It is highly likely that the place where the installer mounts the router is not the best place to have maximum coverage and speed, so it is important to conduct a preliminary study and, if it is already installed, consider changing its location. Yes, even small changes in its position are noticeable. Roughly speaking, the presence of large obstacles, appliances, furniture and walls, the neighbors and their activity or water can act blocking the signal … hence the kitchen is the least suitable room for installation. In your search for the ideal location, you may have heard of the 30-centimeter rule for the router. We tell you what it is, why it is important and what it is based on.
What is the 30-centimeter rule?
In a house it is normal that there are different devices that compete for the signal, such as smart TV, cell phones, tablets, speakers, vacuum cleaners… although our recommendation is to configure the bands of your router to take better advantage of its virtues, the result may be that even so, the Wi-Fi does not go as fast and stable as it should.
This is where the 30-centimeter rule comes in: Aman Bhatti, director of propositions at Sky Broadband, explains to The Sun that those connected devices that we place close to the router can overload the signal strength, which makes it difficult to distribute it evenly, affecting both speed and interference or drops in other gadgets that are further away. They can also take their toll with interference.
For this reason, for best Wi-Fi performance, the ideal is to maintain a distance of at least 30 centimeters between the router and other devices. This not only applies to the router, but also to PLCs or repeaters.
So if you have the router placed on a power strip along with other devices, make sure you at least respect that distance. Remember that in any case this is a minimum spatial margin, since in other cases such as a smart TV, where heat also influences, there are those who recommend a distance of between 1.5 and 1.8 meters.
Brief notes on the ideal location of the router
The above rule does not reveal anything new about how the router works and how objects affect it, but it is a simple and practical way to apply it. In any case, whether you are installing the router soon or planning modifications, these are the most important criteria for finding the ideal location:
- It is always best to place it in a central area of the house, since the signal is distributed radially. However, this is not always possible and it is also worth considering where the connected devices that use the Internet the most and the ones you use the most are located.
- The idea of finding the middle ground applies not only horizontally, but also vertically. So, if you live in a house with several floors, it is best to be on an intermediate floor. And if your house has only one floor, place it at least at the height of the devices you want to connect.
- There are obstacles that affect the signal and cause it to lose power, such as metal, stone walls and water. Thus, avoid placing the router next to a fish tank, refrigerator or microwave (this small appliance is suspected of causing more interference due to its operation). Also, avoid placing it inside a piece of furniture.
- Keep an eye on the neighbors and their activity: it is interesting to know if where you plan to place the router, on the other side is the kitchen or the router.