Virgin Media shares important Wi-Fi ‘one metre rule’ that instantly boosts your speed and improves the signal
WHERE you place your broadband router around the home can have a big impact on the signal and connection speeds.
Virgin Media has revealed a key rule when deciding which part of the house is best.
And it could help anyone having internet problems, not just Virgin Media customers.
There are all sorts of objects around the home that could be disrupting the signal from your Wi-Fi hub.
These include other wireless devices like baby monitors, as well as running microwaves and even mirrors can cause havoc.
But what is a reasonable distance?
According to Virgin Media, one metre is the rule of thumb to follow.
“Move your Hub at least one metre away from objects such as televisions, wireless speakers and cordless phones,” the company advises on its website.
“These devices have their own signals and can mess with your WiFi.”
So if yours is too close and you’re having problems, trying moving it away from other connected devices to see if the connection improves.
Wi-Fi connection still bad?
If that doesn’t work, there are some more tips worth exploring.
Another piece of advice from Virgin Media is not to keep your router stored away in a cabinet or cupboard.
You may be tempted to hide the kit away for decorative reasons but it’s not ideal for the signal to spread.
“Don’t keep your Hub in a cabinet, keep it out in the open so the signal is free to roam,” Virgin explains.
Even positioning your router upright can have an impact too.
“Keep your Hub upright, with the front lights facing into the room,” the company adds.
“This makes sure the signal goes outwards, rather than into the floor.”
Time to change your router password
In 2019, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) compiled 20 of the most common passwords around.
Common passwords mean they’re easy for cyber thieves to guess – so if you’re using one of these on your router you might want to change it right now.
- 123456
- 123456789
- qwerty
- password
- 1111111
- 12345678
- abc123
- 1234567
- password1
- 12345
- 1234567890
- 123123
- 000000
- Iloveyou
- 1234
- 1q2w3e4r5t
- Qwertyuiop
- 123
- Monkey
- Dragon
Names, favourite football teams, musicians and fictional characters are also very popular and therefore easy to guess.
The best sort of password is long and easy to remember – so the NCSC suggests using three random words strung together.
Of course, you shouldn’t recycle passwords on various platforms either. Should a hacker gain access to one they could then go onto access your other accounts.
So use a password manager to securely keep track of them all – Google Chrome and Safari can store these for you.