I mapped my entire apartment’s Wi-Fi signal
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2020
- So you've got crappy Wi-Fi. What do you do when you’ve rebooted your router, checked all your cables, called your ISP, and your Wi-Fi still fails you? Obviously, you model the physics of Wi-Fi moving through space. And then test the math, square foot by square foot. Becca Farsace and Cory Zapatka teamed up to learn more about how science can help.
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What other tech should we look at from a science perspective?
Competitive online games, especially First Person Shooters like Overwatch and Call of Duty. What's the science behind gamers reaction times, accuracy and insane spatial awareness inside a virtual world?
Does the brain process the information from this digital world differently? What parts of the brain are responsible for being good at videogames?
The 1500 plus studies showing the deleterious effects of EMF might be a good place to start?
Maybe the centre of her bed is the best place for her to sleep. :)
Can't be asked? Non ionising radiation perfectly safe? It's OK, these actual scientists have that covered.
mdsafetech.org/
Mesh Network vs Access Points with CAT 6e home runs.
A huge cause of lag/latency is bufferbloat. SQM fixes this. Most consumer routers do not have SQM.
@@enckil There is silly money in telecommunications. Wherever silly money is available to corporations, they protect their financial interests. We just don't matter to them.
I love that the final solution was:
"I just run an ethernet cable"
Lol 😂😂😂
Same. But smartly enough, I installed another Wifi router on the other end.
Mesh networking ftw. Or you know move the router out from behind the brick
Bruh spoiler
You can do a mesh network, you can also do ethernet over power outlet
very wise, thats also better for your health and wifi in your bedroom even worse.
I have a long enough cable that runs neatly along the walls. Always a faster and more consistent connection.
How about a follow up: Does moving the wifi router to a center point in the apartment fix the issue?
this!!
Spoiler: it actually does solve a big part of the issue
@@tbhinteractieve I mean like in my case I can't do that cuz it's fiber optics and that uses a media converter which is inputed by the fiber cable
So you can't really change the postion of the wifi
Ps. My walls are made of concrete lmao
Well as an telecommunication engineering student, i'd say, depends on your apartment layout tho, but worth to try because remember that modern ONT's antenna radiate the signal to all directions. So just try to imagine where to put your lamp (since they radiate in a same way)
Yes it will help massively. Instead of a lightbulb in the centre of your living room. Use a router trust me now your signal will go 360° instead of next to a wall to lose 180° of wifi through the wall.
Why to u think most business put a wifi signal in the centre of the hallway.
My neighbours WiFi is bad.... I've even stopped giving their password out
Lol🤣
LOL. Man makes me wonder...
Why no heatmap/ simulation comparisons?? Pretty lukewarm as far as a "science" episode goes.
Yeah seriously. They spent this effort on rendering the map in 3D space when it would've just been more useful to just compare the darn maps
Indeed. They didn't talk about solutions to poor reception either, I was looking forward to that. Running an ethernet cable isn't always possible or practical.
@@itsJPhere just buy routers with repeaters
Seriously buy a mesh
Yes! I was thinking the same thing. Got a bit annoyed that they didn't do a comparison. Sure, the 3D overlay was cool and all... but simulation vs. observation would have been the highlight of the video.
So let me get this straight .. They measured stuff and did nothing with it to help with the wifi signal ...
Bruh i feel like i wasted time on this vid :/
Deathwarrior Yeah, I loved the video... But I did miss the, let’s add this little gadget here to improve WiFi everywhere.
I think this was just an attempt to show off the science. I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that if you put your wifi router on one side of your home, the signal is going to be worse through multiple walls on the other side of the home. Either put it in the middle if possible, or use Nest/Eero mesh wifi, or use some type of PowerLine ethernet (basically it plug into your wall outlet and you have ethernet going in/out).
Moca networking is often better than mesh or ethernet over power lines. If you have coax connections, it's definitely worth looking into, either moca wifi extenders or directly to an ethernet cable
Thanks . therefore I don't watch this video
Also, I checked the app and, although useful, it's very basic. It doesn't let you choose between 2.4 and 5GHz, which can spread very differently through the same environment.
Not everything is signal strength. You're also greatly influenced by the noise coming from competing routers nearby.
Picture yourself in a bar having a conversation with a friend. If you move around the bar you'll hear your friend better or worse, but it can change with the amount of things around you AND if there are other people talking, and how loud.
