There’s nothing more frustrating than a terrible Wi-Fi connection getting in the way of streaming your favourite show.
But social media users have been amazed after learning a simple hack that could make the ‘spinning wheel of death’ a thing of the past.
A viral post suggests: ‘Put an aluminium foil behind your Wi-Fi router and thank me later!!!’
On X, commenters have been amazed by the trick.
One excited commenter wrote: ‘Amazing what simple alumium foil can do to a Wi-Fi signal. I now have Wi-Fi in my room that doesn’t go out every 5 seconds!’
Another chimed in: ‘Brother it just improves the Wi-Fi signal in the direction away from the foil. It’s not a tinfoil hat someone is spying on me conspiracy.’
While it might sound like nonsense, scientists say that this cheap trick really does work.
However, there’s one important catch – it could make the connection in other rooms worse.
A viral post on X, formerly Twitter, claims that placing aluminium foil behind your Wi-Fi router can improve the signal
Some social media users were certain this trick would really work, with one complaining that it wasn’t a ‘tinfoil hat’ conspiracy theory
One user said the trick was ‘amazing’ and has given them a more stable Wi-Fi connection
Wi-Fi connections work by sending signals in the form of electromagnetic energy from the router to your device.
Just like a parabolic satellite dish, you can use aluminium foil to reflect and focus these signals into different areas.
The set-up shown in the post appears to be designed to catch signals that would otherwise ‘leak’ backwards and direct those into the rest of the house.
On X, one commenter explained: ‘The aluminium foil behind the router works as a parabolic reflector, bouncing radio waves forward and concentrating the signal where you need it most. Thank Science later.’
Another pointed out: ‘It may increase signal strength in the forward direction – like a weak DIY directional antenna.’
Although this might seem odd, research has shown aluminium foil really can help to improve wireless connection strength.
In 2017, researchers from Dartmouth College and Columbia University used foil to make a ‘virtual wall’ which could channel Wi-Fi signals around the house.
Even something as simple as aluminium stretched around the router’s antenna was capable of improving the signal.
One excited commenter described the process as ‘engineering a signal fortress’
Studies have shown that shaped tinfoil is capable of reflecting WiFi signals and boosting signal strength in some parts of the house by over 50 per cent
The new technique relies on a 3D-printed reflector wrapped in aluminum foil, which directs the signals toward specific areas, and away from places they’re not needed. While the signal works best with the 3D printed material, they say cardboard could be used as substitute
Meanwhile, a specifically shaped foil antenna was found to boost signal strength in some areas of the house by up to 55 per cent.
The catch is that reflectors are also capable of significantly reducing the signal to other areas.
During their trials, the researchers from Dartmouth College found that a foil reflector reduced signal strength by up to 63 per cent.
Additionally, the Dartmouth College trial was testing specialised reflectors which had been designed by an algorithm and 3D printed specifically for that setting.
Their goal was to find a cheap way for anyone to print a reflector so that they could selectively boost or limit their signal as needed.
However, just adding a layer of foil behind the router has no guarantee of producing the same results as these printed alternatives and could make your signal worse.
On X, commenters complained that this hack wouldn’t work for them for this exact reason.
One wrote: ‘How about not do this as it shield your router and makes it run slower!’
Since the aluminium foil cannot accurately direct the WiFi signal, there is a chance that users might actually make their connection worse by blocking the beam
A commenter on X complained that this ‘makes it run slower’ by shielding the router
Another social media user moaned that their ‘WiFi stopped working since I used this trick’
‘Modern routers use passive beam forming – putting foil around it is idiotic and will dramatically reduce the performance of your WiFi,’ a commenter pointed out.
Another added: ‘Not that you are wrong but there is nothing “parabolic” about that setup whatsoever’.’
Meanwhile, others complained that they had already tried this ‘hack’ and found that their connection became significantly worse.
A social media user wrote: ‘My WiFi stopped working since I used this trick and now am thinking how to thank you.’
It is also worth considering the possibility that installing this on your router could put you in breach of the law in some countries.
Speaking to Popular Science, Swarun Kumar of Carnegie Mellon University, said: ‘I can’t really advise people to use tinfoil or any sort of reflector, mainly for regulatory reasons.
‘In the US, the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] actually governs the output power, so they have limitations as to what’s the maximum power level your wireless router can radiate a signal in any particular direction.’
That means focusing your router’s signals too much could generate a strong enough signal to technically become illegal.
Many commenters joke that this trick resembles the tinfoil hat work by conspiracy theorists
Another commenter joked that they would take off their own tinfoil hat in order to boost their WiFi signal
One social media user joked that the WiFi router looked like it was ready to be cooked
But on X, social media users’ main complaint was simply that this supposed signal boosting-trick looked silly, with some saying it was like something from the home of a conspiracy theorist.
‘No way am I removing my tinfoil hat to wrap a router,’ a commenter joked.
Another added: ‘You could also fold the foil the shape of a hat and wear it wherever you go.’
While one commenter joked: ‘Why not put it in the oven too while we are at it.’
