Why is your Wi-Fi slow in some rooms?
A short guided check of the things that most often limit home Wi-Fi: the band, the distance, what is in the way, and where the router sits.
Which Wi-Fi band is this device using?
How far is the device from the router?
What is between the device and the router?
Roughly how old is the device?
If you have run a speed test in both places, enter the figures
These are your own readings, not a measurement we take. Comparing the two is the most useful thing on this page.
Could you plug this device into the router with a cable?
What is most likely limiting your Wi-Fi
Low confidence — based on what you have told us so far
- possibleCongestion on the 2.4GHz bandMicrowaves, cordless phones, baby monitors and every neighbouring router share this band. It is worth ruling out because it costs nothing to try.
What we do not know
- Comparing a reading beside the router with one where you normally sit is the single most useful thing here, and we do not have both.
- We do not know which band the device is using. It is usually shown in the Wi-Fi details on the device itself.
- We do not know whether you can test this device over a cable for comparison.
Free things to try, in order
- quickMove obvious sources of interferenceMicrowaves, cordless phones, baby monitors and dense masonry all degrade 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. A neighbouring router on the same channel does too — many routers can re-scan for a clearer channel from their settings page.
2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz
2.4GHz travels much further and passes through walls better, but it is slower and far more crowded — most neighbouring networks and a lot of household electronics sit on it. 5GHz is considerably faster and much less congested, but its range is shorter and it is stopped more easily by walls and floors. 6GHz is faster again with even shorter range, and only newer devices support it. Most routers broadcast more than one, and devices do not always pick well.
Where to put the router
- Put the router out in the open rather than in a cupboard, a cabinet or behind a television.
- Higher up is better than on the floor — the signal spreads outwards and downwards.
- Central to the property beats a corner or a front hallway, which wastes half the coverage on the street.
- Keep a metre or so between the router and large metal objects, mirrors, water tanks and microwaves.
Why Wi-Fi is almost always the narrowest part
The line into your home is usually the most reliable link in the chain. Wi-Fi is the weakest, because it is a radio signal shared with every neighbouring network, absorbed by walls, and negotiated separately by every device. A connection that is fine at the router and poor in the back bedroom is a coverage problem, not a broadband one.
2.4GHz and 5GHz
Most routers broadcast both, often under the same network name, and your device chooses between them without telling you. 2.4GHz travels further and passes through walls, but it is slower and shared with microwaves, cordless phones and every router nearby. 5GHz is much faster and far less crowded, but it is stopped more easily by walls and floors.
The practical consequence: close to the router you want 5GHz, and far from it 2.4GHz may genuinely give a better result. Devices do not always pick well.
Why we ask you to measure in two places
One reading tells you the speed at that spot. Two readings — one beside the router, one where you actually sit — tell you how much is being lost in between, which is the only thing that separates a coverage problem from a line problem. It is the single most useful two minutes you can spend on this.
What this tool does not do
It does not measure anything. Browsers cannot read Wi-Fi signal strength, the band in use or the link rate, so every figure here is one you have supplied and is treated as your own report rather than as a measurement. It also names areas that are likely to be involved, not a single cause — Wi-Fi problems rarely have one.