How to Get Better Signal Strength for U-Verse

AT&T's U-verse service comes with one device that works as both a modem and a wireless router. It does not have the antenna included on many wireless routers. As such, you cannot employ certain methods for boosting wireless strength, such as creating an antenna amplifier or director. The placement and wireless settings play a larger role in getting the most out of your U-verse wireless signal strength.

If you live in apartments or near a lot of other Wi-Fi signals, you may find that interference from these other networks negatively impacts your signal strength. Changing your U-verse wireless channel helps reduce this problem among mingling networks. The login information for your router is located in the router itself. Go to http://192.168.1.254 in your browser and use the password on the device to log into your router settings. Choose "Wireless" from the Top Networking Features section. Click "Save" after changing your settings.

Router placement plays a huge role in your wireless signal strength. Obstructions from walls, furniture and nearby materials impedes your network's effective range. Place your router in a central location, and away from walls; avoid masonry or metal furniture, which blocks the wireless signal more than wood or glass. Do not put the router in a cabinet or cupboard. Place the router closer to the ceiling than the floor.

In addition to other Wi-Fi networks, household devices that use the same 2.4-GHz frequency reduce your Wi-Fi signal strength. Never place your U-verse router near a microwave or cordless phone. Also avoid baby monitors, radios and wireless security systems. If your U-verse gateway supports it, change the wireless signal from the 2.4-GHz frequency to 5GHz.

It is possible to disable the wireless broadcast in the U-verse gateway and connect it to a more powerful router that better fits your needs. This requires changing some settings. If your router uses the same 192.168.1.x IP address as the U-verse gateway, you will need to change it to another IP (such as 192.168.2.x) to avoid interference. Do this by connecting your computer to your router and accessing the router administration settings before you connect it to your U-verse modem. With the interference cleared up, connect the router to your U-verse modem via Ethernet cable. You may need to modify the U-verse gateway's firewall settings to allow the router total Internet access.