@@OwlBlancx No, that's BS. Completely different radio bandwidth.
This is also what they do for whole cities, when setting up cell towers. Not only in 2D but also in 3D maps
we also do this for clients when designing wireless networks for their facilities.. skyscrapers, industrial plants, etc.. there is huge money in it.
I would like to see a video about that.
Finding the software to do this is insane hard
@@06howea1 That's becasue it's custom built by software and network engineers. It's actually the industry I work in as a network technician.
New tenant: Is there something else I should know about the apartment?
Becca: Yeah, don’t lay in the middle of the bed.
Y'all never heard of mesh wifi?
For a place that small it wouldn't be worth the cost. A better DNS service, better standalone router, or simply move the router. It would've been nice for them to have some kind of resolution to the video instead of going "yep already knew wifi was bad there". For the guy in the video, hardwire is the only way to go for the large video file sizes editors deal with.
@@DrewLakebrink dns has nothing to do with wifi signal.
@@SerpentDrago I agree, but sometimes it's just the transfer speeds. I had an issue that was resolved with switching to Google's DNS service. There are other ones, but I prefer theirs. I've done this with fiber and cable based service always with an increase in responsiveness. You could try another broadcast channel too. It's always cheaper to try a settings adjustment than getting new hardware.
@@DrewLakebrink - I put in an EERO mesh, and it made all the difference in the world. Depends, I suppose, on the wall construction. Ours is all concrete, and our TV could not pick up reliable signal most of the time. Our MagicJack would also drop out if you walked a few feet while talking. Putting the EERO in solved all that, and we now have solid signal throughout the 4 bedroom apartment.
I have been using a wifi powerline whit my clients trust me before u start complaining. 2020 powerlines can reach speeds of 400mbps fast enough for 80% of USA internet speeds. And its stil better than wifi
0 - 7:52 - Science
7:52 - end: Engineering
Science is when you do pretty graphics, right?
I forgot exactly which model but a Roomba can make the wifi map of your house or room.
I own Roomba 980 and it can make a WiFi map but only for 2.4Ghz and not 5Ghz band.
Wait, what did I learn from this video? 😵
Get a mesh network.
that Ethernet is the best
use an unsightly cable lol
@@julianmurillo4678 Is there a way to connect an ethernet cable to devices like the iPad, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, and ultrathin laptops? I don't have them, but just wondering...
@@MalaysianTropikfusion You can get a Ethernet to lighting adapter and to mini Ethernet. The PS4 has a dedicated Ethernet port
so lets improve the wifi by moving the router. lmao nah bruv you like blue 3d squares instead?
But cable management 😬..
This reminds me of when I made an elevation map of my backyard using a laser level and a tape measure.
For a techie she really thought having a router behind her TV not in the middle of her apparement really thinking if she deserves the tech savvy card 🙄😂
That felt like half a video - where they diagnosed the issue but completely disregarded the solution.
Tech person doesn't understand WiFi, enough said.
It kinda depends in what you specialize
But he's got a microscope on his kitchen table! He must be a scientist!
“I didn’t think the simulation would do such a great job”
Guy : so I want you to manually map it out instead
“You know I think the simulation did a great job”
I'm not surprised that Verge's tech people don't know where to properly put a wifi router.
Try WifiAR this app does the some stuff you did just in seconds 😂
It's amusing that they used an Android app for the simulation then they link to an iOS speed test app.
Be sure to install "WiFi AR - most useful tool ever", there is another "WiFi AR - open wifi seeker" also.
& I was waiting the whole video for a suggested solution..
That was so cool watching! Really super entertaining for techies! :) Loved it!
Does Becca know wifi range extenders are a thing?
Verge Science: Complains about poor wifi signals
Me and everyone in the Philippines: First time?
Americans: We've been doing this for a while
When you get a bad signal...sit near the router ..or take your router and plug it near an opening..
Too cool, great visual of wavelength and signal strength.
Incredibly cool work, thank you all, this is a question I have wondered about for a long time!!
Having WiFi problems: The Verge: measures everything in the apartment and runs simulations. Me: Presses restart button on the router
Heh, it’s worth the wait eh?
This helps so much!!!! Life saviour for me to send to my parents, aunt, uncles since they keep messaging about "fixing the wifi! You're the tech person🤓😂"
Me, at my 148th day in quarantine:
How to improve WiFi.
