of antennas, the transmission distance that can be improved is very limited.

"In an indoor home environment, usually two antennas can cover most of the space." He said.

  Li Hai introduced that current multi-antenna routers usually use MIMO technology (Multiple Input Multiple Output), which improves the transmission speed by improving the Wi-Fi router’s ability to receive signals.

  "Walls, furniture and other items in the home will reflect wireless signals back and forth, which affects the transmission effect of Wi-Fi signals to a certain extent. MIMO technology solves this problem. With the support of multiple antennas, Wi-Fi routers can transfer data Divide into multiple parts, send out with different antennas, and integrate them at the receiving end. MIMO technology has many specifications. If 2×2MIMO mode is used, then two antennas are enough; if 3×3MIMO mode or even 4×4MIMO mode is used, More antennas are needed. Some manufacturers have introduced routers with a larger number of antennas to support multi-band environments. For example, half of the antennas are used in the 2.4GHz (Gigahertz) frequency band and the other half are used in the 5GHz frequency band. However, in the home environment, the space Small and small, it is difficult to display the'skills' of MIMO technology. Multiple antennas may not increase the network speed much, but may cause unnecessary signal interference." Li Hai said.

Is the internet speed faster when placed in a remote location?

Truth: Should be placed in an open and unobstructed central room

  Many people feel that surfing the Internet near a Wi-Fi router is faster, so they install the router next to the computer.

However, there are also rumors that placing a Wi-Fi router in a remote location in your home can increase the network speed.

Is this really the case?

  "The placement of Wi-Fi routers is very important. Placing them in a relatively open place can avoid or reduce the occurrence of obstruction, shielding or interference, but this does not mean that the network speed will increase as a result." Yan Huaizhi Say.

  "The wireless signal will weaken as the distance becomes longer, so the farther you are from the Wi-Fi router, the weaker the signal is usually." Li Hai said, it is best to place the Wi-Fi router in an open and unobstructed location for improvement. The propagation effect of wireless signals must be avoided first, and materials such as concrete walls and metal products will particularly affect the propagation of wireless signals.

Certain electrical appliances that emit strong electromagnetic waves, such as microwave ovens, may also interfere with the work of Wi-Fi routers when they are working.

If there are multiple rooms in the home, it is best to put the Wi-Fi router in the center of the room to ensure that there is no more than one wall between each room and the router.

Can the can act as a signal amplifier?

Truth: It is difficult to modify accurately, and the placement needs to be carefully adjusted

  Among the many "recipes", cans are the most popular signal enhancement "artifact" on the Internet.

The method is to cut the can body, keep the top part of the can, and put it upside down and put it on the Wi-Fi router antenna.

Some netizens said that after such a transformation, full Wi-Fi signals may become routine.

  In this regard, Li Hai explained that using a can as a Wi-Fi signal amplifier, in principle, hopes to use a directional antenna to replace the omnidirectional antenna provided by Wi-Fi. There is a certain degree of scientificity, but ordinary users cannot accurately process it. Cans meet the requirements, so the actual application effect is not good.

  "If you use homemade cans as signal amplifiers, you need to carefully adjust the placement position, otherwise it will be counterproductive. The wrong position will make the signal weaker." Yan Huaizhi said.

Further reading

There are really small tricks to enhance Wi-Fi signal

  So, can the Wi-Fi signal be enhanced?

How to do it correctly?

  "In theory, it is feasible to enhance Wi-Fi signals." Yan Huaizhi introduced that Wi-Fi is a short-distance wireless network transmission standard technology, and Wi-Fi signals are essentially wireless electromagnetic waves with extremely short wavelengths.

In a general indoor environment, Wi-Fi signals received by wireless devices are mainly transmitted through four modes of reflection, diffraction, diffusion, and penetration.

Therefore, any measures that are conducive to improving the above-mentioned four propagation effects and their superimposed effects can improve the propagation effects of Wi-Fi signals.

  In addition, Li Hai reminded that it is not necessary to restart and replace Wi-Fi routers regularly.

"However, Wi-Fi technology standards are developing rapidly. If the router at home was bought many years ago, it may not support the latest rate standards, so you can consider replacing it." He said.

  "Some Wi-Fi routers have slower network speeds because the device interface is covered with dust, causing poor network cable contact. You can wipe the router interface with alcohol to improve the network cable contact status and restore the normal network speed." Yan Huaizhi said, alcohol ratio Tap water has strong decontamination ability and is volatile.

If you use water, the remaining water can easily cause a short circuit in the equipment.