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Office Hours: Mon – Fri : 10AM – 7PM
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Understanding Wi-Fi signal strength is essential for a seamless online experience. Whether you’re streaming, gaming, or working remotely, knowing what qualifies as a good signal and how to measure it can help you optimize your connection. This guide breaks down Wi-Fi signal levels, what they mean, and how to ensure a reliable network for your needs.
Know Your Signal, Boost Your Connection
We often hear about having a “good Wi-Fi signal,” but what does that actually mean? Do you know the signal strength needed for high-demand activities like Netflix streaming or video conferencing?
Wi-Fi signal strength is measured in decibel milliwatts (dBm)—a unit that, interestingly, is always represented as a negative number. The closer the value is to zero, the stronger the signal.
So, what are the ideal and acceptable dBm levels for a reliable wireless connection?
| Signal Strength | Quality to Expect | Required for |
|---|---|---|
| -30 dBm | Maximum signal strength; you are probably standing right next to the access point/router. | Any activity |
| -50 dBm | Anything down to this level can be regarded as excellent signal strength. | 4K video streaming, online gaming |
| -60 dBm | This is still good, reliable signal strength. | HD video streaming, video conferencing |
| -67 dBm | This is the minimum value for all services that require smooth and reliable data traffic. | VoIP/VoWi-Fi, standard video streaming |
| -70 dBm | The signal is not very strong, but mostly sufficient. | Web browsing, email |
| -80 dBm | Minimum value required to make a connection. You cannot count on a reliable connection or sufficient signal strength to use services at this level. | Basic connectivity (may not support streaming or calls) |
| -90 dBm | It is very unlikely that you will be able to connect or make use of any services with this signal strength. | Unusable |
To measure signal strength at a given location and time, you can use a Wi-Fi scanner. You can read more about this in our article How to find good Wi-Fi channels and bad neighbors.
The measurement you are looking for is RSSI, which is short for received signal strength indicator.
If you are running Mac OS X, you can also measure the received signal strength directly without installing anything: Hold down the Altkey and click the Wi-Fi icon in the top menu, and details of communication with the wireless access point will appear under the name of the active Wi-Fi network.
If you would like to map out the signal for an entire home, we recommend using a heat mapper to create a heat map of good and bad coverage zones. See also: Map your wireless network with a heat mapper.
Have you done your testing and concluded that the signal strength is insufficient? First of all:
Don’t be tempted to try to amplify the transmit strength from your router / access point. You may sabotage both yourself and your neighbors in the process, and you risk breaking the law along the way. Read more about this in Don’t. Boost. Your Wi-Fi Signal.
Of course, the performance and capacity of the wireless network depends on more than the signal emitted from the access point, but the most important thing you can do for the signal is:
