How to Check Your WiFi Signal Strength
WiFi is what most of us rely on for fast and steady internet, but sometimes you might notice that your connection is slower than usual. Websites take longer to load, and videos keep buffering. This generally happens because the WiFi signal isn’t as strong in some parts of your home.
If you want to figure out how strong your WiFi signal is or find the best spot in your house for a good connection, it’s easy to check!
The Simple Way: Look at the Signal Bars
On your phone, laptop, or other devices, you’ll see small signal bars that show how strong your WiFi connection is. More bars mean a stronger signal, and fewer bars mean the signal is weaker. You can walk around your home and watch how the bars change as you get farther from your router.
While this gives you a basic idea, it doesn’t give you exact numbers. For a more reliable reading, you can use an app.
A Better Way: Use a WiFi Analyzer App
If you want to know your WiFi signal strength more precisely, you can use an app like a WiFi analyzer. These apps will show you your signal strength in numbers called dBm (decibels relative to a milliwatt). The numbers range from -30 to -90.
- -30 dBm is the best signal you can get (usually only when you’re right next to the router).
- -90 dBm is the weakest signal, and you might not even be able to connect at this point.
Most of the time, your signal will be somewhere between -50 dBm and -60 dBm, which is good enough for most activities like browsing, watching videos, and even playing games. If your signal is weaker than -60 dBm, you might start to notice slower speeds, and anything above that (closer to -70 dBm or more) could make the internet feel extremely slow.
Conclusion
In short, if your signal is between -50 dBm and -60 dBm, you’re good to go. But if it’s weaker than that, you might want to move closer to your router or think about improving your WiFi setup.