1. Can you use a cable? Then use a Ethernet cable.
2. Place the router in the center of the space and up high.
3. Try 5 GHz, because 2.4GHz might be crowded.
4. Check router setting to prioritize devices.
5. Seriously just use a cable.
Have been working from home for the last 5 months. My Wi-Fi signal bothered me a lot. Bought a new router with 5 antennas and an extender but it didn't help much. Finally migrated to mesh Wi-Fi and have been never been happier. Signal is strong in every part of the house and I stream 4K and get into video calls with Zero reduction in quality. So, go mesh!!!
Or find a better place for the router, check the DNS settings, and make sure the router's firmware is up to date. You can also change the channel it broadcasts on for a better signal. Unfortunately, if you have a large house, brick walls, etc there's not much you can do and mesh wifi would be the only solution.
@@DrewLakebrink In fact, I did find a better place using Wi-FiSweetSpots app. But in order to place the router in that location, the LAN cable had to travel half of my home, on the floor. Ducting did not make sense in terms of price and effort. I did try moving to Cloudflare DNS and installing a PiHole system for better bandwidth management, but I was not happy. So again, go mesh! :-)
A very good starting point if you have bad wi-fi at home. I would say that physically mapping in that way wouldn't help much, but at least gives the perspective of how the wi-fi works. Here is the solution: make the map in the first app. Check accuracy with a speed test in a couple of locations (low and high signal). If you are happy with the accuracy you can proceed with simulating the router in different locations. After you found the perfect spot, get long enough cable and take the router there. Again check the accuracy of the map using speed test. If you are happy with the results you would just need to figure out if you would install extension socket or hide the cable somehow. There you go the wi-fi is fixed. Some tips from me: avoid glass, metal and electrical devices near the router; Don't put the router on the floor or on the window cell; If you have glass doors opening the door does miracles. In some cases, the problem is not from the location of the router but interference from other wi-fi networks. In such cases, there is another fix available. You need to go to your router's settings page. Usually, the address is either 192.168.0.0 or 192.168.0.1. This is noted on the back/bottom of most routers and also the login details for the page. This excludes most providers routers, so you might need to call them for the login details. Once you are in that page you would be looking for something that would say wireless/ wi-fi or wireless settings. Under the wireless network settings there would be something saying desired channel/channel with numbers from 1 to 13 as options. Select any number and apply. Test if it doesn't work try another and so on. Easier way is to check the surrounding networks using CMD with command - netsh wlan show networks bssid. Once you have the surrounding network's channels you can select one that's not around you. Hope this helps :)
No mention of 2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz, and channel numbers, which can make a big difference depending on what your neighbours are using
I did the wifi surveys for Yankee Stadium using Ekahau. It's a huge job, and lots of things interact with the signal quality. Noise from other access points was the biggest problem!
Trust TH-cam to have a answer for ANY problem! I have been going down this path of trying to fix Wifi Coverage issue and was going down a very similar path as shown in this video. I had tried powerline extenders (not that great), finally upgraded to 1 GB fiber ISP which meant the extenders cannot support those speeds. I finally decided to add another router (placed in my bedroom) to my existing one (dining room, both ASUS AC models) , hooked them up using ASUS's AiMESH feature with a good old Cat 6 cable. Now, I am happy. Getting 400+ Mbps in my bedroom and I am smiling. P.S. I have been around when 9.6Kbps was THE thing to have (remember the modem handshake tone?) so unbelievable that we have come this far in about 25 years.
Great video, I was doing the exact same thing myself. In the end I just gave up and bought an Orbi Mesh, seemed to work well and I stopped testing.
The internet is a super dynamic system with servers, switching stations, fiber lines under the oceans, etc. You might as well pick points with schrodinger's equation than "map" your wifi. This was an exercise in futility.
Did you take into account Becca being in the way of the phone during monitoring? People absorb signals too
Thank you for a good reminder
I perform heat mapping and WIFI troubleshooting as my day job for an ISP. The very FIRST thing they should have done was look for other EM interference. There are several phone apps that show a "radar" GUI of all the 2.4ghz and 5ghz signals overlapping one another. If shes in an apartment then her router is competing for air space from all the neighbors. The solution is to either move the router to a more centralized location, or to get one with stronger output (essentially a louder output to drown out the neigbors routers). Or also depending on how much interference there is she could use a repeater or a separate wireless AP (access point) to get a strong signal in other rooms.
this is so great! awesome video with the proper science
I'd be really interested in doing something like this myself. The only things I'm curious about are the program that you used to simulate a router (don't know if the name is mentioned, I may have missed it) and how you got the floor plan of the signal overlaid on pictures of the living room/kitchen/bedroom.
