This article provides steps to help you troubleshoot your home Wi-Fi connection between your device and your modem/router.
You may have already looked at the status, but this list will help you check methodically.
Before you begin
First, check if your internet is connected
, where a good connection is shown by a green Power light.
Your Wi-Fi works between your modem and individual devices, so checking the modem status should be done first.
Next steps:
- Ensure that Wi-Fi has been enabled on your modem. Check that your modem has a Wi-Fi/WLAN solid green light showing.
- Solid Green = Wi-Fi connection available.
- Green Blinking Slow = Wi-Fi disabled by schedule.
Green Blinking Fast = synchronisation WPS.
Check our modem's device guides for help to enable Wi-Fi on your modem.
- Check your individual devices.
- Make sure that you are connected to your Wi-Fi network.
- If you have a modem or router as well as a Wi-Fi mesh, extender, or booster, check that your device is connecting to the right one. You may need to turn off the Wi-Fi from your modem or router if this is conflicting with your Wi-Fi mesh, extender or booster.
- Ensure you have the latest Wi-Fi drivers on your computers, etc.
- Turn all your hardware and devices off, and on again.
- Power off all your hardware and devices at the wall, such as modems, routers, Fibre ONT, HFC cable ONT, switches, hubs and computers.
- Restart them after a minute, starting with the ONT (if you have Fibre or HFC broadband), then followed by your modem, router, then other network devices and then the computer(s).
- Check that you have a green power light and internet light active on your modem or router.
- Try getting closer to your modem or router.
- Holding your device, move closer to your modem or router or mesh as there may be Wi-Fi interference, if your device was too far away.
- Eliminate any sources of interference. Cordless phones should sit away from modems and routers as they might interfere with your Wi-Fi signal.
Wi-Fi Interference
Many things can interfere or weaken your Wi-Fi signal quality and it may impact your connection and speed experience.
Keep your modem/router or Wi-Fi devices out of cupboards, patch panels, away from electrical and kitchen appliances such as fridges and microwaves, away from mirrors, baby monitors, cordless phones, hot water cylinders and blue tooth speakers to reduce interference.
Look out for internal building materials made from metal, concrete, marble, tiles or brick, as Wi-Fi signals cannot penetrate these materials.
Connect devices to Ethernet if you can. The fewer devices you have that compete for a Wi-Fi signal, the better.
If you always use a fixed position for devices, like your TV, Apple TV, laptop at your desk, and even security cameras, then think about connecting these with ethernet.
- Optimising your Wi-Fi.
Positioning and placement
You can optimise your Wi-Fi performance by re-positioning your modem/router or mesh following our simple principles of Out, Up and Open.Out Up Open - Out of cupboards.
- Out of packed shelves.
- Out from behind TV's.
- Out from under desks.
- Out of the kitchen.
- Out from far edges of the home.
- High away from obstacles.
- High away from cluttered spaces.
- High for a clear line of sight outward.
- Away from blocking objects.
- Away from electrical appliances.
- Less interference in open air.
- Clearer air for signal to get out.
- If you have Wireless Broadband, we recommend placing your modem near a window and out in the open. Try a few different places around the house to help find the best spot.
Check Wi-Fi Band
Check you're on the best Wi-Fi band for your home environment.
The 2.4GHz has a greater reach, while the 5GHz has a stronger signal. Wi-Fi band steering - some modems/routers/mesh have the ability to automatically steer devices to the best available frequency band when connected to the Wi-Fi network.
By turning on band steering, you can get the best performance.2.4GHz 5GHz - Long range, better obstacle penetration.
- Compatible with all Wi-Fi devices.
- Less capacity and more prone to interference.
- Good for email and browsing. It is ok for streaming as long as there are only 1 or 2 devices connected.
- Suitable for older devices that support only 2.4GHz.
- Slightly shorter range, can't easily penetrate solid objects (example, concrete or steel wall).
- Not all devices are 5GHz compatible.
- Less congested and higher speed for streaming functions and for using more devices.
- Good for streaming, online gaming and transferring large files.
- Best for Fibre and HFC broadband customers as 5GHz takes advantage of faster broadband speeds.
- Try some Advanced checks.
- Check that your router or access point for MAC address filtering. The person configuring the router or access point may have set it up in such a way that only certain device MAC Addresses (Media Access Control numbers) can connect to the internet. Some companies use this strategy to prevent unauthorised access to their network. Some parents use might MAC address filtering as a form of parental control.
- Try using a different DNS server. You may need to set your DNS server settings manually. There are too many devices and operating systems out there to provide details on how to do this, but Google is your friend.