How to Get Reliable Wi-Fi in Your Backyard

Nobody wants tunes are buffered when they have friends over for a barbecue or a podcast stutters as they try to finish their yard work. While the average router can fill your house with Wi-Fi, it doesn’t always extend all the way to the patio or deck, much less to the end of your garden. But you can get great Wi-Fi coverage in your outdoor spaces and I’ll show you the best options.

You may also want to know how to make your Wi-Fi faster, how to buy a router, and whether you should go for a single router or a mesh system.

Adjust or move your router

Before you think about spending money, try adjusting or moving your wireless router. Routers send Wi-Fi signals in a rough circle, so I always recommend placing your router in the center of your home. Moving it slightly closer to your garden or wherever you want to extend Wi-Fi is the easiest option. Make sure it is positioned up high and in the open air. You may need a longer Ethernet cable. If your router has adjustable antennas, I also highly recommend moving them and testing the signal strength where you are having trouble (this can make a surprising difference).

If you have a mesh system, try moving one of the nodes to the back windowsill of your house to extend Wi-Fi into the yard. If you can, running an Ethernet cable between your main router and the node closest to your outdoor space for a wired link can also greatly extend range and speed. If you have an outbuilding, you might even consider running a shielded Ethernet cable from your main router to a mesh node or access point.

Use your smartphone as a hotspot

If you get a decent cellular network signal on your phone in your backyard and have plenty of data, it may be worth using your phone as a hotspot, allowing other devices to take advantage of your mobile network connection. We have a complete guide on how to use your smartphone as a hotspot, but it’s very simple to do. Here’s the quick version:

• On an iPhone: Open Settings, Personal hotspotactivate Allow others to joinand set a Wi-Fi password.
• On an Android: Open Settings, Network and Internet (Or Relationships on a Samsung phone), choose Hotspot and connection sharingto fall over Wi-Fi hotspot turned on and choose a name and password.

The problem is that this will use up your data allowance, freeze your phone, and drain your battery quickly. But it’s a good solution in a pinch.

Upgrade your configuration

If the two options above don’t solve your Wi-Fi issues, it might be time to upgrade your hardware. We have guides to the best routers, the best mesh systems, and the best Wi-Fi extenders. If you’re currently using an old router or an ISP-provided router, simply purchasing a new one could make a big difference in your range. Most routers have a rough estimate of square footage, but the construction of your home and other factors will impact this.

Moving from a single router to a mesh system is a better upgrade if you need to extend that Wi-Fi coverage. I don’t like Wi-Fi extenders, but they can sometimes be the most cost-effective way to route Wi-Fi to a single problem spot. If you’ve recently upgraded or already have a mesh, there are still other options.

Get an outdoor router

People with a mesh system can often easily add an outdoor router or node. Outdoor routers are weatherproof and usually have an IP rating determining what type of weather conditions they can withstand. They often come with fixings to mount to an exterior wall, fence or post, but you need to think about how to route a power cable to an outlet. The right outdoor router for you depends entirely on your mesh system.