If wireless signals won’t transmit inside your home, chances are your walls contain something that’s blocking the signal. Wireless internet, cell phone signals, and even over-the-air radio and TV connections won’t pass through metal, including both solid metal and metal mesh.


    Signal Blocking Materials

    Depending on your home’s floor plan, you may have trouble transmitting signals from room to room or receiving signals from outside. In homes and apartments, the most common culprits are:

    In modern houses, foil-backed insulation or house wrap causes issues. While often used on exterior walls, it sometimes insulates kitchens, baths, or between units. 

    In the early 20th century, metal mesh lath was commonly used as plaster wall reinforcement before drywall gained dominance. If your home dates from the 1900s to the 1950s, the type of lath used can now interfere with wireless signals. The embedded metal can block signals like Wi-Fi or cell reception.

    Modern stucco application over an exterior building wrap requires an embedded metal lath for structural support, and this can unintentionally block wireless signals. While wireless signals should work between rooms, you may not get cell or TV reception from outside.

    Signals may bounce off metal ducts, steel beams, reinforced concrete, or water.

    Some homeowners shield houses from electromagnetic signals by embedding metal mesh inside walls, ceilings, and floors to create a Faraday cage immune to outside radiation.


    Improving Wireless Signals

    We recommend that homeowners start with the easiest mesh network or Wi-Fi extender options before considering professional installation services or expensive and intrusive remodeling projects like removing signal-blocking plaster, stucco, or walls.

    There are other steps you can take as well. Start by putting your router in the basement to transmit through wood floors. You can also add multiple routers or signal-boosting devices to expand coverage. Mesh systems, Wi-Fi extenders, and multi-router setups cover more area than a single router. 

    Today’s Homeowner Tips

    Adding ethernet cables can provide a reliable hardwired network without wireless dead zones. This option involves more initial work but provides the fastest, most consistent speeds.

    Advanced options include distributed antenna systems (DAS). These consist of a set of small antennas placed throughout your home that amplify signals and minimize interference to improve wireless signals. They require professional installation and are often used in large, complex floor plans. 

    Wi-Fi repeaters work by receiving and rebroadcasting router signals to more rooms. Overall, you can expect slower speeds due to multiple signal hops. Wi-Fi access points, by contrast, are hardwired mini routers that boost range and performance better than repeaters. Multiple access points improve coverage.

    Most homeowners combine a central router and mesh network or Wi-Fi extenders for solid coverage without the expense of a professionally installed DAS. But large, multi-story homes may need commercial-grade equipment and professional installation for reliable connectivity.


    So, Is Interference from Building Materials a Common Cause of Wireless Connectivity Issues?

    In homes built during certain time periods, yes. Signals may not transmit through walls or between floors, depending on layout and construction. If you have weak Wi-Fi, solutions range from mesh networks and access points to address dead zones up to professionally installed DASs for flawless coverage across large homes.


    FAQs About Wireless Issues

    What is the easiest Wi-Fi fix?

    Mesh Wi-Fi systems with multiple access points commonly fix weak or absent signals in homes.


    What causes Wi-Fi disruptions?

    Some of the most common reasons for disruptions include too many devices overloading bandwidth simultaneously, signal interference from electronics and appliances, signals having to pass through walls, outdated router technology not meeting internet speeds or device needs, firmware issues needing resets, and overloaded bandwidth from providers during peak times.


    What blocks wireless signals?

    Metal lath, wire mesh, foil insulation, metal vapor barriers, wire-reinforced concrete, specialized window coatings, films or glass, and rebar in walls and floors block radio frequency signals like Wi-Fi and cell networks, causing dead zones. Newer connective wire mesh improving cell signals also interferes with Wi-Fi distribution.


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    Elise LaChapelle

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    Elise LaChapelle is a copywriter with over a decade's experience in the digital space. She specializes in blogging, website content, social media, and e-mail marketing across a diverse array of clients, helping them to connect with their target audience through concise, compelling messaging. When she's not crafting copy, Elise enjoys working out, cooking, and spending time with her husband and two daughters.

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    Lee Ann Merrill

    Chicago-based Lee Ann Merrill has decades of experience writing and editing across a wide range of technical and scientific subjects. Her love of DIY, gardening, and making led her to the realm of creating and honing quality content for homeowners. When she's not working on her craft, you can find her exploring her city by bike and plotting international adventures.

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