Why is my wifi slow in only one room?
What blocks a signal, how to confirm it is the wifi rather than the broadband, and the fix that suits each cause.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Test the speed next to the router and in the bad room. If it is fast at the router and slow in the room, it is a wifi coverage problem — not your broadband — and the fix is a mesh system or a wired connection, not a faster package.
This is the most common home network complaint, and the most common wasted money: people upgrade their broadband package when the bottleneck is the last ten metres inside the house. One test tells you which it is.
Step by step
- Test next to the router first.Run a speed test standing beside it. That is what your broadband actually delivers. Anything slower elsewhere is a wifi problem, not a broadband one.
- Test in the bad room, on the same device.Same device, same test, so the comparison is fair. A big gap confirms coverage.
- Identify what is in the way.Brick and stone walls, foil-backed plasterboard, mirrors, radiators, water tanks and underfloor heating all block wifi badly. Two solid walls is often enough to kill it.
- Move the router if you can.Central, high, out in the open. Routers are usually installed wherever the phone socket is, which is frequently a hallway corner behind a cupboard — the worst place in the house.
- Try the 2.4GHz band in that room.It travels much further through walls than 5GHz, at lower peak speed. For a distant room, a slower signal that arrives beats a fast one that does not.
- Change the wifi channel if neighbours are close.In a flat or terrace, everyone's wifi competes. Most routers can scan and pick a clearer channel, and some do it automatically.
- Choose the right extension for the situation.Mesh system: best, seamless, most expensive. Powerline adapters: good where walls are the problem and wiring allows. A basic extender: cheapest, halves throughput, and creates a second network name.
- Run a cable if you can.Unglamorous and unbeatable. For a fixed device — a desk, a television, a games console — an ethernet cable removes the problem permanently.
Tips
- Wifi speed and broadband speed are different things. Upgrading the package does nothing for a room the signal barely reaches.
- A mesh node placed halfway between the router and the bad room works far better than one placed in the bad room, where it only receives a weak signal to rebroadcast.
- Test at different times. If it is only slow in the evening, that is congestion rather than coverage.
Questions people ask
Will a faster broadband package fix a slow room?
No, if the speed is fine next to the router. That is a coverage problem inside the house and needs mesh, powerline or a cable.
Should I use 2.4GHz or 5GHz for a distant room?
2.4GHz. It is slower at its best but travels much further through walls, and a usable slow signal beats an unusable fast one.