There are several reasons why you may think of putting your wireless router in a closet. Maybe you have just finished decorating your living room and the router along with its antennas simply ruins the entire concept. So, logically, it would be best to hide it in the closet, for example.
In this article, we are going to explain why you shouldn’t do this and also give some tips about choosing the best place for your Wi-Fi router.
CONTENTS
4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Put Your Router in A Closet
Well, although this seems like a good solution, there are several good reasons why you shouldn’t put your router in a closet.
Overheating
Just like with other electrical devices, adequate ventilation is pretty important for the device to work properly. The same applies to wireless routers. If you place the router in a closet, you are practically eliminating the proper ventilation and you can expect your router to overheat with time.
When the router overheats you can experience slower internet speeds or loss of connection. Eventually, in some severe cases, the overheating can even cause damage to the router.
Reduced Speed
If you place the router in a closet you can be sure that you have surrounded it with obstacles that will definitely affect the internet speed. If you add some bandwidth-hungry activities being performed on some of the devices connected to the network, you can easily expect a super-slow internet connection in your home.
Lower Wireless Signal Strength
Ideally, there should be no obstacles around the router and it should be positioned in the central position of your home. This should ensure that every corner of your home receives a decent wireless signal.
By putting the router in a closet, you will definitely reduce the wireless signal strength and as a result, you will have places in your house with no Wi-Fi at all.
You Will Have to Modify Your Closet
Although the router is wireless, it still needs some cables to work properly. These are the power cable and the Ethernet cable as well.
We are pretty sure that your closet doesn’t have holes in it for the power and ethernet cables, so you will have to do some modifications to make it work there.
But I Really Want to Put the Router in A Closet. How to Improve the Signal?
Well, if we haven’t made you change your thoughts, and you still want to place your router inside a closet, here are a few things to do to improve the Wi-Fi signal. As a result, you can expect a better internet speed as well.
Use a Wi-Fi Repeater/Wi-Fi Extender
If you decide to use a Wi-Fi extender you have to place it in a position where it gets a pretty good signal from the router in the cabinet. If it gets a good signal it will be able to send it further and extend your Wi-Fi network coverage.
Check the Wi-Fi Power Output
Some wireless routers allow you to change the Wi-Fi power output in the router settings. It is recommended to log in to your router’s admin dashboard and see whether your router has this option and whether it is set to 100% or High.
Generally, when the router’s power output is set to 100% or High, the Wi-Fi coverage will be larger.
These are just two ideas, but if you gave up on the idea of placing the router in a cabinet, read these tips on finding the best place for your Wi-Fi router.
Where Is the Best Place to Put Your Wi-Fi Router?
Now that we have determined that it is not good to put your Wi-Fi router in a closet, let’s find out what is the best place to put your Wi-Fi router for optimal performance.
Router Placement Tips
Place It in The Center (or Close to It)
When choosing the best position for your wireless router, you should always aim for the central position of your house or apartment. By central, we don’t only mean horizontally but vertically as well.
If this isn’t possible for some reason, at least try to place it as close as possible to the central position. By doing this, you will make sure that all of your house or apartment is equally covered with a Wi-Fi signal.
Place It Higher (or Lower)
Placing the Wi-Fi router in a higher position will allow it to avoid some obstacles like the furniture so you can be sure that the wireless signal covers more of your area.
However, when it comes to two-story houses, you can mount the router close to the ceiling of the first floor or near the floor of the second floor. If you have pets and small children, the first solution is better. Keep it higher to avoid accidental cable damage and disconnecting.
Fewer Walls, Better Signal
When we decide where to place our router, it is important to see how many walls are there between the router and connected devices. Since we won’t be getting rid of walls and it’s impossible to have open space between the router and the devices, we need to try to find a position where there is a lesser number of walls between the router and our devices.
Avoid Interference
There are more and more devices that work on the same frequency as our wireless router. This can affect the wireless signal and internet speed so it is good to do something about it.
So, keep the router away from the kitchen because the microwave is its sworn enemy. You can expect a drop in signal or severe interference whenever you turn the microwave on. Other devices can interfere as well, so we suggest switching to a 5GH network because there is much less interference and congestion.
Ways to Reduce Wi-Fi Interference
Final Words
Placing the router in a cabinet is possible if you are ready to sacrifice internet connection speed and Wi-Fi coverage. However, we definitely don’t recommend this because it can be pretty frustrating.
Most of our devices today need an internet connection to work properly and so do we. Slow and unresponsive internet, weak wireless signal, or no Wi-Fi at all can be a real nightmare these days. So, instead of putting the router into a cabinet, it is better to place it in the optimal position for the best performance. Hopefully, this article will help you determine this position.
Hey, I’m Jeremy Clifford. I hold a bachelor’s degree in information systems, and I’m a certified network specialist. I worked for several internet providers in LA, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Seattle over the past 21 years.
I worked as a customer service operator, field technician, network engineer, and network specialist. During my career in networking, I’ve come across numerous modems, gateways, routers, and other networking hardware. I’ve installed network equipment, fixed it, designed and administrated networks, etc.
Networking is my passion, and I’m eager to share everything I know with you. On this website, you can read my modem and router reviews, as well as various how-to guides designed to help you solve your network problems. I want to liberate you from the fear that most users feel when they have to deal with modem and router settings.
My favorite free-time activities are gaming, movie-watching, and cooking. I also enjoy fishing, although I’m not good at it. What I’m good at is annoying David when we are fishing together. Apparently, you’re not supposed to talk or laugh while fishing – it scares the fishes.