Easy Guide to Set up the Best Wi-Fi for Streaming

If you are a hardcore Netflix or Hulu streamer, you will surely want to make the most of your Wi-Fi setup.  A good and effective home Wi-Fi set up can enhance performance and speed significantly. Such a setup will allow you to stream your favorite movies and shows in HD without any interruptions and without slowing down speeds because of the use of multiple devices. You might not be the only one at your home who wants to enjoy uninterrupted streaming. Also, there might be other users like your partner and kids.

So, if you want them to have the best Wi-Fi experience, you need to take your Wi-Fi setup game up a notch. By doing so, you and your family members will be able to stream HD content, play heavy games and talk to their loved ones seamlessly. To so do, you need to make sure whether your router is delivering the required speeds, whether it is placed at the right spot and whether you have the right equipment to avoid the dead spots.

Determine the Speeds That You Need

While the older hardware used to be quite reliable, it is not strong enough to handle the current Internet needs. You might have 2 or 3 TVs and hence 2-3 streaming devices at your home; the old hardware can’t deliver equally good signals to all of them. Moreover, the video quality offered by cable providers and streaming service providers has also improved significantly in the past few years. All these factors render the old hardware inefficient to fulfill the demands.

To stream HD movies or shows from Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, you need to have at least 25 Mbps speed. If you can compromise on the picture quality, you’ll still need 10 Mbps speeds to stream content without any buffering.

So, if you want smooth Internet connectivity, Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 are the best available options in the market. These are 802.11ac or 802.11ax routers and they provide guaranteed faster and better connections to the users. Although Wi-Fi 6 is faster of the two, it requires heavy device upgrades. So, unless you are planning to buy new expensive devices, you’re better off with an 802.11ac router.

If you have older versions of the routers, they can still provide enough speeds to let you stream smoothly on a single device. If, however, you are using multiple devices, you might want to upgrade your router or opt for better Internet speeds.

How to Improve Your Wi-Fi Speed?

You can ensure better Wi-Fi signals in a variety of ways. But before you do that, it is important to find the weak link.

Find the Culprit

To do that, you need to consider three things; the streaming server, your Internet speeds, and your home router. If there’s a fault with the streaming server and it is not letting you stream HD content, you can lower the video quality or opt for a higher speed package. If you think that your Wi-Fi speeds do not match the advertised ones, then you can run a speed test and contact the ISP. Finally, your router might be outdated and not be able to deliver the advertised speeds. You can either change settings or purchase a new router.

 

Place the Router at the Right Spot

One of the best methods to fix weak Wi-Fi signals is to place the router at the right spot. Sometimes, a bad spot can considerably weaken signals. Therefore, purchase a Wi-Fi analyzer and use a heat map to find the right spot for your router. In this way, you’ll notice a huge improvement in the Wi-Fi signals.

 

Use Wi-Fi Extenders and Mesh Networks

If you have a big house and multiple devices like laptops and TVs for various rooms, it might be a good idea to stretch the coverage area. You can either use a Wi-Fi extender to enable signals to reach rooms with poor Wi-Fi coverage or you can opt for a mesh network that allows the user to enjoy the best signals over a large area. If you are looking for an inexpensive option, then you can opt for a Wi-Fi extender. However, if your sole concern is to improve the coverage, a mesh network might be the best choice.

Connect to the 5GHz Band

If you have purchased a new router, it might allow your network to be operated at both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands. So, if you are currently using the 2.4 GHz band, consider switching to 5GHz one because it has much less noise than the other one. Also, it allows offers faster data transmission and lesser congestion than the 2.4 GHz band.

Prefer Ethernet Over Wi-Fi

If you are the only user at your home, you can connect your device directly to the router via an Ethernet cable. The Wi-Fi router placement might not be ideal and if you are looking for a quick fix, using an Ethernet cable might save you from a lot of trouble.

Update Your Security

Another proven way of making Wi-Fi faster is to update the security. Other devices or applications might be using your connection without your knowledge. A weak password can significantly increase the risk. So, choose a strong password and install anti-virus software to prevent hackers from accessing your private information.

Change the Settings

You can also change your router settings to enable fast streaming on your device. Change the settings to make the router deliver faster speeds to your device. This can significantly slow down the speeds on other devices but everyone else at your home is okay with that, you can opt for this option.

Get Faster Speeds

If these tips haven’t worked for you, you can run a speed test on “speedtest.net” and contact your ISP if the speeds are slower than expected. If you are not able to stream easily even with the advertised speeds, you might need to subscribe to a package or a plan with higher speeds.