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Can You Put Router in Closet? (Read This First!)

Nobody can pass a single day without the internet these days, right? Routers became an integral part of our households. However, finding the right spot for placing the router can be somewhat tricky.

As a result, you might be wondering if you can put the router in the closet. You might also want to know if putting a router in the closet can block the signal. If yes, you might wonder how you can hide the router in the house without blocking the signal. 

Let’s find out all the answers regarding putting a router in the closet.

Putting router in closet

You should not put a router in a closet if you do not want to display it. This is due to the fact that keeping the router in the closet will reduce the performance of the router. Both the speed and range of the router will reduce significantly if you stick it in a closet.

A router uses radio waves to provide an internet connection to multiple devices in a particular area. The internet connection is established between a router and a device through different frequencies. 

The router basically uses two types of radio wave frequencies, they are 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz.

The radio wave that is emitted by a router can get blocked or interrupted by any solid surface. As a result, you shouldn’t place a router in a closet. If you put the router in a closet, you won’t get proper internet speed as the signal will get blocked.

That being said, the signal blockage in every router won’t be of the same level. In some routers, the whole radio wave will get blocked by the router closet. Then again, a few types of routers will work quite fine even if you place them inside a closet. 

The mesh router and google router are the most widely used routers these days. So, let’s take a look if you can put a mesh router and google router in the closet. 

Mesh router: 

The coverage of the mesh router is much higher compared to the regular WiFi routers. This is due to the fact that the mesh router uses the connected devices to extend the coverage through a house. 

Although its coverage is quite high, its signal will be interrupted if it is placed in a confined space.

If you place the mesh router in a closet, the coverage and the internet speed will reduce. This is because, normally, there won’t be any connected device inside the closet which will extend the coverage and internet speed. As a result, you should refrain from placing this router in a closet. 

The mesh router also uses radio wave frequencies to provide internet to the devices. The radio wave frequency will get blocked by the closed doors of the closet. 

As a result, if you keep the mesh router in the closet, the WiFi signal will be very weak, which will reduce the internet speed significantly.

Google router:

The Google router is also a mesh WiFi system that provides reliable and seamless WiFi coverage throughout the house. It provides the coverage by using the connected devices with the router. 

The radio frequency wave of the google router will also get interrupted by solid surfaces and doors. Even if you place the router in a room and close the doors, the WiFi signal will become weak outside of the room. 

So, if you want an uninterrupted and seamless WiFi signal and good internet speed, you should not put the router in a closet. 

Does putting a router in a closet hurt the signal?

Putting a router in a closet will definitely hurt the signal. The WiFi signal will become significantly weak outside the closet and the surroundings if you place it in a closet. Not only the signal, but the signal coverage of the WiFi will also reduce massively. 

As a result, you should not place the router in a closet.

The WiFi routers basically provide internet to the connected devices with the help of radio frequency. The WiFi signals’ radio wave is not a very strong wave as it can get interrupted by the microwave and the radio wave emitted from other wireless devices. 

Since the Wifi signal is comparatively weak, it can not pass through hard surfaces through which air can’t pass like walls and doors. As a result, if you keep the router in such a place where the air passage is low, the WiFi signal will get hurt. 

So, you should avoid keeping a WiFi router in a closet if you want proper internet speed. 

3 reasons to not put the router in the closet

Putting a router in a closet can cause various significant issues. The issues can be so severe that you won’t be able to use the internet on your device at all. Some of the most significant reasons are weak wireless signal, bad WiFi coverage, and router overheating. 

Let’s find out some of the most important reasons to not put the router in the closet.

Weak wireless signal:

The wireless signal emitted by the routers can get blocked by solid objects. The signal will become weak by walls, heavy doors, and wood closets. So, if you keep the router in a closet the wireless signal will become weak quite remarkably. 

The weak wireless signal means that the internet speed will also reduce, as a result, you won’t be able to work and browse smoothly.

Bad WiFi coverage:

The WiFi router needs to be placed on the center of the house so that everyone gets the same strength of the signal. Normally, the closet will not be placed in the center of a room. 

So, if you place the router in a closet, the WiFi signal will not be distributed equally throughout the house. As a result, there won’t be proper internet speed in some parts of the house. 

Router will overheat:

Depending on the size of the closet, the air flow inside a closet will be fairly low. As a result of the low air flow, the heat generated by the router will remain inside the closet, causing the router to overheat. If the router overheats, the signal will become weak quite significantly.

Best place to put wifi router in the house

The best places to put a WiFi router in the house are in the center of the house and in a higher position. You should avoid keeping the router in front of a mirror and a wall. 

By placing the router in the best place in the house, you will get seamless coverage and the best internet speed throughout the house.

Have a look at the best places to put wifi router in the house:

Central location:

The central location is the best place in the house to place a wifi router. This is because by placing the router in the center, you can ensure that the wireless signal is distributed equally throughout the house.

Higher location:

The wireless signal of the router will get blocked by solid surfaces. So, if you keep the router in a higher location there are minimum chances of interruption of the signal by solid surfaces.

Away from mirror:

The radio waves used to transmit wireless signals will reflect if you place the wifi router near a mirror. As a result the internet speed will be reduced by dispersing the signal.

How to hide router without blocking the signal?

The router being visible is not a very serious issue. It is not mandatory to hide the router. However, you might want to do it to maintain the aesthetics of your house. So, let’s take a look at how you can hide the router without blocking the signal.

Hide it behind a photo frame:

You can quite easily and effortlessly hide a router behind a photo frame. If you place the router behind a photo frame, the wireless signal will not get blocked. This is because the wireless signal will pass around the photo frame, keeping the internet speed stable. 

Mount it on a higher location:

You can effectively hide a router without blocking the signal by mounting it to a higher location. By mounting the router on a higher location, you will make sure that the internet signal doesn’t get interrupted at all. 

Put it in a lidded basket:

By placing the router in a lidded basket, you can keep the router away from everyone’s eye. In this case, the wireless signal also won’t get interrupted as the basket is lidded and the signal will pass through the lid.

Final Thoughts

You should not place the router in a closet if you want an uninterrupted internet connection. If you place the router in a closet, the wireless signal will get blocked, resulting in reduced wifi coverage. To hide the router without blocking the signal, you can use various effective methods.