What are the best methods to optimize wireless network performance?

Similar to real estate, your wireless router also relys on the 3 L's; location, location, and location. If you place your wireless router in a remote corner of your home or office, the device's performance can suffer. Placing your router in a central location that minimizes the amount of materials your router has broadcast a signal through can make the difference between sufficient Wi-Fi coverage and a poor Wi-Fi experience.

As others have stated, making sure to utilize a central location for router placement, avoiding metal and the use of a mesh network all help. Making sure to utilize the channels and using the least congested is best. Also think about interference, wireless land lines and things like microwaves can cause interference in your signal.

Of course you can add routers or neve access points around the house to cover the areas you have no access to wireless, repeaters are cheap and have a great effect try to use the modem main in the center of the house and then from that point share the router reporter or what ever you with to purchase to have a better internet connection try to buy 5ghz repeaters or what ever you wish to get but remember one thing also your internet speed has to be great so you and all the equipment connected have no issues on buffering when playing movies Or simply you can also tweak some routers modems or repeaters for them to have more signal and boost signal it’s not much but some times it does the trick remember this way you will get a faster connet

Place it on the central lowest floor, or use a mesh networks. Wi-Fi signal works great going up but not so much traveling down.

Metal objects seem to be the biggest problem, things such as metal columns and big sliding doors, concrete walls also bring up challenges

By far the best method is to upgrade the hardware and add more access points. Wireless standards have vastly improved in the last few years and it is standard to get wireless speeds that surpass ethernet LAN. In my own newly built home, I was disappointed at the lack of ethernet ports and began planning to add them, then discovered the 802.11ax wireless standard. It uses multiple channels on two frequency ranges to provide an optimal 2-way 6 Ghz connection. I added one Ethernet port and one new wireless access point and left the rest of my cabling in storage.

Upgrading firmware is very important, bug fixes, security updates and hardware fixes, all important things, upgrading will keep everything in top shape

Wi-Fi channels are very important, if channels overlap this could cause poor connectivity. A good rule of thumb, for 2.4 use channels 1, 6, or 11. After you measure with the Wi-Fi analyzer pic the one the is less used.

Use a tool to analyze and select the optimal Wi-Fi channel. This helps avoid interference from neighboring networks. Adjusting the channel settings periodically can further enhance performance.

It is important to note that while the 802.11 b/g/n standard supports longer distance communication and could withstand obstacles better, the 802.11 a/ac/ax standard offers higher bandwidth and is faster.

I have found that a router is like a car lease - every 2-3 years you will need to get a new one. Technology changes, security is always being enhanced, and performance of the hardware is always increasing. I did a device count on my home network and found over 27 devices! Many people don't realize all the different IOT devices that are connected to your home network. Many of the routers of the past, only supported 8-10 connections, imagine with 25+ and with downloads, streaming, video calls, WiFi calling, plus all the everyday activities like email and social media sites. If you haven't upgrade your router in the past 2 years, I would strongly recommend to upgrade now!

In many cases, you may not need to change out your router. A home/small business WiFi router is a combination of devices: a router, a modem, a network switch, a WiFi hotspot, a firewall, etc. Most of these devices are decent overall units and can be very useful, but they don't usually excel at any of their functions. Take a look at what the replacement cost of your router would be. If your main complaint is WiFi coverage or speed, it may be cheaper to keep your router and deploy a standalone wireless access point in your home/business. Incremental upgrades can help extend the usable lifespan of your router.

When it comes to WiFi routers you have to remember that they are as fast as your slowest device. As everything is becoming connected, not all devices use the same speed standards. Your oven, ring, won't have the same "WiFi chip" as your iPhone.

ASUS RT-AC68U is still one of the best router/modems out in the wild, comes with built protection and is built to work, connected 24/7 for years with out issues, it will be a sad day when it stops working, that's if it ever does. VPN no problem, 250mbps bridged handles it fine, wifi 2.4ghz/5ghz 1900mbps for the home and work. plus it can be used as a mesh network a 10+ yr old router with todays tech. solid as a rock

A good plan will help in the long run. I always start with building blueprints (If possible) and measure out my db loss per wall. Once I see the magical -70 db, we look for other locations and/or more APs. Planning is key to having a successful install.

Mesh networks should be the option of last resort as they will use the wireless signal from another AP and "boost" it, this means the max speed of an AP is dictated by the AP it is connected to, reccomend using an ethernet cable where possible and if exsisting isnt already there to run a cable, most enterprise APs are POE so you need to run a cable to the device anyway from a POE powersource (switch or POE injector) to power it

I would stay away from repeaters as they slow down your network. Mesh network is the way to go if you can have it wired to your router. Make sure you adjust the channels so your APs aren't overlapping.

Not everything is secured the same way. Most Internet of Things aren't made with security in mind. Your stove is built with cooking in mind not wifi security. I would recommend using your old wireless router as a secondary network for cameras,rings, ranges, nest. If you can, use wires when ever possible for TVs and PCs.

To prevent your wireless network from unwarranted access, you should adhere to the best security practices, already provided, and in addition protect the devices that connect to the network. You may want to configure your access point/wireless router to connect to devices you have registered their MAC addresses into your wireless router/AP. In doing so, even someone with your access point's password won't be able to connect to your wireless access point/router.