I’m trying to improve the Wi-Fi in my apartment, but I’m not an expert and don’t want to take things one step at a time.
The router is in the living room, but the signal is unstable in the bedroom and small study. Sometimes it’s fine, other times video calls freeze, and websites take a long time to load.
I’ve been thinking about getting a Wi-Fi extender or a mesh system, but I’m not sure if it’s overkill. Are there any tips or products that would actually help?
Honestly, I wouldn’t buy anything yet. The first step is figuring out what the actual problem is. Weak signal, channel congestion, bad router placement, and interference can all feel like “bad Wi-Fi”, but the fix is different for each one. I’d start with a Wi-Fi analyzer app. I personally like NetSpot because it’s pretty easy to read and shows useful stuff without making you feel like you need to be a network engineer. But any decent Wi-Fi analyzer is better than guessing. Check the signal level in the rooms where Wi-Fi feels bad, then also look at what band and channel you’re on. Signal strength is only part of the story.
@UpbeatViolinist891 Thanks for the tip, I installed NetSpot. The signal is consistently around -75 dBm. And on 2.4 GHz, everything is exactly the same.
-75 dBm isn’t awful, but it’s definitely not great either. For basic browsing it can be okay, but it’s not where I’d want to be for Zoom calls, gaming, or stable streaming.
I’d look at router placement first. Also check the channels in NetSpot. A lot of people focus only on signal strength, but if the channel is crowded, Wi-Fi can still feel bad even with a usable signal.
Mesh can help, but only if you actually need more coverage. At -75 dBm, you’re kind of in that annoying middle zone. It’s not a dead zone, but it’s weak enough that stability can suffer. If moving the router gets you closer to -60 dBm, you may not need to buy anything.