Spring Clean Your Home Network: 7 Checks to Do Right Now | MATE

Uncategorised | 13 October 2026

The windows are open, the mower’s out of the shed and someone’s finally tackling the linen cupboard. While you’re at it, give your home network a once-over too. Most of us set up our wifi once, then forget about it for years, and it slowly gets slower without anyone noticing.

The good news? Learning how to improve home wifi doesn’t take a tech degree or a big spend. Most of the seven checks below take under 10 minutes and cost nothing.

Does your network need a spring clean? Take the 90-second test

Be honest with yourself here:

1. Is your router more than three or four years old, or can’t you remember the last time it was updated?
2. Are there rooms in your home where the wifi drops out or slows to a crawl?
3. Does your internet feel slower in the evening, or when everyone’s home and online?

If you said yes to any of them, your network’s due for some attention. Each check has a rough time guide, so knock over the quick wins today and save the bigger jobs for the weekend.

1. Restart your router and update the firmware (2 minutes)

Start with the easiest fix in the book. Switch your modem/router off at the wall, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on. A restart clears the router’s memory and reapplies its settings, which can sort out sluggish speeds and odd drop-outs.

When it’s back up, check the firmware. Firmware is the software that runs your router, and manufacturers release updates to fix bugs, patch security holes, and improve performance. Many newer routers update automatically, but older models often need a nudge. To check:

• Log in to your router’s settings page by typing its address into a web browser. It’s usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, and it’s often printed on a sticker on the router itself.
• Look for a section called Firmware, System or Administration.
• If there’s an update available, install it and let the router restart. Don’t switch it off halfway through.

Some routers use a phone app instead. If you’re using your own router, our guide to configuring your BYO modem/router walks you through getting into the settings.

A monthly restart is plenty for most homes. If you find yourself restarting it every few days just to keep things running, that’s a sign something bigger is going on, and the checks below should help you find it.

2. Change your wifi password and audit what is connected (10 minutes)

When was the last time you changed your wifi password? If the answer is “when we moved in”, or it’s still the one printed on the back of the router, it’s time for a new one. Over the years, that password gets shared with visitors, tradies, the kids’ mates and the neighbours who “just needed it for a minute”.

Every device on your network takes a slice of the bandwidth, whether you’re using it or not. So once you’ve changed the password:

• Check the list of connected devices. You’ll find it in your router’s settings page or app, usually under something like Connected Devices or Clients.
• Remove anything you don’t recognise. A new password will boot them off anyway, but it’s worth knowing who was on there.
• Set up a guest network. Most routers let you create a separate network for visitors, so you never have to hand out your main password again.
• Check your security settings. Use WPA2 or WPA3 if your router offers it.

You might be surprised by how many devices turn up. Phones, laptops, TVs, speakers, smart lights, doorbells and watches all add up, and many homes now have 20 or more. Your Wi-Fi can only handle so much at once, and our guide to the secret limit of your home Wi-Fi explains why that matters.

3. Move the right devices to 5 GHz (10 minutes)

Most modern routers broadcast on two frequency bands, and they’re good at different things:

Here’s the simple rule: if a device is close to your router and needs speed, put it on 5 GHz. If it’s further away, or it’s a smart plug, light or camera that barely uses any data, leave it on 2.4 GHz. Many smart home devices only support 2.4 GHz anyway.

If your router shows both bands under one wifi name, it’ll usually choose for you. If you’d rather take control, you can split them into two network names in your router settings and connect each device to the right one. Our step-by-step guide on how to change wifi frequency shows you how.

4. Check for channel congestion (15 minutes)

Each Wi-Fi band is divided into channels, much like lanes on a road. If every network in your street is squeezed into the same lane, everyone slows down.

This mostly matters if you live in an apartment block or a busy suburb, where you can often see a dozen or more neighbouring networks. To check:

Download a free wifi analyser app on your phone or laptop. It’ll show which channels nearby networks are using.

1. On 2.4 GHz, stick to channels 1, 6 or 11. These are the only ones that don’t overlap each other.
2. On 5 GHz, there are many more channels to choose from, so pick one that’s quieter.
3. Change the channel in your router settings under Wireless or Wi-Fi, save, and test your speed again.

