WiFi has suddenly started acting weird in the house. It used to reach basically everywhere fine, but now some rooms barely load anything. My phone still sees the WiFi, but sometimes it just sits there trying to connect or says “obtaining IP address” forever. In other spots it connects, but the internet is super slow.
Nothing was moved as far as I know. Router is in the same place, same ISP, same devices. It was fine last week and now it feels like the range just randomly got worse.
Is this usually a router dying, or something else?
Before replacing the router, check the actual signal levels. If you have a laptop, install NetSpot and walk around the house starting right next to the router, then into the rooms where WiFi got bad. Don’t just look at bars — check the signal in dBm and see where it drops off. If the signal is still strong but speeds are bad, it may be interference/channel congestion. If the signal falls hard in certain rooms, it’s more likely placement, walls, or the router radio getting weak.
Location matters a lot here. Did anything get moved near the router? New furniture, TV stand, metal shelf, mirror, aquarium, fridge, anything like that? Even moving the router a foot lower or putting something in front of it can make coverage worse. Also check if someone shoved it into a cabinet or behind the TV. Happens all the time.
The “obtaining IP address” part might not just be weak signal. That can happen if DHCP is acting up, router is overloaded, or the device connects to WiFi but doesn’t get a valid IP. If it happens even right next to the router, I’d stop blaming range and look at the router/ISP box itself. Test right beside the router first. If it still fails there, coverage is not the main issue.
Also log into the router if you can and check basics:
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is 2.4 GHz still enabled?
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is 5 GHz still enabled?
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did it switch channels automatically?
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are there firmware updates?
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does it show lots of disconnects?
Auto-channel can sometimes pick a trash channel, especially if you have neighbors nearby.