So wifi waves are basically just radiowaves,
从本质上讲，wifi就是无线电电波
so that's the same as the electromagnetic waves you pick up with your cell phone or a radio.
所以，wifi和你用手机或是收音机接收到的电磁波并没有什么区别
But wifi waves are fairly short.
但是wifi的波长较短
They're only 12 cm long, the conventional kind.
一般只有12cm
Compare that to AM radio waves, which are hundreds of meters long.
不妨拿wifi的波长同长达数百米的调频广播的波长比较一下
The signal gets a lot weaker as it gets further from the router.
距离路由器较远的地方，信号就弱得多
And generally they can't go more than 150 feet from a single router.
通常情况下，一个路由器可用的范围不超过150英尺
They actually get absorbed and blocked by walls and metal surfaces.
墙壁和金属表面都会阻碍或吸收wifi的电波
So the way you position your wifi router makes a huge difference
所以安装wifi路由器的方式会大大影响
in how strong your signal is throughout your house.
整个房屋内信号的强度
One thing you definitely want to do
首先，你需要
is put your router near the center of your house.
把路由器放在靠近房屋中间的位置
Because it broadcasts the signal out in equal strength in all directions.
因为这样一来路由器往各个方向发射的信号强度相当
You want it out in the open.
其次，你需要把它放在比较开阔的位置
If it's in a closet, the walls of the closet are going to absorb and block some of the signal.
若是放在壁橱里，橱壁就会吸收或阻碍部分信号
A good way to think about it is just use line of sight.
一个不错的法子就是利用视线

From whatever position you can see the furthest in your house
不管是什么位置，只要在那里能看得最远
and you can see the most number of rooms,
看到最多的房间
that's probably a good place to put your router.
那它很可能就是一个放路由器的好地方
You also want to lift your router up off the ground
另外，你还需要把路由器放在离地的位置
because the signals can't penetrate some of the materials that make up floors,
因为wifi信号无法穿透某些材质的地板
like metal, or concrete, or cement.
比如金属、混凝土、水泥地板
And also, the way most routers are designed,
再者，从设计来看，大部分路由器都是
they broadcast the waves slightly downwards,
电波从上往下辐射的
so that way you're projecting less of it down into your basement for no reason.
这样一来，无缘无故的，你家地下室接收到的信号就会更少
A lot of other electronics can interfere with the router's signal,
很多电子设备都能干扰路由器的信号
things like TVs, computers, microwaves,
比如电视、电脑、微波炉，
pretty much anything that has a motor inside it.
基本上有电机的都会干扰到
So you want to keep the router away from other electronics.
所以，你需要让路由器远离电子设备
Most routers have two antennas in them.
大部分路由器都有两个天线
Ideally you could position one vertically and one horizontally.
你最好是把它们一个垂直放置，一个水平放置
Devices work best when their internal antenna is parallel with the router's,
当设备内置的天线和路由器的天线平行时，设备接收到的信号最理想
so most antennas inside laptops are horizontal,
所以大部分笔记本电脑内置的天线都是水平的
But if you're using a mobile device or a tablet,
但是如果你用的是移动设备或平板电脑
it totally depends on how you're holding it.
信号好不好就完全取决于你拿设备的方式
So that way if you have one horizontal and one vertical,
所以，路由器的天线一个水平，一个垂直时
you have the highest chance of having a parallel match with antennas.
它跟各个设备的天线平行的可能性最大
If you find that your network isn't working well,
当你发现网不好用时
you can go around and measure your signal strength.
不妨四处走走，看看信号的强弱情况
There are a lot of apps that you can download on your phone.
手机上有很多相关的应用可以下载
You could create a rough map and figure out what you need to do to fix it.
然后画一个大致的信号分布图，这样就可以找到解决问题的办法啦