If you’ve optimised router placement and part of your home still has weak or no signal, you need additional hardware.

There are three approaches. They are not equally good, and the cheapest is comfortably the worst.

First, make sure you actually need it

Extra hardware placed around a badly positioned router just spreads the problem. Work through improving your Wi-Fi signal first — many homes that think they need mesh simply need the router out of the cupboard.

Option 1: Mesh Wi-Fi (best for most homes)

A mesh system is two or three units that work together as one network. They share a single name and password, and your devices move between them automatically as you walk around the house.

• Seamless roaming. A video call continues uninterrupted as you walk from the lounge to the study.
• One network to manage. No confusing second network name, no manual switching.
• Self-organising. The units work out the best path between themselves automatically.
• Expandable. Add another node later if you extend the house.
• Downside: more expensive than a repeater, and nodes still need reasonable signal between them.

Option 2: Access points on cable (best performance)

A second access point connected back to the router with an Ethernet cable. Because the connection to the main router is wired, the access point delivers full speed rather than relaying wirelessly.

• The strongest option technically. No wireless relay, no speed penalty.
• Ideal for double-storey homes — one access point per floor, cabled.
• This is what we install in businesses, hotels, schools and offices.
• Downside: requires running a cable, which may mean some disruption.

If a cable can reasonably be run, this is the option worth paying for. We can survey and install it — request a quote.

Option 3: Repeaters and extenders (last resort)

A repeater receives your Wi-Fi and rebroadcasts it. It is the cheapest option and the least satisfactory.

• It typically halves your speed. The repeater uses the same radio to receive and retransmit, so throughput is roughly cut in half.
• It rebroadcasts whatever it receives. Put it where the signal is already poor and you get a strong signal carrying poor performance — full bars, slow internet.
• Often a separate network name, so devices don’t switch automatically and cling to the wrong one.
• If you must use one, place it halfway between the router and the dead zone, where signal is still strong.

Comparing the three

A note on powerline adapters

Powerline adapters send network traffic through your electrical wiring. They can work well, but performance depends entirely on the age and layout of the wiring, and both adapters must be on the same circuit. Results vary from excellent to unusable with no way to predict which in advance. Worth trying only if they can be returned.

Let us survey it

We install mesh systems and cabled access points for homes and businesses across Eswatini — surveyed properly, configured correctly and tested before we leave. Ask us for a quote and we’ll recommend what your building needs, not the most expensive option available.

A guest network is a separate Wi-Fi network with its own name and password that provides internet access but keeps visitors away from the rest of your network.

It takes about five minutes to set up and solves several problems at once.

Why bother

• Your devices stay private. Guests can’t reach your computers, network storage, printers or security cameras.
• Your main password stays yours. No need to share it with every visitor, tradesperson or friend of the family.
• Easy to change. Change the guest password whenever you like without reconnecting everything you own.
• Contains the damage. If a visitor’s laptop is infected with something, it can’t spread to your devices.
• Useful for smart-home gear too. Many people put cheap smart devices on the guest network to keep them isolated.

Setting it up

1. Log in to your router. Type its address into a browser — it’s on the label underneath, along with the admin credentials.
2. Find the guest network settings. Usually under “Wireless”, “Guest Network” or “Guest Wi-Fi”. Most modern routers have it; some older ones don’t.
3. Enable the guest network and give it a clear name, for example Home-Guest.
4. Set a password. Use something different from your main network but easy to pass on — guests will be typing it on phones.
5. Turn on client isolation. This is the important setting. It may be called “AP isolation”, “guest isolation” or “allow guests to access local network” (which should be off).
6. Set a bandwidth limit if available. Some routers let you cap guest speeds so visitors can’t swallow the whole connection.
7. Save and test. Connect a phone to the guest network and confirm you can browse but can’t reach your printer or shared folders.

If your router has no guest option

• Some entry-level routers don’t support guest networks. Check the manufacturer’s app as well as the web interface — the feature is sometimes only in the app.
• A firmware update may add it.
• Otherwise, change your main Wi-Fi password periodically instead — less convenient, but better than nothing.
• We can supply routers and access points with proper guest network support. Ask us.

For businesses

If you’re offering Wi-Fi to customers in a shop, restaurant, hotel or waiting room, a home router’s guest feature isn’t really the right tool. Our managed Wi-Fi service provides a branded captive portal, voucher-based access, time and data limits, proper separation from your business network, and usage reporting — all managed by us.

Guest network hygiene

• Change the guest password every few months.
• Turn the guest network off when you don’t need it, if your router allows scheduling.
• Don’t connect your own devices to it — that defeats the purpose.
• Check your router’s connected-devices list occasionally to see who’s on.

Before spending money on extra hardware, work through this list. Most homes see a significant improvement from changes that cost nothing at all.

The steps are ordered by how much difference they typically make.

1. Move the router

Placement outweighs every other factor. If your router is in a cupboard in the corner of the house, no amount of configuration will rescue it.

