Chances are in this day and age that you have a Wi-Fi network set up at home. With the proliferation of laptop, smartphones, or other connected mobile devices like the iPad, most everyone has a reason to run one. But with the convenience of wireless networking comes with the hassle of maintaining that connection. Wireless signals are not 100% reliable, and it's frustrating for your connection to get dropped in the middle of a download or online gaming session. Fortunately, there are a few things you might want do to ensure you have the fastest, safest network possible. Some of these tips will be a practical, and some are only for use in special cases, but they're also our idea of best practices to get your network in top shape. It's likely you haven't considered all of them.
 

 

Find the Optimal Router Location

It's no use to have a Wi-Fi network that doesn't cover the places you need it to. For this reason, the placement of your router is important. The best placement is in roughly the center of your home, and on an upper floor. Most routers can radiate their signal best laterally and downward. The type of building design is important as well. Some structures are just built like a Faraday cage, causing signal loss as the signal passes through walls. Try to plan around this by finding a spot where the signal goes through the fewest walls on its way to your computer. If your modem had to be in a certain location, you can move your router farther away by getting an extra long ethernet cable. That should provide you the slack to find a good spot. 
 

Change the Wi-Fi Channel

One problem that can affect the quality of your wireless signal is interference from other networks. If you live in an area with a lot of networks, and especially if you live in an apartment building, you should try to find the most isolated wireless channel. You can quickly determine what channels the networks around you are using with a number of apps, but we like Netstumbler (or Macstumbler for OS X). In the US, you have 11 channels to choose from. All these consist of small pieces of spectrum near 2.4GHz. If there are multiple neighbors around you using channel 1, it might be beneficial to set your router to channel 11. Just find the one with the least traffic.
 

Replace Your Router's Antennas 

The antennas that come with your Wi-Fi router are nothing special. There are various high-gain antennas available online for reasonable prices. Most routers use a standard plug for the antenna, so any that you buy should attach fine. The type of antenna that comes with the router is omnidirectional, and you can get improved versions of that. But you can also get a directional antenna that can concentrate your wireless signal to get that corner of the house that's usually devoid of Wi-Fi.

 

Make a Pair of Antenna Boosters

If you don't want to buy new antennas, you can make some improvements to your current ones. With a little tinfoil and a template, a simple parabolic antenna cover can be had on the cheap. The Windsurfer is one such template. This is an easy replacement for an expensive directional antenna. If you're feeling especially adventurous, you can use a Pringles can to create a highly directional antenna. Both these options can increase signal strength multiple decibels in the direction they are pointed.
 

Update Firmware and Drivers

The router's firmware is an embedded software package that runs the device. Most manufacturers include the ability to upgrade your firmware so they can provide newer versions of the software. If you're having connection problems, or in need of new features, check out the manufacturers website to see if there is an update. If doing a firmware upgrade, it's best to be hardwired into the router in case the install fails. This will make it easier to get back up and running.

You might also look to your wireless adapter as the source of any problems. It's good practice to keep your device drivers up to date, and the risk of failure isn't a concern like it is with upgrading router firmware. If you are running Windows, Microsoft has made it easy to get driver updates. Just check the "Optional" updates for a new driver for your wireless adapter. Alternatively, you can go straight to the manufacturer's website. 
 

Use Strong Encryption

As important as speed and reliability are, security cannot be overlooked. Most new routers you buy today will come with detailed instructions on how to set up wireless security, but still some people don't take heed. We strongly recommend that you make sure your router is using WPA/WPA2 encryption with a strong, non-dictionary password. There was a day when 128-bit WEP was sufficient, but WEP was cracked long ago, and a nosy neighbor with a little computer know-how can probably crack a WEP key in an afternoon. 

Use Third-Party Firmware

If you need a little more from your router, and the manufacturer isn't helping you out with a firmware update, you can look into some alternate firmwares. They aren't available for every router, but they can add tons of functionality if they are. Our favorite is the Tomato firmware. It's compatible with a number of Linksys, Buffalo, and Asus routers. Check the site for the full compatibility list. Installing Tomato will give you the ability to use advanced QOS settings, bandwidth statistics, and adjustment of transmission power just to name a few. The firmware is installed as a binary file from the PC just like a regular update would be.
   

Use Wireless Extenders

If you just can't get your network to extend far enough no matter where you place the router, you might consider a network extender. There are a few ways to do this. Netgear makes a powerline Wi-Fi extender that could useful. The unit plugs into a power outlet and an ethernet cable is attached. Then the broadcaster can be plugged into another outlet where it will create an area of Wi-Fi connectivity. 
   
There are also wireless repeaters from a number of manufacturers that can be had a bit cheaper. These units should be placed within the existing Wi-Fi coverage area. They will use their antennas to push your signal further than the router could. You can even make your own repeater with an old Linksys WRT series router by loading on the DD-WRT firmware.  
 

Make the Jump to Wireless N

If you've tried everything and still aren't happy with the quality of your wireless network, maybe it's time to move up to the newly certified wireless 802.11n standard. Older 802.11g Wi-Fi has a maximum speed of 54Mbps, and dies off quickly as distance increases. Wireless N is capable of up to 300Mbps and maintains speeds better as distance from the router increases. If you're streaming media over the network, 802.11n can be a real help. You'll need a new router and probably new adapters for your PCs. If you're in doubt of wireless N's usefulness, check out our thoughts on the matter.

If you follow these recommendations, your wireless network will be working as well as it possibly can. It's likely that you have already done some of this, but everything here is at least worth some consideration. Most of the software changes discussed here are accessible from your router's web interface. Check out the manufacturer's site if you aren't familiar with the menu layout. If there's something you've done to create a faster, stronger Wi-Fi network, let us know about it.      
 

Use the High Power 5.8GHz Channels 

If you're rocking a router that supports the 5.8GHz band--these are 802.11a and some 802.11n routers--some channels can run at 20x the signal power. Channels 36-54 are limited to 50mW, while channels above 148 can run at a full 1W. Assuming your router's firmware takes advantage of the weird US licensing rules, your router should produce a much more powerful signal. Tip courtesy of @GlennF.
 
Edit - 5/6/2010: Removed section about MAC address filtering and hiding SSIDs, which don't hav.e any security benefit 
Edit - 5/6/2010 #2: Added 5.8GHz high-power channels tip so we'd have 10 tips again.