Get a better router... get a access points. 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘
Love how they overlook what should have been the obvious solution before all the testing; move the router away from the brick corner into a more central, open area of the apartment.
My own solution is to have the slowest internet plan available, so I can't differentiate any potential WiFi bottleneck compared to my normal wired connection quality.
We need more simulation tools like the one shown off in this vid
That saves legacy time for design and implementation
Me and friends at rent: *JuSt BuY A gAmInG wIfI*
Every time I give The Verge the benefit of the doubt, they disappoint. Tech people how know nothing about tech
Forget using the app the simulate your apartments wifi dead zones, use it to find an optimal router location!,
Then invest in lots of extension cables and a router wall mount
LOL, LOVE that casual flex of the Gold Play Button at the end.
Wow. i learned something new on this vlog. thanks guys.
1. Get a better router. ISP routers are almost always cheap junk. Make sure it has removable antennas.
2. Get directional antennas. I use a Hawking corner-mount model HAI15SC. No booster needed; it runs on the router's native power. It pushes signal through all the walls of my 4 bedroom house and outside into the street. My neighbours could have great Wi-Fi if they knew the password, lol.
Seriously, this video was informative, but it's purely academic. Even some basic Wi-Fi hacks to improve the signal (like not locating the router behind the damn tv) would add content to an otherwise bland eight minutes.
I think this would be a great thing to add to a roomba or some walking (hexapod) or flying drone. Although I love the kick it old school with paper and pencil I can totally see strapping a phone to the roomba and having it automatically take the measurement at each 2 feet. Although really a hexabod walking around would just be cool!
You can do this with AR on a pretty much any smartphone with a TOF sensor, or just optical machine learning in pretty much any recent smartphone. VR systems do this to map out play areas too.
Roombas use optical tracking and machine learning to map the room they are in already too, but it's internal data that is used for memory applications to make efficiently changes to it's pattern and scaling.
They're way too bored.
Nice to see you're still using the pixel buds Becca
So bad she have to move to a new house, otherwise I would have expected you guys to try putting the router in different places through that crazy app to help Becca find the best spot to put her router. It would have been great. Anyway that's a very interesting video I have seen in a while. Thanks Verge Science. I have subscribed too! 😊
When we moved into our 4-bedroom house I planned to put my router near the middle of the main floor. But at first I put it in the basement because there was a cable outlet there. And it worked fine throughout the whole house through multiple walls and floors, even the bedrooms at the corners of the second story. Over the past 20 years we've been through many routers but they've all covered the entire house just fine from that spot in the basement. It's sad that a single-floor apartment would have any issues. That first "router" was an Apple Airport flying-saucer base station that used a Lucent pcmcia card for wifi. Not much by today's standards.
This was good, most enjoyable.
I just ended up adding 10 Wifi extender in my house 😂
Ekahau heatmapper. Used it for years for locating WiFi hotspots in office buildings. Walk around the building clicking as you walk around your floorplan and it's done.
Can you make a new 3D map of the apartment that shows the difference between the model and the actual readings? Where is the model most accurate and where is it least accurate?
Wow! They have reinvented old new NetSpot. Very innovative video.
Short answer, "Screw magnets, how does WiFi work??" XD
No! : you can't just leak my apartment layout and get away with it!
Haha FBI go brtrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
This video... Sounds like a wasted of time. So im not taking the risk.
Edit: from comments, seems like i was right.
Verge is sooo amazing!
Try a TP Link Powerline extender. Works like your cable, but uses the electric ‘harness’ of the apartment to carry the signal.
Oh the Verge.... there are so many ways to fix these problems and all we did was make a map and suggest a cable lol
7:52 I did the same - long ethernet cable wired from router to my computer. Was tired of dropped wifi.
Any reason why Powerline wouldn't work for you? Save on the trip hazard
Did the same thing for a lab in a GIS class, except I did the entire campus and made a web map.
