Where to put your router

A router in the wrong place can cut your Wi-Fi in half before a single bit leaves the house. The rules for a good spot are simple, and with fixed wireless there is one extra thing to plan: the cable that feeds the router comes from where the outdoor antenna was mounted.

What makes a good router spot?

Think of the router as a lamp. You want the light in the middle of the rooms you use, not in a corner behind a couch. Place it near the center of the house if you can, on a shelf or table at about chest height or higher. Keep the antennas upright if it has them. Leave a few feet of open space around it, and do not shut it in a cabinet, a media closet or a desk drawer.

Radio signals go out in every direction, including down. A router on the floor sends a lot of its energy into the slab. A router on a second-floor landing or a high shelf reaches both floors better than one in the basement or crawlspace.

What blocks the signal most?

Materials do. Wood framing, drywall and glass pass signals well. Brick, stucco over wire lath, concrete block, a stone fireplace, tile in a shower wall and a mirror take a lot. Large metal objects, such as a refrigerator, a safe, a metal desk or a water heater, reflect it. Water absorbs it, which is why a big aquarium next to the router can cause trouble. Neighbors' routers on the same channel add noise but do not block anything.

Many houses in this region have stucco, adobe or metal walls. If yours does, read the guide on stucco, adobe and metal walls for the extras to plan on. Keep the router a few feet from cordless phones, baby monitors and the microwave, which use the same 2.4 GHz band.

How does fixed wireless change the plan?

High Desert mounts an outdoor antenna and radio where they can see a tower, and runs a cable inside to a power supply and injector, as the service agreement describes. Your router connects to the injector by Ethernet, into the router's internet port. That means the router has to be within a cable run of the injector, unless you run a longer cable of your own afterward.

Ask the technician before the work starts where you want the router. The cable path through the wall is easier to choose with you standing there. If you want the router in a central hallway but the antenna is on the garage gable, say so and ask what is practical. Nothing about the router's final place needs to be decided in advance on the phone; the technician and the office can look at it with you. See how to get ready for your install.

What if the ideal Wi-Fi spot is far from the cable?

You have two sound options. Put the router near the injector and add a second access point or a mesh node where you need coverage, joined by an Ethernet cable if you can run one. Or keep the router where the cable is and use a wired link to the places that need strong service, such as the office desk. A wireless extender that repeats a weak signal gives weaker results than either. The mesh guide covers when a second unit helps.

How do you test a spot before you commit?

Move the router for a day with a long cable if you have one. Stand where you work and run a speed test at each spot, noting the result. A phone running a test in each room gives a quick map. The right spot is the one that gives acceptable results where you use Wi-Fi, not where the number is highest. The dead spots article has a short procedure.

Never go up on the roof to adjust the antenna or handle its cable. If a move needs the outdoor equipment touched, call the office at 775-575-9593 any day 9 to 5, and a technician comes.