Wi-Fi tech has improved exponentially and there's simply no comparing early Wi-Fi routers to even modern budget routers let alone premium Wi-Fi routers. Rather than suffer through a crappy Wi-Fi experience with slow speeds, lag, and dropped connections, we recommend replacing old gear. If it feels like your old Wi-Fi router is laboring under the burden of all those new devices and their increased bandwidth demands there's a good chance it is. What was a perfectly serviceable router back when people had only a handful of Wi-Fi devices just doesn't cut it in a modern home where everything from the TV to the thermostat is internet-enabled. No amount of tips and tricks can magically make a ten-year-old router not, well, a ten-year-old router. But if your router is long in the tooth then you're only going to get so much improvement out of small adjustments and changes. If your router is relatively new (or even fresh out of the box!) and you're not getting the signal strength and Wi-Fi experience you expect, then all these tips will be very useful. It's the best choice, and cheaper than most carriers will offer you.Related: You Don't Need Gigabit Internet, You Need a Better Router They even have an optional antenna you can install on your roof to give cell coverage everywhere around your house. If we could do it over again, we'd have started with this zBoost microcell that supports virtually every cell provider and has many different models and options to choose from depending on the size of the house. And since it only works for Verizon, any of the people who come by who use other carriers have zero signal, which is really annoying. Of course, since you likely have Wi-Fi in your house, LTE isn't really a big deal and the 3G will work just fine for calls and texts.Įditor's Note: For the official How-To Geek office we got a Samsung microcell device directly through Verizon, which wasn't cheap, and doesn't work all that well. You can also buy them easily on Amazon or almost any decent tech store-for instance the one pictured below works for AT&T and supports LTE (though it is a bit pricey), or you can get one that supports Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Cricket, and many others, but you won't get LTE support. As with boosters and repeaters, a femtocell may be available at a steep discount from your carrier in areas they know they have poor cellular service. But femtocells can provide a signal to older devices that can't do Wi-Fi.Īsk your cellular carrier if they offer this sort of product and find out how much it will cost you. If you can use Wi-Fi calling on your devices, that's a better and easier solution that doesn't require any more hardware. And unlike some older "Wi-FI calling" services, this doesn't require a special app. This is all designed to hand off automatically, so you could start a phone call on your Wi-Fi network and your phone would automatically switch to the cellular network as you walk out the door, with no interruptions. When you leave the Wi-Fi network, your phones and calls will be sent over the cellular network as usual. When your phone is on Wi-Fi and has a poor cellular signal, it will connect to the Wi-Fi network and your phone calls and text will be sent and arrive over the Wi-Fi network. You can just improve your Wi-Fi signal strength, and all your devices will benefit! Your home probably has Wi-Fi, so Wi-Fi calling will let you use your existing wireless router instead of needing a new, specialized device. This is the best solution if your phone and cellular carrier supports it.Įssentially, Wi-Fi calling allows your smartphone to make calls and send text messages over a Wi-Fi network. It's also built into many modern Android phones. If you have an iPhone 5c or any newer iPhone, you can use Wi-Fi calling. Wi-Fi calling has become increasingly widespread in the last few years. Related: How To Get a Better Wireless Signal and Reduce Wireless Network Interference
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