Those of us who complain about slow Wi-Fi are often left scrambling for answers. And scramble, I have.

Switching to Ethernet was simultaneously the best and the cheapest network upgrade I've ever gotten. Simply ditching Wi-Fi for a cable is fantastic, and in most cases, it improves your connection tremendously.

If you've ever used a mesh Wi-Fi system, you've probably noticed that the satellite nodes usually have a spare Ethernet port. It is tempting to use that port to attach a NAS. After all, it seems like a good way to get your NAS connected without running a cable across the floor or through a wall.

When was the last time you thought about the devices that run your home network? You might have some devices that are officially too old to be using in 2025.

My Wi-Fi router sits out in the open in the kitchen next to the TV, and I've been thinking about hiding it in the cabinet under the TV for a while now. This would make the whole setup look a little tidier, but I didn't want to sacrifice Wi-Fi performance just for better aesthetics. So, I decided to test just how much worse my signal actually gets when I put the router in a cabinet.

As a general rule, don't use the router that comes from your ISP. It's typically overpriced, but that's not all — it may even be causing issues with your smart home, at least with the default settings.

This one is for all the people who buy a router, set it up according to the default settings, and never look at it again. Unfortunately, default settings aren't really optimized to keep us safe and secure. Instead, they're designed to make the product work out-of-the-box for as many people as possible.

Occasionally rebooting your router and modem is pretty normal, and some routers even have a reboot schedule function that can take care of this for you. Though problematic network equipment should be replaced, adding a smart plug to your setup can save you effort and even automate the entire process.

So, you're wanting to get started with Ubiquiti's UniFi networking gear, huh? I love my UniFi setup, but I definitely made some mistakes. Here are the four biggest mistakes I see people make all the time in the UniFi community, and how you can avoid them.

Wi-Fi 7 routers and network cards are finally becoming affordable and commonplace, but if you're a homelabber or someone who just enjoys any sort of self-hosting, you probably haven't had a pressing reason to upgrade to this latest standard.

If you have a multi-gig NAS, one of the most obvious (and yet, somehow, still easy to miss) network bottlenecks is plugging it into a gigabit network. So, naturally, you look at your router, hunt down the 2.5Gbps or 10Gbps Ethernet port, and go for the fastest option available on your hardware. Makes sense.

If you're not happy with your internet connection around the house, your ISP and Wi-Fi router are probably the first things you'll blame. But before you pay for a faster internet plan or a new router, there's a much cheaper solution you should try first: a simple unmanaged switch. Allow me to explain.

Whether you just got a new Wi-Fi router or you're busy trying a bunch of tricks to get faster speeds and a more reliable connection, one small setup decision could be sabotaging your home network. A common mistake is to bundle the power adapter and extra cable into a tidy coil right behind the router, but here's why I keep the power brick as far away as possible.

If you want a fast, stable connection, and you want to do it properly, you go wired. We all know this, but just because wired is the right answer doesn't mean there's no wrong way to do it. If you traipse one long cable all around the house and out to the annex, you may hit a wall you didn't know existed. Ethernet has a hard distance ceiling, and once you pass it, things will start going wonky.

A Wi-Fi router can advertise hundreds of MBs, yet your Linux laptop may deliver a fraction of that speed. Before replacing the router, changing channels, or blaming the wireless adapter, there is one Linux setting worth checking.