The 30-minute yearly Wi-Fi checkup
Home networks don't fail; they drift. A short annual check costs less than the evening you'll otherwise lose.
In this guide
Nothing about a home network stays still. Devices get added, furniture moves, neighbours buy new routers, firmware changes, and the flat that worked perfectly in March is annoying by November. Half an hour once a year keeps that drift from turning into an emergency.
1. Look at where the router lives (5 minutes)
Furniture moves and routers get buried. Check that it is still off the floor, out of a cabinet, away from metal and not behind the TV. See router height and the router in the cabinet.
If there are mesh nodes, confirm nobody has moved one to a more convenient socket in the last twelve months. See where to put mesh nodes.
2. Count what's connected (5 minutes)
Open your router's device list. You'll usually find things you forgot: an old tablet, a printer, a spare phone, a smart plug from a device you no longer own. Remove what's gone. A shorter list makes every future problem easier to diagnose, and smart home gadgets are the usual suspects: see smart home devices keep dropping off.
3. Check the hardware's age (5 minutes)
If the router came with the contract and the contract is several years old, ask the provider for the current model. It's the most common free upgrade in home networking: see when the provider's router is the limit.
While you're there, check for a firmware update and restart the thing once: see restarting the router.
4. Measure the house (10 minutes)
This is the part that turns opinion into fact. Walk the rooms, take readings, and compare with last year's map if you have one. Changes to look for:
- A room that used to be fine and is now weak, which usually means something moved.
- A new dead zone, which often appeared with a new appliance or a neighbour's new equipment.
- Outdoor areas you started using since the last check.
How you measure matters more than how long it takes: see how a heatmap is actually made.
5. Test the things you actually care about (5 minutes)
Coverage isn't the goal; working devices are. Make a short video call in the room where you work, start something on the TV, and use your phone in the worst corner of the house. If all three are fine, your network is fine regardless of what any number says.
Write down what you changed
If you move something or add a node, note it with the date. Next year, that note plus two maps tells you what actually helped: see testing before and after.
Make the comparison easy
The check is only useful if this year's picture can be compared with last year's. Save the survey in WiFi Heatmap each time and you build a short history of your home's coverage, which makes every future decision — new router, extra node, a cable — a matter of evidence rather than guesswork.