Connection speed and flakiness of our wireless router seems to be going downhill fast. It’s OK if you’re close to it but connection and speeds in further away rooms is less good.

Do routers have a lifespan, or should I be looking at the stuff connected to it? Any tips to improve it temporarily?

Have you done a hard reset recently?

Maybe try DD-WRT?

Could be a neighbour on the same channel?

Could be other routers nearby on the same channel as yours affecting the connection.

try installing a wifi analyser on your phone. if you see loads of routers on the same channel as yours then change it.

HTH 🙂

I have problems in the evenings with this (Live on a terrace street in manchester). There are at least 4 other routers on each of channels 1, 6, 11 near me. bloody annoying 👿

My BT one started to “go off”. I spoke to a very nice man in India who changed the channel on it from 4000 miles away and all was tickerty-boo.

Not sure, but I’ve had the same symptoms with a couple of routers in the past – gradual degradation over time. Replacing them has worked both times.

Our first Netgear router lasted about 8 years IIRC, but gradually dropped more and more – replaced it.

If you have a BT Home Hub 4 or 5 they’re dual band so you can turn the 5ghz band on which will likely have more channels free. you’ll need a 802.11a or 802.11ac compatible wireless card in your laptop for it to work mind. In my experience smartphones & tablets are more likely to be 5ghz friendly.

OK, I installed a wireless checker and while there don’t seem to be any band overlaps with neighbours routers, the signal strength is decidedly pish the further you get from it.

So some questions?

Will changing to a different channel improve the reception in any way?

I read online about changing the channel, which doesn’t seem too hard. Do I need to change anything on the device that connect, or are they smart enough to do that themselves (I assume so, otherwise how would they find and connect to other randomm networks when out and about, etc.)

If it won’t improve the connection, any other ideas other than getting a better, newer router? Does building a tin foil reflector really make a difference?

What router have you currently got OP?

I seem to have to replace them every couple of years, regardless of brand, I always end up with connection drops, DNS issues, etc.