Ames McQuiggan is a KnowBe4 Security Awareness Advocate and part-time faculty member at Valencia College’s Engineering, Computer Programming, and Technology Division. As a result, he has studied and extensively investigated everything technology-related. He describes an innovative tip for increasing the speed of your Wi-Fi connection: place a layer of aluminum foil behind your router. Apparently, as more devices connect to the same wireless network, the signal weakens. “Like a sprinkler head spraying water in all directions,” McQuiggan adds.
As a result, wireless signals travel to areas where they are not required and diminish where they are. Furthermore, impediments like as furniture or walls can reduce signal strength. This is when the aluminum foil behind your router comes into play. Place the aluminum foil behind your router, with the shiny side facing outward, to reflect the signal. This permits it to travel more freely and deliberately.
Furthermore, bending the aluminum foil behind your router gives you more control over where the signal flows. Although this hack appears to be unauthorized, a Dartmouth research team investigated the theory and confirmed Professor James McQuiggan’s findings. The team said they made a “3D-printed shape” that was “covered in aluminum.” It was deliberately placed to regulate where the signal traveled.
They increased the signal in the desired locations by more than half. Meanwhile, they reduced the signal in undesirable areas by slightly over 60%. Make a “C” shape with the sheet and position the aluminum foil behind your router. The glossy side should face inside the curve, toward the router. If the sheet requires additional support to stand upright, fold it out at the bottom to form a stand.
Finally, test the connection by moving to a location where you expect to notice an increase in signal, such as the couch or the kitchen. Enter “Google speed test” into your phone or computer browser’s search box. Then click the blue “run speed test” button to generate a report with the connection speeds. Apparently, placing aluminum foil behind your router does more than just improve speed and efficiency.
The Dartmouth team also observed that the hack could be an effective approach to assure a secure connection. Placing aluminum foil behind your router reduces the distance the WiFi signal can travel, preventing hackers from accessing your connection, especially if you organize the signals to avoid places where a connection is never required. “Such physical confinement of wireless signals serves as a complementary method to existing network security measures, such as encryption, and hence raises the barrier for attackers,” the study’s authors stated.
It’s crucial to remember that this hack isn’t always effective, and the outcomes are not guaranteed. For example, Brooke attempted the hack at home but was unsuccessful. “Before I began, I compared internet speeds between my porch and the living room, where the router is placed. “The difference was massive,” she explained. “One sheet of aluminum foil made little difference, and using two sheets of foil or a soda can appeared to reduce speeds by a few Mbps.
I tried altering the angle at which the curved piece of the foil or can faced, as well as their locations in relation to the router, but I didn’t notice a significant difference in my internet speed when I tried to connect.”Brooke concluded: “Though it didn’t exactly work for me, it can’t hurt to try this approach before spending a lot of money on a Wi-Fi extender if you’re having internet connection issues. After all, it worked for Dartmouth researchers.” She also mentions how the size of your area and your internet plan affect this theory’s success rate.