Honest take: in a detached house with few neighbours nearby, changing channels usually makes little difference. Most routers pick a channel automatically, and they’re pretty good at it. If you’re in a crowded area, though, it’s worth 15 minutes.

Newer routers also help here. Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers handle crowded airwaves and many devices far better than older models, and newer ones add the 6 GHz band, which is much less crowded. Our guide to Wi-Fi standards, from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 7, explains what the differences mean for you.

5. Fix dead zones – placement first, mesh second (an afternoon)

Before you spend a cent on a wifi booster or a new system, try moving your router. It’s free, and it’s often the single biggest improvement you can make. Where your router sits matters more than most people think.

Good router placement looks like this:

• Central in your home, not tucked in a corner or at one end of the house
• Up high, like on a shelf, rather than on the floor
• Out in the open, not inside a cupboard or behind the TV
• Away from microwaves, aquariums and big metal objects

Once it’s moved, walk around your home with your phone and check the signal in each room.

Wifi booster or mesh wifi?

If you’ve still got dead zones after moving your router, it’s time to add some coverage. We dont suggest WiFi Boosters or Extenders as they can create more issues, a Mesh network is the best answer to dead spots.

Mesh WiFi uses a main unit plus one or more satellites placed around your home. They work together as one network, so your devices switch between them automatically as you move around. Mesh costs more, but it’s the better choice for larger homes, double-storey homes, long floorplans and places with thick, signal-blocking walls.

If you’re weighing up your options, check out our pick of the best mesh wifi systems for nbn.

6. Hard-wire what should be wired (an afternoon)

WiFi is brilliant for phones, tablets and anything that moves around. But for devices that stay put and use a lot of data, a wired connection is still the gold standard.

Plug these in with an Ethernet cable if you can:

• Your smart TV or streaming box, especially if you watch live sport
• Your gaming console, where lower latency means less lag
• Your work-from-home computer, so video calls don’t freeze mid-sentence

A wired connection doesn’t care about walls, microwaves or your neighbours’ networks, so you get a steadier, more reliable connection.

If running a cable from your router isn’t practical, powerline adapters are worth a look. They send your internet connection through your home’s power points, so you can get a wired connection in another room without drilling holes.

Our guide to Ethernet vs wifi covers why wired still matters and how to get the best of both.

7. Review your plan – are you on the right speed?

If you’ve worked through checks one to six, your home network should be in much better shape. But there’s one thing no amount of tidying up can fix: a plan that’s too slow for how your household uses the internet.

Here’s how to find out whether your plan is the problem:

1. Plug a laptop straight into your modem/router with an Ethernet cable. This takes wifi out of the picture.
2. Run a speed test between 7pm and 11pm. These are the busy hours, and NBN providers have to advertise the typical speeds you can expect during this time.
3. Compare the result to your plan’s typical evening speed.

If your wired speed is close to what your plan promises but your wifi is still slow, the problem is inside your home, so go back over checks three to six. If your wired speed is fine but your household still runs out of room in the evenings, you’ve probably outgrown your plan.

A quick way to tell: count how many people in your home stream, game, work from home or make video calls at the same time. The more of those happening at once, the more speed you’ll need. Our guide to NBN speed tiers breaks down which speed suits which household.

It’s also worth checking your router can keep up. An older router may not be able to deliver the full speed of a faster plan over Wi-Fi, so if you’re upgrading your speed, make sure your equipment can handle it. Our guide to the best NBN modem can help.

With MATE, changing your speed is easy. All our NBN plans come with unlimited data and no lock-in contracts, and there are no fees to change plans, so you can move up (or down) whenever your household needs it. If you get stuck, our 100% Aussie-based team is here to help.

Improved your home wifi and it’s still slow?

If you’ve restarted, updated, tidied up, moved your router and wired in what you can, and your internet still can’t keep up, the plan is the constraint. It just means your household needs more speed than your current plan provides.

And if your internet’s dropped out altogether rather than just running slow, start with our guide to why your internet isn’t working.

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