Long ao, my year-long UX designer stint at Aruba Networks allowed me to learn one thing. WiFi routers have limitations. Nothing beats a direct ethernet connection when it comes to stability, security and simplicity.
One of the super-nice hardware design guy at Aruba, with whom I regularly interacted, advised me some points. Based on my understanding, here they are.
1. Keep the WiFi router in the central location of your home. The ideal location to fix a WiFi router is - the ceiling or on a side-wall. Placing it in a shelf, or enclosed spaces will affect the signal performance.
2. Remember that 5 GHz band has lesser coverage radius than 2.4 GHz band. Latch on to 5 GHz band for speedier connection, but you may have to move a bit closer to the WiFi device.
3. Concrete/Brick walls, double layered partitions can reduce the WiFi signal penetration and performance. WiFi Repeaters can help in this case.
4. Position of the antenna can improve the coverage. The WiFi signal is transmitted roughly, in a donut shape. So, in a single floored house - keep the antennas vertical to the floor. If you live in a duplex, keep one 2.4 GHz antenna and one 5 GHz antenna parallel to the ground. (I have not verified this personally, but seems valid)
5. Cheap WiFi routers may have buggy firmware with no updates, or poor troubleshooting options and even poor quality / abandoned hardware. Some ODMs use SoC's that are in their end-of-life period. Firmware for such old hardware are abandoned by the SoC manufacturer already. That means the SoC hardware will be using a firmware with unfixed bugs which may affect stability, performance, features and security. Always invest in routers with updated firmware, better hardware. Read reviews before you buy.
6. ISP provided, free no-name routers are prone to DDOS attacks and their firmware may have few backdoors opened. Security nightmare.
7. WiFi signals in apartment complex are heavily congested. So when you experience delays or if performance dips occasionally, it means your router is adjusting its radio band to avoid congestion with other routers. (I forgot the right technical word he used for #7)
8. Most Home WiFi routers are designed to handle 6-8 concurrent devices at max. So if your household has more than 6 or 8 devices, expect performance dips.
9. Buy a branded WiFi router which is regularly updated with its firmware. Home WiFi routers are the least supported in terms of Firmware. Only few manufacturers roll out regular updates to their high end home WiFi routers. Those devices are costly but gives you better performance and peace of mind.
DDRT supported routers are popular choice of some enthusiasts and DIYers.
10.. Finally, WiFi routers get hot too. So ensure they are placed in a location with proper ventilation. If the core chip / SoC gets too hot, it will immediately scale down its performance to reduce the temperature.
Having seen the firmware quality/options between professional, costlier Office WiFi APs, and the low cost Home WiFi APs, I would say - the difference is H U G E. So many cool, drool-worthy features found in office/commercial WiFi APs are not available in Home WiFi routers. So technically you are paying for the firmware and not much for the hardware.
If you really want a good networking setup, hire a qualified networking technician and invest in good hardware + network infra design.
The above are based on what I remember still. Things may have improved now.
![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png)