Finally figured out why my Netflix kept buffering - it was my own dumb router setup

I had my router sitting right behind my TV for like 2 years, never thinking about it. Then my buddy came over last week, looked at it, and asked why I had it crammed between a metal soundbar and a wall. He moved it 3 feet to the left and my connection went from 20 mbps to 150. I always thought dead zones were just something you put up with, but nope, I was literally blocking my own signal. Anyone else ever do something this stupid and not realize it for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardrodriguez12d ago

Wait, 20 to 150 mbps just from moving it 3 feet? That's insane... I mean I knew those metal soundbars could mess with stuff but I never thought it was that bad. My router's been sitting on top of my cable box for like a year and a half now and I've been getting maybe 30 mbps in my bedroom when I pay for 200. I'm honestly about to go home and start moving everything around like a crazy person because that's such a simple fix. The whole time I was blaming my ISP and threatening to cancel my plan... turns out I was just blocking myself? Wow.

craig.brian12d ago

Oh man, I had almost the exact same thing happen a few months back. I moved my router from behind my TV to a shelf about 4 feet away and my download went from like 40 to 180 mbps. It was sitting right next to this big metal stereo receiver and I guess that thing was just eating all the signal. The weird part is I also had it crammed in a corner behind some books and a plant. Once I cleared all that junk away and gave it some breathing room, it was like a whole new connection. I was about to call my provider and scream at them too, felt pretty dumb after.