What Materials Can Block A Wi-Fi Signal?

What Materials Can Block A Wi-Fi Signal

If you are experiencing a poor wifi signal at home, then it could be because your signal is being blocked by some of the materials in your house. The more walls and objects your wifi signal has to pass through to reach your device, the worse your signal will be and the slower your connection.

So, other than going outside and living in a tent, what can you do to avoid signal interference?

Well, there is some good news. Certain materials are much better at blocking your wifi signal than others. Simply avoiding the materials in the list below as much as possible should help improve your wireless network.

Materials That Block Wifi: Top Culprits

Concrete And Metal

Concrete can have a big effect on your wireless signal. Unfortunately, if you have concrete in your home, it is usually going to be in the walls meaning there isn’t much you can do to move the concrete.

Metal is another material that has a big effect on your wireless network. Like concrete, metal is often found in the walls meaning there isn’t much you can do about this either.

If you are really having problems with either of these materials you could always try to move your router, use an Ethernet cable, or perhaps try PowerLine adapters.

Bricks, Water And Marble

These three troublemakers are all going to affect your signal, although perhaps not as much as concrete and metal.

Now, there usually isn’t much you can do about bricks as any bricks causing problems are likely to have been used to build your house.

Wall

However, water and marble are (potentially) a different matter. If you have a fish tank, well that could potentially be blocking your wifi signal! Move your router or your device to a different location so they have a better or uninterrupted line of sight.

As well as this, your body is mostly made up of water. This means if you are sat with your body directly between your device and your router, you could notice your signal drop.

Likewise, marble is usually found on countertops such as those found in the kitchen. As a kitchen is also often a place with a lot of metal, (and microwaves, more on that later), you should never place your router anywhere near your kitchen.

Glass, Wood And Plaster

Glass, wood, and plaster are all materials that will have a fairly low effect on your network. Having said that, the less of these materials that your router has to deal with, the better! Always try to put your router somewhere that gives it as good a line of sight to all your devices as possible.

One thing to never do is keep your router in a glass or wood cabinet (or any type of cabinet). While it may seem like doing so removes some clutter from your room, it will cause havoc with your wifi signal. By taking your router out of your cabinet you will be removing an extra layer of interference that you simply don’t need.

Not A Material.....But....Interference

To be honest, while physical barriers certainly do have an effect on your wireless network, there is often simply nothing you can do to lessen the effects of them on your home. After all, you can’t move a wall!

On the hand, there are many types of other interference that can both have a big effect on your network and also be easily avoided.

The biggest culprit is other wireless networks, especially those on the 2.4GHz band. If you live in a busy area, such as an apartment block, you may find that your neighbor’s wifi networks are interfering with your own. Luckily, it is often easy to solve this problem by changing the channel your router uses or by switching to the 5GHz band.

As well as wireless networks, anything that emits a signal on the 2.4GHz band can cause your network problems. Microwaves are a big culprit (another reason to not have your router near a kitchen), although Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, and baby monitors can all cause problems.

If you suspect one of these devices is causing your network problems it may be best to either move one of them around or, again, switch your router so it uses the 5GHz network.

As a takeaway from this article, the best things you can do to ensure a good wifi connection is ensure as clear a line of sight between your router and your devices as possible. As well as this, try to ensure that there are no other interfering wireless products near by.

And remember, if none of this works, you can always use cabled Ethernet!

30 Comments - Write a Comment

  1. how much does drywall block wifi?

    1. Not much. Neither does wallboard.

  2. how much does drywall effect Wi-Fi?

  3. ……………………………….

  4. blah blah blah didn’t help at all >:(

    1. · Edit

      Hi,

      What is the problem that you’re having?

    2. blah blah blah he or she was just trying to help

  5. roblox, its free!

  6. How much does an open mesh fabric like polyester or vinyl block wi-fi?

  7. Fortnite is best game ever

      1. NO!!!!!!!!!! Your life is useless.

        1. preach my dude

  8. You say:

    > And remember, if none of this works, you can always use Ethernet!

    But ethernet is a protocol. What you really mean is that you can run cat-5 UTP cables and terminated with RJ-45 jacks–and then you can run ethernet over that instead of running ethernet over wifi. It’s ethernet either way.

    1. · Edit

      Hi Matt.

      Thanks for the input.

      Yes, you are correct…that should be use cable Ethernet. We’ll fix that now 🙂

      1. What?!?!?!?!?! What is Ethernet

        1. its wired internet
          it usually gives better service

  9. Hello, I need help. Please.!

  10. sub to pewdiepie

  11. Just cut a hole in the wall and problem solved lightning speed internet

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