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Improve slow or unreliable Wi-Fi

Optimise router placement, reduce interference, and see whether a mesh system could help.

Wi-Fi is the radio link between your device and router. Your AFTEL fibre service can be online and fast while Wi-Fi is weak in another room, especially when the router is inside a garage cabinet.

Is it the internet or Wi-Fi?

Run a wired speed test and a Wi-Fi test beside the router before buying equipment or changing advanced settings.

Wired is good, nearby Wi-Fi is good: the problem is likely coverage or interference in another room.
Wired is good, nearby Wi-Fi is poor: check the device, router wireless settings and nearby interference.
Wired is also poor: Wi-Fi changes will not address the underlying result. Record the tests and troubleshoot the router or service.

Test more than one device. A single older phone or laptop may have a slower Wi-Fi adapter than the rest of the household.

Improve router placement

  • Place the router in an open, central and elevated position where practical.
  • Keep it away from metal cabinets, large appliances, microwave ovens and dense concrete walls.
  • Do not stack the router beneath other warm electronics.
  • Use Ethernet house cabling to move the router out of the garage cabinet if the correct wall path is available.
  • Use 5 GHz for faster nearby connections and 2.4 GHz for longer reach or older smart devices.
  • Update the router firmware using the manufacturer’s supported process.
Moving the router can change the cable path. Confirm the selected room socket is patched back to Fibre Box LAN 1 and connects to the router WAN port.

When mesh Wi-Fi can help

A mesh system can help a large, long or multi-storey home where one well-placed router cannot reach every room. It will not repair a lost fibre signal or incorrect PPPoE configuration.

  • Choose a mesh system that supports router mode and PPPoE if it will replace the main router.
  • Place the first mesh unit where it can connect to the Fibre Box LAN 1 path.
  • Place additional units partway toward the weak area—not inside the dead zone.
  • Use Ethernet backhaul between mesh units when suitable house cabling is available.
  • Avoid running two routers in router mode unless you intentionally understand the double-NAT effect.

For a small coverage gap, repositioning the router may be enough. For a difficult property, AFTEL’s technician-assisted setup service can help assess placement and cabling in selected areas.