Be sure to station your router so that signals will go straight through walls, as opposed to at an angle. WiFi signals significantly weaken when they hit walls at angles, according to Verizon. If you’re in a multi-floor home or office, place your router on the top floor for maximum coverage.

You’ll also want to situate your router at least 10 feet from certain devices and objects that could interfere with your WiFi signal, like refrigerators, baby monitors, microwaves, cordless phones, garage door openers, speakers, halogen lamps, and mirrors.

2. Switch the channel. TVs aren’t the only gadgets that have channels you can change. To reduce interference from neighboring WiFi networks, switch the channel on yours (according to the instructions on your specific router model) to channel 1, 6, or 11. These are the best and most common channels for wireless networking, according to Best Buy. If you switch and your signal is still no bueno, try another channel (2 through 10) until you find one that maintains a strong connection.

3. Buy a high-gain WiFi antenna. Most WiFi routers come with an antenna or two, but sometimes they’re not strong enough to send signals to hard-to-reach areas and distant corners. Adding a high-gain or “booster” antenna to your router can fix the problem, instantly extending and strengthening your router’s range. Plus, they give you coverage over large areas, often throughout entire homes, offices, warehouses, and outdoor spaces.

A decent variety of high-gain antennas are available at most electronics stores, online and off. Consider buying a reliable, widely-used one, like the Cisco-Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit or Hawking Technology Hi-Gain 6dB Omni-Directional Wireless Antenna. Both retail for around $15.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a techie-type to install a high gain antenna. Simply unscrew your router’s existing antenna and screw on the new one. No cables. No drivers. No fuss.

Remember that beer-can hack? When done right, I hear it can work nearly as effectively as a high-gain antenna, and it’s a lot cheaper. I’m just saying. If you’re up for trying it, check out this step-by-step DIY instructional video. Soda and coffee cans reportedly work just as well. Good luck! (If you do try the beer trick, drop a comment below and let me know how you fared. I plan on rigging one up this weekend.)

4. Buy a plug-in extender. High-gain antennas broadcast your WiFi signal, and WiFi extenders, also called repeaters, rebroadcast them with improved range and speed. Buh-bye, WiFi dead zones. They can be used at the same time as high-gain antennas.

PC World contributing editor Lincoln Spector finds extenders more effective than their high-gain cousins, but he notes that they’re generally more expensive than them. He’s right. A decent electrical outlet plug-in WiFi extender, like the NETGEAR N300 Wi-Fi Range Extender, will set you back $70. On Networks offers an equally effective extender for just $40.

When your browser loads a web page, it opens multiple connections to the server hosting the site. The default number of connections in some browsers is quite low, so increasing the figure should reduce loading times.

To change the number of connections in Internet Explorer, click Start, type gpedit.msc and press Enter. Open the path User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Internet Explorer, Security Features and select AJAX. Double-click the two ‘Maximum number of connections per server’ options, select Enabled and enter the desired number, from 2 to 128.

In Firefox you’ll need to go into about:config and change the value for ‘network.http.max-connections-per-server’. In Chrome, you can’t alter the setting. Many servers now limit the number of connections you can make to them, however, so sometimes it’s best to stick with your browser’s default.
2. Changing your DNS server

Although your broadband provider has its own DNS (Domain Name System) server, which translates website names into IP addresses, switching to OpenDNS or Google Public DNS will speed up your web access.

To change your DNS server go to Control Panel, ‘Network and Internet’, ‘Network and Sharing Center’. Click ‘Change adapter settings’, right-click your network connection and select Properties.

Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), click Properties and select ‘Use the following DNS server addresses’. Now enter the Preferred and Alternate server details from OpenDNS (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) or Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
3. Installing a BT Broadband Accelerator

The BT Broadband Accelerator, also known as the iPlate, improves your connection speed by filtering electrical interference from your home phone wiring.

It fits into your NTE5 master socket and, according to BT, can make your broadband up to 1.5Mbits/sec faster. The device is free for BT customers and available to buy from the BT store.
bt broadband

But does it work? Yes and no. PC Pro reported a significant speed increase when we reviewed the iPlate – “a staggering 63 per cent”.

However, the device will only improve the performance of ADSL connections that have certain types of socket. Find out if it will work for you using the guide on the website.

If you know what you’re doing, you can get the same results by removing the bell wire from your phone socket, but the BT Broadband Accelerator is a safer choice.
4. Avoiding extension cables
internet cables

Another divisive broadband issue is whether using an extension cable will slow your connection or have no detrimental effect. The theory is that the longer the line between your phone socket and your PC, the greater the risk of speed-sapping interference.

If you must use an extension cable, choose one that’s as short as possible. For the best results, plug a router into your master socket and connect it to your computer using an Ethernet cable. You can buy a 10-metre cable from Amazon for £10.
Image of CSL – 10m – CAT.6 Ethernet Gigabit Lan network cable (RJ45) | 10/100/1000Mbit/s | Patch cable | UTP | compatible with CAT.5 / CAT.5e / CAT.7 | Switch/Router/Modem/Patch panel/Access PointCSL – 10m – CAT.6 Ethernet Gigabit Lan network cable (RJ45) | 10/100/1000Mbit/s | Patch cable | UTP | compatible with CAT.5 / CAT.5e / CAT.7 | Switch/Router/Modem/Patch panel/Access Point £9.99 Buy now
5. Moving your wireless router

Placing your router in a central location in your house, preferably on a desk or table rather than under it, will ensure you get speedy Wi-Fi access throughout your home.

The strength of a wireless signal can be degraded by wood and metal, so the fewer walls and items of furniture it has to pass through, the faster your broadband speed. You should also try to keep the router away from power cables and other wireless devices such as baby monitors.
6. Switching to another channel

If your wireless connection is being weakened by interference from electrical devices, or your neighbours’ Wi-Fi, setting your router to a different channel might solve the problem. Most routers let you choose another channel, from 1 to 13, through their main configuration page.

It works well, if channel congestion is the cause of your speed woes. The free tool inSSIDer will tell you what channels your neighbours use, so you know which ones to avoid.
7. Disabling automatic updates

Lots of programs check for and download updates automatically, which can use up bandwidth without you realising. Although it’s important to keep Windows and your anti-virus software up to date, turning off automatic updates in other programs can make your connection seem faster. You can usually do this via the software’s settings.

For most people the speed boost will be minimal, though.

Windows updates, security scans and updates, media player pop-ups, instant chat applications, Skype, open website tabs and more – all these things can eat away at your broadband speed.

To boost your speed, shut down services you don’t want, as well as any bandwidth-heavy streaming services like BBC iPlayer and Spotify when you’re not using them. To do this:

• On PC, press ALT + CTRL + DEL to bring up task manager to see all programs running and close the ones you don’t want.
• Open Activity Log to see a list of everything running. Close down the ones that aren’t essential.

You should also delete old files, and clear your browser history – you can do this from your web browser options menu.