5 Ways to Improve Your Wi-Fi, Even in Your Backyard

Work and Wi-Fi go hand in hand these days — for a lot of us, anyways — and now that the weather is nice, you’re likely looking for ways to work outside. Maybe out on your porch? That means extending your home’s Wi-Fi network so you can get coverage in places you normally didn’t, or creating your own mobile Wi-Fi signal that you can take with you.

1. Get a Wi-Fi extender

A Wi-Fi extender, also known as a Wi-Fi booster, is a device that plugs into the wall and repeats the wireless signal from your router. It won’t improve the signal in areas of your home that you already get Wi-Fi, as it simply extends the signal to cover more areas of the home. The good news is that there are a number of great Wi-Fi extenders that are affordable and easy to set up, like the TP-Link AC750 ($35) or Linksys RE7310 ($95). If you have a dead zone in your house or directly near it, like a porch or a yard, and you want a low-cost way of curing it, a Wi-Fi extender is probably your best bet.

The main complaint most people have with Wi-Fi extenders is that, while they are affordable, they don’t exactly “extend” your home’s Wi-Fi; instead, they create a separate Wi-Fi network that works with your existing Wi-Fi network.

This means if you walk around your home with your smartphone or laptop, it will jump to whichever Wi-Fi network is strongest — the Wi-Fi network your router creates or the Wi-Fi network that your Wi-Fi extender is “extending.” This creates a problem for people who, say have a number of Sonos speakers and want to create a multi-room system, but if you have different speakers connected to different Wi-Fi networks, you won’t be able to play them all in the same system (they all have to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network to play in a multi-room system).

There are Wi-Fi extenders that will extend your home’s Wi-Fi without creating a separate Wi-Fi network, but they are more expensive and they usually are proprietary to your Wi-Fi service.

For example, if you get Wi-Fi through Verizon Fios you can buy a Wi-Fi extender, like the Fios Extender E3200 ($200), that’s specifically designed to work with the latest Fios router (and it won’t work with any other router).

2. Upgrade your router

If the issue is with your Wi-Fi’s speed and range, and you’re comfortable with spending a little more, you should think about upgrading your router. A lot of homeowners end up using the modem and router given to them by their internet service providers, of which they pay a monthly fee, which is an easy solution (they don’t have to mess with all those wires) but it actually might be the worse and more expensive option (especially in the long run).

If you don’t know, Wi-Fi 6E is the latest and greatest technology for home Wi-Fi that you more bandwidth, space for data to move. That means more devices on your network can operate at max speed, all at once. And all you need to access these speeds is a Wi-Fi 6E router — like the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 ($600) or Linksys Atlas Max 6E ($579). Might you, Wi-Fi 6E routers tend to be on the expensive side.

3. Get a mesh router system

A mesh router system is a great option for people who want to cure multiple Wi-Fi dead zones in and around their home. You can think of them as a system of Wi-Fi extenders that all talk to each other and create a larger Wi-Fi throughout your home; one mesh hub plugs into your modem and then you place other hubs all-around your home. It’s a modular system so the great thing is you can scale up by getting more mesh points anytime you want.

The other big advantage of a mesh Wi-Fi network is that it creates one signal Wi-Fi network, whereas each Wi-Fi extender makes a separate network (which can complicate the user experience). Mesh routers that support the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard, like Nest Wifi Pro (if you have a Google smart home) or Amazon Eero Plus (if you have an Alexa smart home), are a bit expensive at the moment, but it’s the best way to guarantee amazing connection everywhere in your space.

4. Get some extra cable and move your router

This might be the easiest solution but also one you might not want to do. Routers are ugly to look at after all, which is why most of us hide them in a cabinet, under a desk or in some out-of-the-way location in our homes.

The problem is that where you place the router is a huge factor in its signal quality. The signal can be halted by thick walls, pipes, large appliances and any other dense objects, which is why it is best to place them out in the open. To get better Wi-Fi on your deck, it could be as simple as buying a longer ethernet cable and an acceptance that it’s OK to see your router a few times a day.

5. Get a mobile hotspot (or turn your smartphone into one)

A mobile hotspot is a device that connects to the internet via LTE — your 4G or 5G mobile data network — and creates a Wi-Fi signal that your other gadgets, like your laptop, can use.

The great thing about a mobile hotspot is that you can use it wherever you can an LTE signal, such as your yard or at a park. The downside of a mobile hotspot is that you have to buy one so there’s an upfront cost, but you also have to pay for a hotspot to get added to your cellular plan.

If you don’t want to pay for an actual hotspot, there’s a good chance you can turn your smartphone into its own mobile hotspot — most modern phones can create a Wi-Fi signal from an LTE connection. The downside to this is that it’ll burn through your smartphone’s battery life and the data cap of your cellular plan. (Note: not all cellular plans allow you to use your smartphone as a hotspot.)

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