Answers to questions

Near the middle of your home, out in the open and up high — on a shelf or a cupboard rather than the floor. Thick walls, especially load-bearing ones, large mirrors, aquariums and metal cabinets get in the way. A microwave nearby can cause interference on the 2.4 GHz band.

The 2.4 GHz band reaches further through walls, but in a block of flats it is crowded with neighbours’ networks. The 5 GHz band is usually faster but works best in the same room or through one wall. Many routers broadcast both at once, and each device picks the one that suits it.

This is the password for the settings, not for the network. Factory passwords are often the same across many devices, so anyone connected to your Wi-Fi could change your settings. Choose your own and write it on the card.

First, try moving the router. If that does not help, there are two options: run a cable and add a second access point, or set up a mesh system of several units that work as one network. Signal extenders are simpler but often reduce speed.

Your plan states the maximum possible speed to your home. After that it gets eaten up by walls, distance from the router, the age of your device and everything downloading in the background. In the evening, when the whole building is online, the provider’s network can also be under heavier load.

Connect a computer to the router with a cable, close all downloads and ask everyone at home to pause streaming for a while. Run several tests at different times of day and write down the results. Then compare them with tests over Wi-Fi next to the router and in the far room.

No, but the cause can be on either side: an overheating router, old firmware, a poor cable contact or work on the line. Note the time of each drop and which lights were on on the router. If the drops follow a schedule, pass your log on to your provider’s support.

It often helps when the router freezes, but it treats the symptom, not the cause. If you have to restart it all the time, check where the router stands and whether it overheats, update the firmware and ask your provider whether it is time to replace the device.

Sit closer to the router or connect with a cable, close unnecessary tabs and ask others at home to hold off on large downloads during the call. If that does not help, turn off your own video: audio needs far less and usually stays clear.

Try talking by a window that faces open space. Many phones can make calls over Wi-Fi if your carrier supports it — check with them. In Russia and the EU, 112 is usually reachable even on another network’s weak signal (in Russia, often without a SIM card too); readers elsewhere should use their local emergency number.

Discuss the rules together and write them down: where phones stay at night, when the games console goes off, which sites and games are talked over with an adult first. Many routers let you schedule access for individual devices, but a conversation works better than any setting.

Yes. Change the factory passwords on cameras, speakers and smart plugs, turn on updates and connect such devices to a guest or separate network. If a device has not received updates for a long time, consider whether it needs internet access at all.