Where to Place Your Home Router

Chris Holmes Staff Writer

Updated 14 December 2023

In this Guide

Where Should You Place Your Router
How Many Routers Do You Need?
Tools to Boost Your WiFi Signal
High Speed Internet Plans for Your Router Booster

If you're not sure where to place you home router, then look no further. If you follow these simple rules, you'll be online in every room, in no time:

Keep it central
Raise it up
Move it to an open space

Read on for more tips and tricks on where to place your router and to find out if you need an additional router, extender, or booster!

Finding the perfect location for your internet equipment will depend upon the layout of your house and some other (very important) factors, but we have some easy-to-follow rules that you can apply as you pick the perfect spot, so that every member of your household can get a strong WiFi signal no matter where they are in your home.

Where to Place Your Router

Picking the best spot for your home router can be hard, especially if you're attempting to do a self-installation for the first time. Follow these simple rules and you (and everyone in your house) should be able to get connected in no time.

The Perfect Spot for Your Router

Central location: that microwave signal needs to be able to travel to the farthest corners of your home
Raise it up: keeping it on the ground won't allow the signals to transmit to every area of your home
Keep it in an open space: cement walls, brick, and metal will weaken your signal

Make sure to adjust your router's antennas for the best performance as well.

What Does a Router Do?

Digital data is being delivered to your home (via cable, DSL, satellite, or fiber) and your modem converts that data in a way that can be transmitted to your devices. Your router works with your modem to send those converted data packets out to the devices in your home via a WiFi signal.

Of course, it's not just about finding the perfect "spot" in your house, you also need to be aware of things that might conflict with your signal, too.

What Will Weaken Your WiFi Signal?

A lot of electronics
Brick walls
Long distances
Oddly shaped homes
Water
A lot of metal objects
Overburdening your system
A lot of people in your home

How Many Routers Do You Need?

If you've followed all the tips for router placement, but you're still not able to get the best WiFi throughout your house, then your house might be too big (or the wrong shape) for just one router. Here's a quick guide to help you decide how many routers you'll need:

Routers Needed by Home Shape/Size

House Size	House Type	Router Solution
up to 400 square feet	"H" shape	1 router
up to 530 square feet	"T" shape	1 router
up to 800 square feet	"L" shape	1 router
up to 1,600 square feet	Rectangle	1 router
up to 800 square feet	"H" shape	2 routers OR 1 router + 1 WiFi booster OR 1 router + 1 mesh node
up to 1,060 square feet	"T" shape	2 routers OR 1 router + 1 WiFi booster OR 1 router + 1 mesh node
up to 1,600 square feet	"L" shape	2 routers OR 1 router + 1 WiFi booster OR 1 router + 1 mesh node
up to 3,200 square feet	Rectangle	2 routers OR 1 router + 1 WiFi booster OR 1 router + 1 mesh node

Basically any time the initial square footage doubles, you're going to need another router. In some cases, you might be able to get away with getting a WiFi extender or a WiFi booster and we'll get into how those can help you in the next section. Before we do, remember to test your speeds as you go with our handy speed test tool.

Tools to Boost Your WiFi Signal

Of course great WiFi is possible with just one router for some people, but sometimes you just need something to bolster your signal—like an additional router, a WiFi range extender or a WiFi booster. Look below to find out which one you might need.

Strengthening Your WiFi Signal/Troubleshooting

2nd Router: Adding a second router (or more) can increase your data transfer rate—but really its key benefit resides in letting you increase the number of devices that can connect to your broadband service.; Though, it is important to keep in mind that you're still limited by your plan speed—which is divided by the number of simultaneous users active on your network at any given time.
WiFi Repeaters: The WiFi range extender takes your existing router's signal and re-broadcasts it, creating a second network. The issue here is that as you move around the house, you will need to manually connect your device to the second network created by the extender.; It's also important to note that since it is merely "stretching" your signal, your internet might actually slow down a little in the process.; Overall, it increases the "normal" WiFi range of your router to cover the "dead spots" in your home. If you have a "T" "H" or "L" shaped home, this might be a viable solution for you.
WiFi Booster: This is a wired WiFi extender that physically plugs into your existing network connection and rebroadcasts the WiFi signal in the weak areas of your home.; Even though the WiFi Booster set up is different than a WiFi Repeater, they operate the same way.
Mesh Network: A mesh network communicates directly with your router and does not require you to setup an additional network. With it, you get 1 router and several nodes, which act as satellites that transmit the WiFi signal throughout your home.; Since the mesh nodes communicate directly with that base system — it will not decrease your bandwidth. So, if you'd like to maintain consistent speeds while increasing the reach of your single router, a mesh system will help you do that. On top of that, the setup is pretty minimal.

Internet Plans with Routers

These days, it's pretty common for internet providers to bundle your router in with your internet plan: for free. Even if they're not bundled together, then you're more than likely going to be able to find an inexpensive router option. Of course, if you have a big home and will need to use a WiFi Booster or Extender—just remember that you'll need to increase your plan speed so that the areas covered by those tools will still transmit high speed internet to every area.

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Chris Holmes

Staff Writer

Chris Holmes is a Contributing Writer for WhistleOut, where he covers the cell phone and internet industries. His work has been cited in publications like The Verge, The New York Times, and WIRED.

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