Sluggish Wi-Fi may not be a permanent fixture in our lives, but when it happens, it can get on our nerves. Blaming your ISP-provided router or the plan speed is natural, but you should check your router's settings first. Most people never think about modifying their router's settings, but they are one of the quickest and simplest ways to optimize Wi-Fi performance. The default settings are rarely ideal, and once you see the difference a few tweaks can make, you'll regret not doing so earlier. Whether it's the wireless channels you're connected to, your router's QoS settings, or the firmware itself, changing these settings is highly recommended. Some of them may require you to replace your ISP's router, but it's worth it.

Channel selection and width

It makes a huge difference

You may not be aware, but your router can use several different wireless channels to connect to the internet. Depending on your router, you may or may not have access to wider channels supporting higher bandwidth, and hence, Wi-Fi speed. However, it's still important to log in to your router's settings page, and check which channels are currently selected. You may be sharing crowded channels with several of your neighbors in an apartment complex. Multiple networks competing for bandwidth on the same few channels creates congestion, forcing your otherwise fast Wi-Fi connection to behave suboptimally.

Using an app like WiFi Analyzer (on Android), you can quickly identify crowded and relatively free channels in your area. Based on this information, you can select the appropriate channel in your router's settings to give your Wi-Fi the best chance it can get. Additionally, you should also target wider channels for higher throughput and speed, if your network supports them. 80MHz and 160MHz channels work great for Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 networks, but wider channels also mean more interference and lower coverage. You can check how your Wi-Fi performs on 40MHz and 20MHz channels — they might support lower peak speeds but a more consistent experience that actually "feels" better.

QoS settings

Use every weapon you have

Your router also has Quality of Service (QoS) settings, and it's quite possible you never thought of checking what they do or whether they can be improved or not. You're probably not to blame, since most ISPs limit the number of QoS settings you're exposed to, if not lock them down entirely. These settings perform the crucial function of optimizing your Wi-Fi network for the most demanding devices instead of treating everything with the same priority. Without proper QoS settings, the sluggishness you experience on your gaming PC or smart TV could simply be your slower smart plugs and bulbs dragging the network down with them. All other devices may be waiting on these slower clients, increasing latency and spoiling your experience.

Many routers enable this change through "Airtime Fairness" or something similar, allowing you to define the priority for each of your client devices. Instead of a "first-come, first-served" arrangement, you can define different rules to make your router favor your PC, laptop, console, TV, phone, or something else. Your older devices will still work properly, and the upside is a much smoother and snappier connection for your actively used devices. If you don't see QoS settings on your ISP router, it may be worth investing in an aftermarket router.

Firmware

Yes, your router needs updates

You may have updated your PC's firmware (BIOS) a few times, but updating your router's firmware might not have entered your mind. Most users feel that the ISP takes care of firmware updates, or that routers don't need any updates at all. What this means is that your router may be running outdated firmware, susceptible to security exploits and lacking access to bug fixes and performance improvements. Your slow Wi-Fi may not be due to aging hardware or mismatched settings, but a router running firmware that it should have moved on from long ago.

Updating your router's firmware can be clunky if it's an older model, or if it doesn't have an app for that. You'll probably have to download the right firmware file and use the manual update feature in the router's settings. Once that's done, however, you don't need to worry about your router being used as a botnet or exploited to snoop on your data. Performance and stability improvements are obviously ideal bonuses of an updated firmware.

Custom DNS server

Do it once, enjoy it forever

This may be overkill for most people, but you should consider the benefits of running a custom DNS server instead of your ISP's default one. First, you can finally keep your internet traffic completely private from your ISP. No one should have the default ability to monitor your traffic, but that's exactly what your ISP can do on the default DNS server. Second, this lack of privacy makes it possible for your traffic data to be turned against you in the form of ads. A custom DNS server reduced this possibility to a great extent. And third, it can also make your Wi-Fi snappier, thanks to a bigger cache to store more entries, and reduce the time it takes for your search queries to be resolved.

Setting up a local DNS server is a bit of work, but it's a small price to pay for a huge upside, and basically no downside. You can use OPNsense to do it, and control every aspect of your network. You can bid goodbye to tracking, advertisements, and content censorship from your ISP's end. Plus, the performance benefits once your network spends enough time on the new DNS server are undeniable.

Fix your sluggish Wi-Fi without changing your hardware

Most people don't think about it, but most issues with your Wi-Fi can be fixed without swapping hardware. Yes, your ISP's router lacks certain features, but you can still modify a fair bit of settings to improve your Wi-Fi performance. The channel selection and QoS settings are some of the quickest and simplest settings you can tweak for instant benefits. And updating the router's firmware may get rid of performance-killing bugs and security flaws. Lastly, a custom DNS server can make your Wi-Fi snappier and give you the control back from your ISP.