Finding Wi-Fi dead spots room by room

Write down every place where Wi-Fi matters: the desk, the sofa, each bed, the TV, the console, and any doorbell or camera. A large room can be fine at one end and poor at the other, so a spot beats a room name. Put the spot next to the router first: it's your reference.

Then make a simple sheet like this (the spots are examples):

Next to each signal reading, note whether the device is on 2.4GHz, 5GHz or 6GHz, so you compare like with like, and write the date and time at the top of the sheet. Our guide to Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 explains the bands.

If the result beside the router is poor, no Wi-Fi kit will fix it: the bottleneck is before the router. Ring tells its customers to contact their provider if the near-router test shows under 1Mbps or under 60% of the speed they pay for. Your wired reference is also the figure that counts if you take it further, because provider speed guarantees usually cover the speed to your router, not your Wi-Fi. Our guide to the broadband minimum speed guarantee explains your rights if the line is below what you were promised, and why speed tests give different results covers keeping a record a provider will take seriously.

If the reference figure looks right, carry on: whatever you find in the other rooms is about your Wi-Fi, not your line.

The bars in the taskbar give a rough idea. For a number, open Command Prompt (search for it from the Start menu) and type netsh wlan show interfaces.

Note the Signal line, a percentage, and the Band line (2.4GHz, 5GHz or 6GHz). If a cable is also plugged in, Microsoft says to unplug it first. The only benchmark in the Microsoft pages we used is for streaming to a VR headset, where it wants Signal above 75%: a high bar, not a pass mark for browsing.

Two more commands from Microsoft's troubleshooting guide help:

• netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid lists every network in range with the BSSID (each access point's hardware address), signal strength, channel and radio type. Microsoft says this helps identify band, channel and coverage problems, and it shows neighbouring networks, which eero lists among things that can interfere.
• netsh wlan show wlanreport, run from an elevated command prompt ('Run as administrator'), builds an HTML report of recent wireless sessions and disconnect reasons, useful where Wi-Fi drops out. It contains device and network identifiers, so don't post it publicly.

Prefer no commands? Microsoft suggests the Network and Internet troubleshooter in the Get Help app.

Hold down the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. Apple says this shows extra details under your network, including the channel, the frequency band, the 802.11 protocol (the Wi-Fi standard the link is using) and the router's address.

Apple's page doesn't list a signal-strength number, but some macOS versions show one: a 2025 Mac tips article from the software company ProjectWizards lists RSSI (signal strength in dBm) and noise among the Option-click details. We haven't checked every macOS release, so look for yourself. If your Mac shows an RSSI line, note it: it's on the same dBm scale as the table below. If not, use the Wi-Fi icon and your speed tests.

From the same Option-click menu you can choose Open Wireless Diagnostics. Run from the problem room, it analyses your connection and lists issues with possible solutions, without changing your settings, Apple says. It also saves a file starting 'WirelessDiagnostics' in /var/tmp that your provider's support team can use.

Google's instructions are to open Settings, then Network and Internet, then Internet. Each network has a Wi-Fi icon, and in Google's words, a fuller icon means a stronger signal. Menu names may differ on some phones. Bars are coarse, so the speed test in each spot (step 3) does most of the work.

We couldn't find an Apple help page that gives a numeric Wi-Fi signal reading on iPhone, so the Wi-Fi icon's bars are the built-in guide. That's enough to spot a dead zone but not to compare two middling rooms, so pair it with a speed test or a provider or mesh app (see below).

Measure a device that never moves exactly where it sits. Ring's app, for example, shows a Signal Strength reading in each device's Device Health tile. Planning a new doorbell or camera? Test from that spot with a phone before you drill. If it will see beyond your boundary, read our guide to home camera privacy rules.

Several can apply at once: fix the biggest first, then measure again.

An illustrative example, not a real home: a two-storey house has the router in the front hall and a healthy wired reference. Downstairs reads 'great' on Ring's scale; the back bedroom upstairs is 'poor'; a loft room is 'very poor' and drops out.

Reading it: the line is fine and the problem is distance upstairs. If the landing reads 'okay', try a mesh unit there; the loft desk, which never moves, is a candidate for a cable.

If rooms only a wall or two away are poor, the router's position is the likely culprit. Which? advises a central spot, high up, not next to a window, and never in a cupboard or behind a TV or fish tank; BT suggests putting the hub close to where you use the internet most. Our guide to improving your Wi-Fi signal goes into the detail. Move it, then re-test the same spots before spending anything.

When the poor readings are at the far end of the house or on another floor, your map tells you where extra Wi-Fi units should go. EE, BT, Sky, Virgin Media and eero all give the same rule: put the extender, disc, pod or mesh unit roughly halfway between the router and the weak area, not in the weak area itself. Sky explains why: too far away and the unit won't get a signal, too close and it won't extend it.

So look at the spots on your sheet between the router and the problem room for one that still reads 'okay' or better. Which? notes extenders can be good for dead zones but won't improve speed very much or reach particularly far. Our mesh versus extenders guide helps you choose between them.

A desktop computer, TV, games console or home-office desk that never moves and sits in a weak spot is a candidate for a cable instead of more Wi-Fi. A cable skips the Wi-Fi leg entirely, which is why Ofcom and Which? recommend one for the most accurate speed tests. If you do add mesh, eero notes that wiring the units back to the router (wired backhaul) can increase speed and strength. Our guide to wired home networks covers cables, switches and powerline, and if a cabled device then won't connect, see Ethernet connection not working.

If the wired reference was poor, the fix is outside the house: start with your provider and the minimum speed guarantee. If you decide to move, compare deals at your postcode through our comparison partner and check each provider's speed estimate for your line against your reference; if full fibre is available, fibre broadband deals lists the options. We compare deals but don't switch you ourselves: you order with the new provider.