How to Optimize Wifi Settings for Video Calls

Having a poor quality video call isn't always the result of having slow internet connection. There are a number of Wi-Fi settings that can affect the quality of video calls. I will go over some of the ways you can improve your wifi settings to optimize for Zoom meetings. A, B, C, D are listed in order of importance, so you can try them one at a time and see if they imrove your video quality, or just do all of them at once.

To change any of the settings, you first have to access your router settings. This can be done directly from your computer by following these steps.

How to access your router settings

• Step 1. Open your web browser. Any browser will work.
• Step 2. In the address bar, type in your router's IP address.
  • Most routers use the IP address 192.168.1.1 so try that first. If it takes you to a page asking for your username and password, move on to Step 3. If it doesn't take you to a page asking for your username and password, you need to find your router's IP address.
  • Finding your router's IP address.
    • If you have a Windows computer, go into "Settings" and find "Network Settings" (or something similar), then look for "View your network properties" (or something similar). This will show you a list of connections which each have a "Name:" and other information. Look for the connection with "Name: Wi-Fi" (or something similar). Then the "Default Gateway:" will be followed by your router's IP address, of the form A.B.C.D where all variables are integers between 0 and 255.
    • If you have a Mac computer, open "System preferences" from the Apple menu, go to the "Internet and Wireless" section, and click on "Network" preferences. Select "Wi-Fi" (or something similar) and click on the "Advanced" button in the lower right corner. Select the "TCP/IP" tab from the top choices. The router's IP address is the number next to "Router:", of the form A.B.C.D where all variables are integers between 0 and 255.
• Step 3. Once you type the correct IP address into your browser you will be asked for a username and password.
  • The most common default username is "admin" and the most common default password is "password", so try those first.
  • If you created your own username and password and you remember them, use those.
  • If you don't remember your login credentials or you never changed them from the unit's default, you will have to find them another way.
    • You can do a web search for the default username and password of the brand name of your router.
    • Some routers offer a password-recovery feature. If this is true of your router, this option should appear if you enter the wrong username and password a certain number of times. Typically, this window will ask for your router's serial number, which you can find on the bottom or side of the router.
• Step 4. Once you've entered the correct username and password, you're ready to change your router settings!

The most important setting to change is the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. This changes the order in which packets are sent between your computer and the router. To improve the quality of video calls, you have to add Zoom to the list of highest priority applications so its packets will be processed first.

A. Enabling Upstream QoS/Priority.

The following instructions are for a NETGEAR brand router. The settings may be accessed differently if you have a different model, but this is the most popular brand.

• Step 1. Select the "ADVANCED" tab at the top.
• Step 2. Open the "Setup" menu on the left.
• Step 3. Select the "QoS Setup" page on the left under "Setup".
• Step 4. Find the "Applications" section and the corresponding pull-down menu on the right.
• Step 5. Select "Other" on the pull-down menu--it should be all the way at the bottom.
• Step 6. Enter the following in the blanks and menus:
  • QoS policy for: Zoom
  • Priority: Highest
  • Connection Type: TCP/UDP
  • Starting Port: 8801
  • Ending Port: 8810
• Step 7. Click the "+ Add" button at the bottom of the "Applications" section.
• Step 8. Click the green "Apply" button at the top.

For Non-NETGEAR Routers.

B. Enabling Video Network

Note: this only shows up on my 5GHz network, so if you don't have this type of network you might not have this setting.

The following instructions are for a NETGEAR brand router. The settings may be accessed differently if you have a different model, but this is the most popular brand.

• Step 1. Select the "BASIC" tab at the top.
• Step 2. Open the "Wireless" page on the left.
• Step 3. Find the "Wireless Network" section. There might be two, "(2.4GHz b/g/n)" and "(5GHz a/n)". You want whichever one you're using, 5GHz if the name ends in "5G" and 2.4GHz otherwise; but the correct option might not show up for the 2.4GHz option.
• Step 4. Find the "Enable Video Network" checkbox and select it.
• Step 5. Click the green "Apply" button at the top.

For Non-NETGEAR Routers.

C. Using 5GHz.

• Step 1. Look at your list of networks and make sure you are using the 5GHz option--it usually ends in "5G".
• Step 2. (This is for NETGEAR brand routers.) If the 5GHz option doesn't show up, find out if your router has 5GHz Wi-Fi capability by doing the following:
  • Select the "BASIC" tab at the top.
  • Open the "Wireless" page on the left.
  If there is a section called "Wireless Network (5GHz a/n)" then your network has 5GHz capabilities. If not you might need to enable it (contact me for details), or it might not be available for your internet plan.
• Step 3. If your router has 5GHz capabilities, but the "5G" network doesn't show up, your computer might not have 5GHz capabilities. This can be fixed if you want: you can get a Wireless USB adapter online for around 10 dollars--seach "usb wifi adapter AC1200". I got one and it resulted in fewer interruptions (but my router is in the same room).

D. Other Things You Can Do

• Reboot The Router

  If you've experienced connectivity issues, you may want to reboot your router before your next video meeting, which flushes its stale connections. Admittedly, rebooting may not be the resolution, but it's still a good way to prevent problems (especially if the router's on 24/7 for months or years).

• Don't Crowd The Router

  Think of your router as a railroad depot. Every connected device is a train that came to park there. Once all the shunts are occupied, the depot shines a red light signaling other trains that it's full. Your router doesn't have a red light, but it still gets overwhelmed.

  If you connect more devices to it, you put pressure on its hardware and it eventually uses a "first-come, first-serve" packet management model to compensate. This is disastrous for people trying to converse through video. Typical home routers are meant to handle at most 9 or 10 connected wireless devices. For the optimal video experience, a router needs minimal load in terms of both bandwidth and simultaneous connections.

• Adjust Your Position

  To maximize signal quality, you must do one of two things: move the router or move yourself. The closer you are to your router, the better your signal quality. Just like any other radio device, WiFi routers have a particular range. As you move further from it, you'll get choppy packet delivery (your video and audio could freeze).

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! My email is nluntzla@umich.edu.

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