Reminds me of a location where there was one exact spot that would have zero WiFi signal. Big open space and the access point on a desk, I can move left or right and have full signal except just there.
Can I just say that 0:50 is a great shot! Nicely done... whoever you are!? Cheers!
More Becca's video, please.
What I see in this video.
Boss:
"Im sorry but your are actually going to work for you know... your job."
Employee:
"Duh"
"two beans" - I think I know what that refers to lol
Use a mesh with stronger cignal so it changes from many different channels if it detects interference.
Did not check router wifi settings to understand channels and channel width settings configured there and didn't check wifi channels congestion??? I mean yea it's plug and play, but not going to be optimal that way. Manual wifi settings + range/speed tests are the way to go.
Exactly. Avoiding the default channels is really important especially in apartments.
This is a science channel... too many vairables. I once thought I was having wifi issues... turned out I was over heating my speakers with too much voltage.
I can relate to you having a microscope on your dining table thanks to my scientist parents.
I can certainly see where this would be useful, and can relate to this... in my bedroom the Wi-Fi is rather weak, but everywhere else, it is fine... In scenarios like this, multiple routers or repeaters would be nice to boost the signal strength :)
There are other options before spending money. Look into DNS settings and see if broadcasting on a different channel would help. If it's an old router (4+years), then you should see a great improvement by upgrading it.
I feel ya on that last bit
For everyone struggling with wifi look up "powerline switches" these devices akin to running an ethernet cable (minus the long trip wire-like cable) throughout your house except it uses your houses electrical grid to pass signals and data from your router to your internet-connected device and visa versa. I have one and it works wonders for all the devices in my room on the 3rd floor. My router is in my basement, in my room, I have a gaming console, various computers
@Verge Science Are you measuring Ping (e.g. 19.0 ms) , Download speed, or upload speed using the okaSpeedTest app?
What's the point of that last clip? Trying to show that cable speed is faster than wifi?
I mean it is, CAT5e/CAT6 ethernet is quicker than 802.11ac and ax real world speeds
@@vista9434 I know it is, I thought it was too obvious
Science: I can help fix your WiFi. It will just take a little bit of work.
Hoomans: **searching Amazon for cheapest ethernet cable**
This is so cool!
Seeker:
*Marvels at the beautiful physics of radio waves.
*Still gives no due credit to God.
The code for the actual simulation needed to solve the wave equation [(partialQ/partialX)^2+(partialQ/partialY)^2=0].
"And I’ll never get that time back" ... and I feel the same way for watching this video.. Seriously. A tech site that doesn't already know to at least try to centralize the router within the home space? Even just moving it over a couple feet to be at the end of that little wall blocking signal would help a good amount.
How I dealt with a similar problems from Spectrum wifi with a Spectrum (Sagemcom) router:
-Ethernet cables to all computer and game consoles
-Wifi for phones and the Switch
Now if Spectrum's service would stop randomly getting throttled or cut out we would have a bulletproof setup
Wireless mapping is actually something we do in the critical field of wireless fire alarm systems. Boston is doing it quite a bit.
Newer Roombas will map Wi-Fi for you if you ask it to.
Did you try changing the channel of your wifi?? That solves lots of issues!
An Android mapping Wi-Fi signals... The future is bright
0:15 well first thing I´d say, it would be beneficial to place IoT devices like Philips hue home station a little bit further away from your router. And maybe not place it behind something like your TV
Yep wifi AC and up uses beam forming radio and can't hit anything well within about 2 feet
And this is why all my computers are in the same room as the modem - so the ethernet cable can be routed next to the walls and it's not nearly as unsightly.
You can use mesh broadbands to enhance signal strength
I am the developer of Oka Speed Test iOS app. I was shocked in the past two days because of the sudden increase in downloads of this app. I didn't know what happened until I found out here. After watching this awesome video, I feel that it is time to add an AR mode to this app. It may not be useful, but it must be cool. LOL
Very cool, how complicated was the app to develop?
@@Molly-ss4fw The ARKit provided by Apple makes implementing AR functionality much easier than it used to be. But this will be my first attempt at developing an AR app. I'll have to take some time to design it properly and pray there are no bugs.
Nice job
All my buddies ran their PS3's on the Wi-Fi because "its super easy"
Me: nah, I'm routing wires because I want no interruptions!
She hates him by the end LMAO