Is your internet provider's router the problem?
The box your provider sent is easy to blame. Sometimes it deserves it. Often the real problem is where it sits. Here's how to tell the two apart.
In this guide
Almost everyone starts with the router their provider sends. When the Wi-Fi is poor, it's the obvious suspect: it's free, it's plastic, and it's usually a few years old. Sometimes that's fair. Just as often, a brand-new router in the same spot would do no better.
Signs the router itself is the limit
- It's old. If it only supports Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) or early Wi-Fi 5, it's genuinely slower and handles many devices worse than current models.
- Wi-Fi is slow even right next to it, while a device plugged in by cable gets the full speed of your plan.
- It struggles with many devices. Everything is fine with two phones and falls apart when the whole family is home.
- It reboots, freezes or runs hot and needs a restart every few days.
- It has no settings you need, such as separate band names or disabling its Wi-Fi.
Signs it's placement, not the router
- Wi-Fi is fast near the router and poor in far rooms. Every router gets weaker with distance and walls. A better one moves the edge a little; it doesn't abolish it.
- It's in a cabinet, on the floor, or in a corner. See router in a cabinet.
- Things improve when you move it, even temporarily with a long cable.
A two-minute test
- Connect a laptop by cable and check the speed: that's your line.
- Stand one meter from the router with your phone and check again: that's the router's Wi-Fi at its best.
- Go to the problem room and check once more.
If step 2 is far below step 1, the router's Wi-Fi is the bottleneck. If step 2 is fine and step 3 is poor, it's coverage, and moving the router or adding a node will help more than replacing it. See full bars but slow Wi-Fi.
If you do add your own
- Ask the provider first. Many will swap an old box for a current model for free or a small fee.
- Keep the provider's box as a modem, turn off its Wi-Fi, and connect your router or mesh system to it by cable.
- Avoid two routers fighting. If the provider's box offers a bridge mode, use it. If it doesn't, your own router will work behind it, but some things, like game consoles or port forwarding, may need extra settings.
- Put your router where the Wi-Fi is needed, not next to the provider's box. The cable between them can be long. See where to put your router and mesh vs extender.
Decide on evidence
A new router is money well spent when the old one is the limit, and wasted when the spot is. WiFi Heatmap maps your home with the current setup; if the map shows good coverage near the router and poor coverage far away, the fix is position or a node. If it's mediocre everywhere, even up close, the router is the weak link.