Central, raised, and visible
Elevate the router on a shelf mid-home, not tucked behind a TV. TVs contain metal shielding; consoles and soundbars add interference. Point external antennas perpendicular (one vertical, one horizontal) unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise—this diversifies polarisation for handheld devices.
Distance to key rooms
Map where video calls happen and run temporary Ethernet or powerline tests if Wi-Fi must traverse multiple walls. Victorian solid walls attenuate 5 GHz severely—plan mesh nodes on stair landings to hop signal upstairs.
Temperature and power
Hot cabinets throttle CPUs and may destabilise DSL/ONT neighbours. Ensure ventilation; dust vents annually. Use the supplied PSU—under-voltage from cheap replacements causes weird Wi-Fi drops.
When placement is not enough
If the master socket anchors the router to an inconvenient corner, consider relocating with structured cabling or employing a wired access point. SwitcherMate helps you justify upgrading to symmetrical fibre once in-home distribution keeps up.
Channel selection and overlap
Use router admin panels or scanner apps to pick clearer 2.4 GHz channels (1/6/11) and avoid radar-shared 5 GHz DFS channels in noisy apartments if your firmware allows. Automatic channel hopping helps until neighbour routers fight back—manual pinning occasionally wins in dense Victorian conversions.
Document changes; what worked in winter may crowd when students return next term.