This Software Upgrade Can Increase The Wi-Fi Range By More Than 60 Meters

As we are having more and more devices that can connect to the Internet, one of the most common ways is to use Wi-Fi for wireless connection. Physical devices like Nest WiFi of Google or Eero of Amazon can be boosters to extend the range of the signals, and they work really well. However, recently, researchers have found an even better way, a software protocol that can help us achieve the same outcome with the Wi-Fi range increased by over 60 meters.

The researchers called the protocol ONPC (short for On-Off Noise Power Communication). The team is led by Brigham Young University. Regular Wi-Fi calls for a speed of a minimum of one megabit per second to sustain the signal, but the new software protocol needs only one one bit per second in order to work, which is just one-millionth of the regular needed speed.

What the protocol does is to let devices with Wi-Fi connection sending both data and wireless noise. According to Brigham Young University, ONPC enables the device to sends a series making up of 0s and 1s, meaning turning the signal off and on in a pattern. The ultimate goal here is to tell the router that the other device still has transmission to sustain the signals.

Washington University’s Professor Neal Patwari said that basically, what the software did was to send one bit of information, enough to say that it was alive.

When the researchers tested the ONPC, the protocol extended the range of a brand new device by 67 meters more than that of standard Wi-Fi. The best part is since it is software, it can work on any existing Wi-Fi protocol. Users can get it by simply enable a software update if the technology can make it to reality.