Router placement matters more than most people think
Wi-Fi radiates outward from the router in all directions. A router shoved in a corner closet or behind the TV wastes half its coverage on your yard. Central, elevated, and out in the open wins — sometimes that one move fixes everything.
Thick walls, appliances, and other devices all block signal
Concrete, brick, metal ductwork, refrigerators, and even fish tanks absorb Wi-Fi. Microwaves and baby monitors actively interfere with it. If your dead zone sits behind the kitchen or a masonry wall, the signal isn't weak — it's being eaten.
Mesh Wi-Fi systems eliminate dead zones in larger homes
Mesh systems (Eero, Orbi, Google Wifi) use multiple units that hand your devices off seamlessly as you move through the house. For homes over ~1,800 square feet or with multiple floors, mesh is almost always the right answer — one powerful router rarely is.
Know your bands: 5GHz is faster, 2.4GHz reaches further
Modern routers broadcast on two bands. 5GHz is much faster but fades quickly through walls; 2.4GHz is slower but travels further. A device at the far end of the house may actually do better on 2.4GHz — and most routers can steer devices automatically if set up right.
If your router is more than 5 years old, it is the bottleneck
Wi-Fi standards improve every few years, and an old router slows down every device in the house — no matter how fast your internet plan is. Before paying your provider for more speed, make sure your own hardware can actually deliver the speed you already have.
I design and install whole-home Wi-Fi that reaches every room — quoted up front, tested before I leave.