• Central, not peripheral. Signal spreads in all directions, so a corner position wastes most of it outside.
• High, not low. Chest height or above. Floor level is the worst position in any room.
• Open, not enclosed. Out of cupboards, cabinets and drawers.
• Away from metal, water and other electronics. Fridges, geysers, mirrors, aquariums and microwaves all interfere.
• Antennas at right angles. If your router has external antennas, one vertical and one horizontal covers more device orientations.

2. Use the right frequency band

Most routers broadcast 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz simultaneously. They behave very differently.

If both bands share one network name, most modern devices choose sensibly — though some cling stubbornly to 2.4 GHz. If they appear as separate names, connect nearby devices to the 5 GHz one manually.

3. Change your Wi-Fi channel

In a dense neighbourhood, your router competes with your neighbours’ for the same airspace. Symptoms: fine in the morning, poor in the evening.

1. Log in to your router. Type the router’s address into a browser — usually printed on the label along with the admin username and password.
2. Find the wireless settings. Often under “Wireless”, “WLAN” or “Wi-Fi”.
3. For 2.4 GHz, choose channel 1, 6 or 11. These three don’t overlap. Any other channel interferes with two of them.
4. For 5 GHz, leave it on auto unless you have a specific reason — there are far more channels and much less contention.
5. Save and test. Devices will briefly disconnect and rejoin. Try each of the three channels and keep whichever performs best.

4. Reduce the load

• Every connected device consumes airtime, even when idle. Thirty devices on one home router is a lot to ask.
• Remove old phones, tablets and devices you no longer use from the network.
• Older devices can slow the whole network, because the router waits for them.
• Move stationary devices — desktop computers, TVs, consoles, printers — onto Ethernet cables where you can. Every device you take off Wi-Fi leaves more for the rest.

5. Basic housekeeping

• Restart the router every month or two. Clears accumulated issues.
• Keep it ventilated. Overheating routers throttle themselves and fail early.
• Check for firmware updates if you use your own router. Routers we supply are managed by us.
• Secure the network. If neighbours are on your Wi-Fi, they’re using your bandwidth. Change the password — see how.

6. When the router simply can’t reach

There is a limit to what one router can cover. In a large home, a double-storey house or a building with thick walls, extra hardware is the only real answer. See extending your Wi-Fi coverage for the options and which is genuinely worth having.

We also supply and install mesh systems and cabled access points — ask us for a quote.

Changing your Wi-Fi password is straightforward and worth doing when too many people know the old one, when you suspect someone is using your connection, or simply because you’ve never changed it from the one printed on the router.

Before you start

• Every device will disconnect and need the new password. Make a list of what needs reconnecting: phones, laptops, TVs, consoles, printers, smart plugs, cameras, speakers.
• Have the router details ready. The admin address, username and password are usually on a sticker underneath the router.
• Do it when nobody needs the internet. Not in the middle of somebody’s video call.
• Use a device on cable if possible, so you don’t lock yourself out of the settings mid-change.

Changing the password

1. Connect to your network. Either over Wi-Fi or, preferably, with an Ethernet cable.
2. Open the router admin page. Type the router’s address into a browser — it’s printed on the label, and commonly looks like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.88.1. Don’t search for it; type it into the address bar.
3. Log in. Use the admin username and password from the label. Note this is not your Wi-Fi password — they’re different things.
4. Find the wireless settings. Usually labelled “Wireless”, “Wi-Fi” or “WLAN”.
5. Update the password. The field may be called “Password”, “Pre-shared key”, “WPA key” or “Passphrase”.
6. Check the security type. It should be WPA2 or WPA3. If it’s set to WEP, change it — WEP can be broken in minutes.
7. Repeat for both bands if 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz have separate settings.
8. Save and apply. The router may restart, which takes a minute or two.
9. Reconnect your devices using the new password.

Choosing a good password

• At least 12 characters. Length matters more than complexity.
• A memorable phrase works well. Something like BlueGeyser42Ezulwini is both strong and typeable on a TV remote.
• Avoid the obvious. Your surname, address, phone number or the family dog’s name are the first things anyone tries.
• Don’t reuse it from another account.
• Consider how it’s typed. You’ll be entering this on phones, TVs and consoles — a password full of symbols is painful on a remote control.

Changing the network name

The network name — the SSID — is what appears in the list of available networks. Changing it to something recognisable makes life easier for everyone in the house.

• Don’t include your surname, house number or anything else identifying.
• If you have separate 2.4 and 5 GHz networks, name them clearly, for example Home and Home-5G.
• Changing the name also disconnects every device, so do both changes at once.

If you get locked out

If you can no longer log in to the router because the admin password has been changed and forgotten, a factory reset is the only route — hold the recessed reset button for about 10 seconds. Be aware this erases all settings, including any configuration our technician applied, and you may need us to set it up again. Contact us before resetting equipment we supplied.