A quick overview of the required Wi-Fi signal strength. So what should you consider a good, acceptable, or poor Wi-Fi signal strength? Wireless signal strength is measured in dBm (decibel milli watts) and is, somewhat confusingly, expressed only as negative values.
| Signal Strength | Quality Signal Description |
| -30 dBm | Perfect signal, ideal situation. Maximum signal strength, you are probably standing right next to the access point / router. |
| -50 dBm | Excellent signal. Anything down to this level can be regarded as excellent signal strength. |
| -60 dBm | Good reliable signal. This is still good, reliable signal strength. |
| -67 dBm | Reliable signal strength. This is the minimum value for all services that require smooth and reliable data traffic. The minimum for any service depending on a reliable connection and signal strength, such as voice over Wi-Fi and non-HD video streaming. |
| -70 dBm | Not a strong signal. The signal is not very strong, but mostly sufficient. |
| -80 dBm | Minimum value required to make a connection. You cannot count on a reliable connection or sufficient signal strength to use services at this level. |
| -90 dBm | The chances of even connecting are very low at this level. It is very unlikely that you will be able to connect to a network or make use of any services with this signal strength level. |
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To measure signal strength at a given location and time, you can use a Wi-Fi scanner. Free Wi-Fi scanners are available for most platforms. Here are our suggestions:
Just to be clear, a wireless connection speed test only tells you what speed you have achieved;
It's not a good measurement of how well a wireless network works overall. Even if the results are good on a speed test, the wireless portion of the network may not be fast or stable over time. |
| Poor signal strength | |
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If you have done your testing and concluded that the signal strength is insufficient, don't be tempted to try to amplify the transmit strength from your router / access point. You may sabotage both yourself and your neighbors in the process, and you risk breaking the law along the way. The performance and capacity of the wireless network depends on more than the signal emitted from the access point, but the most important thing you can do for the signal is:
Wireless network problems are often caused by the environment/surroundings and not the wireless equipment itself. Very seldom it is caused by the service you get from broadband provider and that is why we recommend starting by getting an overview. You should start by checking that your internet service provider is delivering the speed you are paying for. Use a computer with a hard wired internet connection for this test. We recommend: Speedtest.net. If the results of your test show lower then expected speeds than you should contact your internet service provider.
In order to find out which channel your wireless router uses and optionally change it, you need to log in to the settings of your router or access point:
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