You can get faster Internet speed with a WiFi High-Gain Antenna

You can get faster Internet speed with a WiFi High-Gain Antenna

We all want faster internet and to boost our WiFi speeds. If you saw my last post about changing the antenna’s position, you know that it can radically help with that. But did you know that your router’s antenna can be changed to a High-Gain Antenna for faster internet?

Yes, the antenna in your router can be changed with a different type of antennas so that you can direct your signal to the areas in your home that really required that strong connectivity.

What does High-Gain Antenna for faster internet mean?

The easiest way to explain it is with a light bulb. When you switch on a light bulb, the light is spread all around. Left, right, front, backward, up and down.  As long as you are within the light, you can see. However, there is wastage. There is no reason to send the light above the bulb if there is no one there. What would be great is to take that light and push it where the people are around the light.

Same as your typical router’s antenna which is called an Omni-Directional type of antenna. The WiFi signal is spread around equally in a sphere shape. This is why I advise to always put the router in the middle of the house. When you do that, the signal spreads all the way around and everyone gets WiFi access.

However, just like the light bulb, there is a lot of wasted signal hitting your ceiling. If you live in a single-story home with no upstairs/ downstairs, then why send the signal there?

This is where a the new antenna comes in.

When you replace the bulb with a torch, you can point the torch in a specific direction. This maximizes and focuses the light in one direction.

This is the same as replacing your antenna with high-gain antennas. Instead of the signal being sent out in a sphere with lots of wastage, the high-gain antenna can be directed so that the signal remains on the same plane (same level).

BUT WAIT: Before you rush out and google it, there is a downside.

Be aware that while you gain in some areas, you will lose in others. Much like when a torch is sending a spotlight in one direction, anything not in the light’s path is dark. If you point your high-gain antenna in a specific direction, if someone is not in its path, they will get a very weak signal.

Therefore, if your router has several antennas, you can replace more than one so you can control the signals and still spread it to where it needs to go!

What you need to know before buying a High-Gain Antenna?

  1. Before you buy a high-gain antenna, check your router’s info to make sure which ones are compatible. There are brand name ones and there are third-party ones.
  2. Make sure you can unscrew them off the router. Some might have 4 antennas but are non-removable!
  3. Check the connection. Make sure you buy an antenna that fits your type of connection.
  4. Once your antenna arrives, power off the router, unscrew the ones that come with the router, and replace them with the High-Gain Antenna. You don’t need to configure any software.
  5. Now power up the WiFi router and use your wifi analyzer app on your phone to walk around the property pointing the antenna as you do. This is how you can eliminate WiFi blind spots.

If you are in a single-story home, position the antennas vertically so that all the juicy signal is being spread on the same level as you are. If you have an upstairs/ downstairs then experiment with the angles.

I personally bought these 4 high-gain antennas from Amazon at a cost of $12 for all 4. This was a great investment!

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Liron Segev - TheTechieGuy

Liron Segev is an award-winning tech blogger, YouTube strategist, and Podcaster. He helps brands tell their stories in an engaging way that non-techies can relate to. He also drinks way too much coffee! @Liron_Segev on Twitter