Home Network & WiFi

Layout and channel choices that actually help

Do a quick survey with your phone: walk the house and note RSSI; aim for better than -65 dBm where you place cameras and voice assistants. If a single router leaves dead zones, use a wired backhaul for mesh or run a single Ethernet drop to an access point instead of stacking extenders. On 2.4 GHz, pick channels 1, 6, or 11 and stick to 20 MHz width; on 5 GHz, favor 40 or 80 MHz depending on congestion.

If you must keep combo modem/routers from the ISP, bridge them and let your own router handle WiFi. Turn off “smart connect” band steering if your IoT gear keeps failing pairing; keep a dedicated 2.4 GHz SSID for them and a separate SSID for laptops/phones.

Capacity planning for cams and voice

Each 1080p camera can chew 2-4 Mbps upstream; four cameras on cloud recording will saturate a 10 Mbps upload pipe. Cap bitrate in the camera app and prefer local/NVR storage when you can. For voice assistants, avoid double-bridging devices across multiple assistants; pick one platform to expose your plugs and bulbs to reduce chatter on the network.

Separate noisy devices onto a guest/IoT VLAN or guest SSID with client isolation off if devices must talk locally. This keeps streaming boxes and gaming PCs from fighting with sensors and plugs for airtime.

Enable QoS and put work laptop, conferencing apps, and critical cameras at the top. If your router supports scheduled QoS, raise priority for calls during work hours and drop it overnight so backups and downloads can finish.