Sometimes the wireless coverage in the house is not the best possible and, therefore, the use of Internet access without using cables is not the most convenient. Well, with WiFi Solver FDTD You can create a floor plan of your house to know exactly where the best place is to locate your router.
Basically, you draw the floor plan or floors of your house and, additionally, indicate where you want to place the router. Once this is done, you can add possible obstacles, such as doors or iron plates. And, more importantly, you can also simulate electromagnetic emissions that act in homes (such as those emitted by electrical appliances). In this way, the best placement site is located.
As for the plans, these are created in WiFi Solver FDTD with a scale of one centimeter and different colors can be set depending on the materials that interrupt wireless emissions (such as timber of the doors or the brick of the walls). By the way, it is possible to use both the use of the frequencies of 2,4 and 5 GHz, which are currently the most common.
Why router location matters
WiFi networks behave like microwave radio waves: The further you move away from the transmitter, the more the intensity drops. This drop is not linear; the perceived power decreases very rapidly with distance, so bring the router closer to the areas of use makes the difference.
Physical obstacles attenuate the signal. thick walls, floors and ceilings reduce the range, and water (pipes, fish tanks or even people in crowded areas) absorbs waves especially well. It also prevents metal surfaces and reflective objects such as mirrors and large windows, because they cause bounce and shadow areas.
The 2,4 GHz band has fewer channels and more neighborhood interference; 5 GHz offers more channels and less congestion (at the cost of lower penetration). appropriate channel and band according to your devices helps stabilize the network.
Simple check
Once the approximate plan is created, for which there is an editor in which the walls and ceilings of the house can be drawn (always in straight lines, so there is an approximation not a total accuracy option), the user indicates the place you want place the router by pressing on the touch screen of the Android device, so this process has no difficulty.
At that time you must indicate in WiFi Solver FDTD the wireless standard that the device uses, such as 802.11n, and a colored circle of decreasing intensity appears that simulates the efficient range of the router - it is approximate, since it also depends on the power of the integrated antennas. Besides, it is also checked how the electromagnetic emissions of other elements and existing obstacles affect it.
For greater precision, the app allows you to load a PNG plane with black holes and white walls, working with the 2D Finite Difference Time Domain method to solve Maxwell's equations. If the plan has a scale of 1 cm and a contained resolution (for example, up to 500x500 px), the calculation is faster and more accurate.
Science-Based Router Placement Tips
Place it in an area high and central to better distribute coverage. Don't hide it in furniture: antennas usually radiate in a "donut" shape around the axis, so keep them vertical usually maximizes horizontal coverage.
Move the equipment away from home appliances and wireless transmitters (microwaves, cordless phones, Bluetooth speakers, baby monitors). Minimize proximity to metal objects and mirrors to avoid cancellations. In multi-story homes, place it near the ladder or halfway between levels.
If there are still areas with poor signal, rely on repeaters, WiFi systems Mesh for large homes or solutions PLC that take advantage of electrical wiring. An analyzer like Wifi Analyzer helps with trial and error to validate each change.
Additional tools and Wi-Fi channels
In addition to WiFi Solver FDTD, there are tools to create heat maps: NetSpot (Windows, macOS), Ekahau HeatMapper, Acrylic, VisiWave or AirMagnet Survey PRO (Windows). On Linux, scripts like wifi-heatmap They allow you to view signal quality. On iOS, access to the hardware is restricted, so these utilities are more limited.
Remember to check the congestion of channels in 2,4 GHz and take advantage of 5 GHz whenever your devices support it. If your router supports current technologies (MU-MIMO, OFDMA or Wi‑Fi 6/6E), you will be able to better manage multiple devices, although the location remains key.
App download
If you want to get WiFi Solver FDTD you can do it in this link from Play Store. Its price is 0,63 euros and, the truth is that it helps to find the best location for a wireless router. It is not totally accurate, but when testing it we have discovered that yes it is correct almost every time when indicating a location. Other developments for the Google operating system can be found at this section Android Help.
Combining good practice (height, center, vertical antennas, avoid interference) and a realistic simulation with WiFi Solver FDTD will allow you to locate your router wisely, reduce dead spots and get the most out of both 2,4 and 5 GHz without changing your rate or hardware.