How to Test My Router Signal at Home
Setting up a wireless network at home is not an easy task, and it is one that you want to get right the first time. If you are concerned about whether you will be able to receive adequate signal strength from all areas of your home, a tool such as InSSIDer can provide the information that you need and let you know if you need to improve your reception.
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Instructions
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Launch InSSIDer on your laptop computer. InSSIDer is a free tool used to monitor Wi-Fi signal strength. See the link in the Resource section of this article. Other tools that perform a similar function may have menu options and features that differ slightly from those described here.
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Click the check box in the upper right corner of the screen twice to remove all wireless routers from the list of those being scanned and then click the check box next to your router. You can locate your router by using its SSID, which is the same name that is shown when you connect to it. Your router will now be the only one shown on the screen. The area on the right side of the screen shows your current signal strength, while the left side of the screen shows a graph of the last several updates. By default, the signal strength will update every second.
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Walk around the house with the laptop, monitoring the signal strength received from your router as you go.
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Analyze your results to determine whether you need to improve your signal strength. If you have areas in the house where the signal displayed by InSSIDer drops well below -80 dB, you may find that performance is poor when you connect to the Internet from those areas.
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Take appropriate steps to improve your router's signal strength if necessary. Slight drops in signal strength may be remedied by repositioning the antenna on the back of the router. If you are experiencing severe signal degradation, however, it may be necessary to replace the antenna with a higher-powered one. A replacement antenna for a Wi-Fi router can be purchased from most electronics stores.
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