Central, high and in the open
A router sends its signal outwards in all directions. Placed at one end of the house, half the signal goes outside or to the neighbours. Placed centrally, it reaches every room with less distance and fewer walls in the way.
Height matters too: furniture and people absorb signal at floor level. A shelf, the top of a cupboard or a wall mount at about head height works well. Keep it out of closed cabinets, especially metal ones.
In short: Centre of the home, head height, nothing around it.
What blocks Wi-Fi
Materials weaken the signal very differently:
| Obstacle | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wood, plasterboard, glass | Small loss |
| Brick walls | Moderate to large, especially on 5 GHz |
| Concrete and reinforced concrete floors | Large; often the main problem in multi-storey homes |
| Metal (doors, cabinets, water tanks, mirrors with metal backing) | Very large; reflects and blocks the signal |
| Water (fish tanks, water pipes, people) | Absorbs the signal |
| Microwave ovens, cordless phones | Interference on 2.4 GHz while in use |
Multi-storey and brick or concrete homes
Many homes in Pakistan are built with brick walls and concrete floors, which is hard on Wi-Fi, especially 5 GHz. If the router is on the ground floor, the first floor may get a weak signal no matter how you angle it.
The reliable fix is a second transmitter on each floor: a mesh system, or a second router set to access-point mode connected with an Ethernet cable. Range extenders placed halfway can help but halve the speed of what they repeat. See how to improve Wi-Fi and Ethernet vs Wi-Fi.
Keep it on during power cuts
During load-shedding, a router on a UPS or inverter keeps Wi-Fi up for laptops and phones on battery. Small DC UPS units made for routers are widely available and power the router directly at its rated voltage; check the router's power adapter (voltage and current) before buying. Fibre users also need the ONT powered, since the router can't connect without it.
Test, move, test again
Run the Wi-Fi speed test in each room where you use the internet and note download speed and latency. Move the router a metre or two, or raise it, and test again. Small moves often make a clear difference in far rooms. If one area stays poor, that's where a mesh node or access point should go.
Common questions
Is it bad to put the router on the floor?
Yes. Router antennas radiate mostly outwards and slightly down, and furniture blocks the signal at floor level. Put it on a shelf or wall mount at about head height.
Should router antennas point up?
With two antennas, point one straight up and one sideways. Vertical antennas cover the same floor best, horizontal ones help reach floors above and below.
Can one router cover a two-storey house?
Sometimes, if it's central and the floors are thin. With brick or concrete floors, a second access point or mesh node on the other floor usually works much better.