Gadgetory

welcome to top 5 I'm your host Aya's Akhtar when your home network is working well life seems so great videos load quickly and streaming a beautifully high bitrate your PC connects to the network in the blink of an eye but then when it gets bad it can get really bad we're talking not being able to connect your printer using your phone's network instead of your own and videos timing out let's fix that these are the top 5 tips to build a better Network number 5 secure your Wi-Fi this is a really easy tip go to your router settings through a browser and change a couple of things first up if you haven't changed it default password on your router change your default password why so other people are mucking around with your router after that make sure your Wi-Fi network is secured and not open why because if your neighbors leeching off your Wi-Fi your network speeds could suffer number four is router placement where you place your router makes a big difference in how your network performs in the best-case scenario you have your router in a central location in your home that way the Wi-Fi signal radiates to where you need it on top of that minimize the amount of barriers between your router and your machine you'll also want to make sure your router is it near reflective surfaces or metal ones since that will interfere with your network today's routers are no longer eyesores so if you can have your router out in the open you can extend your network using an access point an access point attaches to your home network using a wired connection they can be used to extend your wireless network if you want to extend your home network wirelessly you can invest in a repeater the device will relay the signal from your wireless router to your device the downside is the speeds will be cut in half if you've got an old router sitting around you might be able to turn it into either an access point or a repeater with dd-wrt if your router is compatible number two maybe it's time to invest in powerline adapters sometimes it's difficult to get a signal to certain areas so a power line Ethernet adapter may be a good option these devices are usually sold in pairs first you plug it into an electrical outlet then you catch one to your router using the Ethernet cable the second one is attached to another outlet in your home the adapter uses your home electrical system to create a network powerline wasn't exactly known for speed in the early days but things have changed if you look for adapters that support a standard called HomePlug av2 you should see speeds faster than your wireless network and the number one way to make your home network better is to wire up as many things as possible a wired connection and subjects just so much less interference compared to a wireless network if you want a streaming video using a service like Netflix or play an online game it's impossible to beat a wired connection take a look at your home theater wire up your consoles your set-top boxes whatever and you'll have a much more pleasant experience one of the most useful things I've ever learned was making my own network cables which I used to make ridiculously long runs to connect far away rooms to my router Wireless is good but wired is better if you've got a super-secret tip on how to make a network better like a foil reflector or something hit me up on Twitter I'm at is more top fives like this visit top 5 to Netcom thanks for watching