What are the Factors that Affect WiFi Range ?

The Wi-Fi range of computer network totally depends on Type of network and access points used while building up the network.

Simple LAN network used in houses may have a single wireless access point that covers the house completely while business organizations may have distributed the network in Zones in order to cover large office building. The cost of building large network is directly proportional to the area of building or organization.

The type of wireless Access Points/ Routers used in the network will be determining the range of Wi-Fi Signal of the network. Some factors that affect Wi-Fi signal

Physical Factors

• Physical Obstructions

• Network Range & Distance between Devices

• Wireless Network Interference

• Signal Sharing

Networking Factors

• Network Usage & Load

• Poorly Deployed Antennas

• Local Environment Characteristics

• Spectrum Channel Limitations

• Signal Reflection

• Wireless Signal Restriction

Transmission Factors

• Transmitter Power Limitations

• Backwards Compatibility with Older Standards

• Polarization of Signal

• Speed Loss Due to Wireless Overheads

• Lowering Performance to Stay Connected

The Wi-Fi signal range of any given access point also varies significantly from device to devices. Factors that determine the range of one access point include:

• Protocol used by network

• Signal strength of the routers

• Obstructions Caused by Infrastructure i.e. Walls or room separating sheets.

• the specific 802.11 protocol it runs

• the strength of its device transmitter

• the nature of physical obstructions and/or radio interference in the surrounding area

Also Read How you can improve your wifi Range at Home .