Having fast and reliable home Internet is essential. Your experience may vary based on your devices WiFi (wireless) connections & WiFi range depending upon your modem location, house type and size. WiFi relies on wireless radio frequency to send and receive data between devices which is heavily dependent on the signal quality.
The location of your modem in your home plays a significant role in the overall quality of your WiFi connection. Learn more about the best practices for placing your modem and having a better WiFi signal quality with the tips below.
Watch and learn
Watch the video tutorial below to learn the importance of modem placement.Modem placement
For better WiFi coverage, your modem should be placed in a central location, this works especially well if you have an open floor plan house. Alternatively, placing your modem central to where the Internet is most often used is a good choice as well.
It’s also worth considering the key elements below when placing your modem:
Ensure you’re placing your modem
✔ Out in the open
✔ Raised off the ground
Avoid placing your modem
✖ In basements
✖ In cabinets
✖ Behind other objects
To avoid interference, try to keep your modem away from
✖ Household appliances
✖ Metal objects
✖ Electrical equipment
For more information and remedies, read the article About: WiFi Interference.
House size, type & WiFi coverage
On average, homes of approximately 1600 sq. ft. (or less) should be able to use one modem with no extra WiFi access points when the modem is centrally located, however, construction materials, interference and usage may cause issues in homes as small as 800 sq. ft.
If you live close to your neighbours, like in apartment or condo buildings, your WiFi quality may be impacted by your neighbours wireless and electronic devices.
Houses with multiple floors need to consider where consistent connections are needed most. In a multi-floor home, based on which floor you place your modem, the building material in between floors might decrease your WiFi range to the other floor. If you still have dead spots, you may consider extending your WiFi coverage.
Extending WiFi range with Pods
Houses with dead spots or WiFi Interference may benefit from adding multiple WiFi access points known as extenders, or as we like to call them, Pods! If you have an Ignite WiFi Gateway (formerly known as Fibre+ Gateway), you may want to consider adding Ignite WiFi Pods (formerly known as Fibre+ Pods) to extend your WiFi network, learn more about them here, About: Ignite WiFi Pods.
Ignite WiFi Pods create a mesh network, which provides several key benefits that third-party WiFi extenders do not, like an adaptive WiFi network that automatically connects your devices to the best possible WiFi point in the home, as you walk around. Even better – you’re able to centrally manage your entire home network from the Ignite HomeConnect App (formerly known as BlueCurve Home App) - for more information read the article Ignite WiFi Pods FAQ
Placing your Pods
- Plug your Ignite WiFi Pods throughout your home into wall outlets. Use the lower outlet as this will keep the top clear so you can use to plug in other devices
- Ensure there is at least one room separating each Pod and your Ignite WiFi Gateway— but they are no more than 20 to 30 feet apart.
- Place your Pods between dead spots, spacing them evenly from each other and your centrally located Ignite WiFi Gateway.
- To ensure the best signal and performance, place Pods where they are visible and not blocked by furniture or other large objects or any other electronic devices.
If your Pods are dropping connection or behaving poorly, they might have been placed in an area that is subject to interference or they may be too far away from the modem to pass on a strong signal.
2.4GHz vs 5Ghz range expectations
WiFi operates on two bands - 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz which both have their own benefits based on the location, distance, and requirements of your devices.
5 GHz frequency can carry more data and supply faster speed, but it has less coverage and is affected more easily by common obstacles.
2.4 GHz frequency has a better range but lower speed which tends to be more easily affected by any radio interference compared to 5 GHz frequency.
Note: Ignite WiFi Gateway supports both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, but these won't appear separately in lists of available networks. Instead, the modem automatically routes your devices to the optimal frequency using a feature called band steering.