How Far Will Your Wi-Fi Signal Reach?

Many factors can impact the distance that your Wi-Fi signal will reach. Not only do you need to ensure you have your Wi-Fi set up correctly to prevent dead spots and connectivity issues in your home or business, but you also need to understand the factors that can impact the best Wi-Fi signal. Many people are hindering their access to Wi-Fi in their homes solely due to the location of their router.

Wi-Fi signals will usually reach about 150 feet or over 45 meters for a 2.4Ghz frequency. Using a 5Ghz frequency, you will get about 50 feet or about 15 meters of reach. The reach of your signal will be impacted by the manufacturer of the equipment that you are using, the location your router is installed, and the obstructions that might block the signal in your home or business.

If you are ready to learn more about how far your Wi-Fi signal will reach, you need to read on!

Physical Obstructions

These might be dense materials like concrete walls blocking the signal from your router. Plaster walls that are reinforced with metal wiring and large appliances can also stop and impede signals. Even thick glass can have a detrimental effect on Wi-Fi signal strength. It is always best to place your router without obstructions to its signal.

Location of Your Home or Business

People who live in apartment buildings or condos often experience issues with signal interference due to their neighbors. Apartment units commonly have problems with Wi-Fi saturation impacting signal, and there can also be issues related to baby monitors and even microwave ovens impacting signal quality. If you live in a single-family home or work in a business that does not share walls with other companies, you will have a better Wi-Fi signal.

Router Placement will affect how far your Wi-Fi reaches

Many people are tempted to place their router in a location like a closet or an out-of-the-way corner of a room. This might seem like a great idea to prevent your router from being damaged, knocked over, or unplugged, but it can also impact the signal strength. Your router really needs to be placed in a central location that is not blocked by walls or barriers. The more central your router placement at your home or business, the more likely you will have access to the full range of your Wi-Fi signal.

Read our article on the best place to put your router for strong Wi-Fi.

If you are not sure how fast your internet is at certain places in your home or business, you can easily test the speeds that you are pulling down. Speed testing tools are free, and you can check out your Wi-Fi speeds with ease using these tools. This can help you diagnose your areas with coverage issues more accurately.

What is the Typical Range of a Wi-Fi Network?

With a modern Wi-Fi router on your side, you should be able to deliver about 1,500 to 2,000 feet of coverage to a single-level building. However, this ideal situation might not be possible, and the same rule of thumb applies to obstructions and solid walls in and around the building. Concrete walls, big furniture, and other kinds of obstructions can all impact the range of your Wi-Fi. Not everyone has a single-level home or building that is easy to cover with a standard router's full expected Wi-Fi range.

This is one of the reasons that many people plan to have a range extender in place in their home or business to make sure that the coverage that is in place takes care of the entire building. Many large houses, or buildings that are two stories, will almost always need range-extending assistance of one kind or another. Trying to make your multi-story building get coverage from one router can be really challenging, and you might need the help of an extender or an access point.

Read our related article: How Do Wi-Fi Extenders Work

If you use a quality router, you will be unlikely to need an extension to your coverage for an average home or business building. When you insert an extender into the network, you will get reliable coverage for any parts of the building that are not getting coverage without this help. This is a simple solution that will be affordable and simple to apply.

Many people are tempted to place their router where it will not be bumped into or knocked over, but a closet or a small corner is not a good place for a router. In most cases, these areas will just impede signal and make your Wi-Fi performance much reduced. You might not want to have your router right in the middle of the biggest room in your home, but locating it somewhere near the middle of the building is always a good rule of thumb.

An access point can also significantly extend the range of your Wi-Fi signal, but this is a more involved solution. This kind of extender needs to be connected to a wired switch, making it hard to add this kind of solution to some spaces. Businesses often extend their Wi-Fi this way, but you might not have the proper setup for your needs to use this kind of solution. You will need to look at all of these options compared to your building's design before deciding the correct type of extension solution to use.

How Can You Extend the Range of Your Wi-Fi Network?

The best way to make your coverage more effective is to place your router in a more central location and be sure that it is away from concrete and other obstructions. You will also want to consider picking up a Wi-Fi extender to make sure that there are no coverage gaps in your home or business. Another great solution is to invest in a new and more modern router or set up a mesh network.

If you do decide to invest in a new router, you will want to pick up something like an 802.11 ac (Wi-Fi 5) or an 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). Being behind the times can really impact your Wi-Fi performance, and investing in slightly newer technology that is still not ideal isn't a great solution either. If you are going to upgrade, make sure to do it right.