Recently, the Wi-Fi signal at home has really taken a hit due to the increasing number of devices. It's gotten so bad that it's now on par with trying to get a signal from a damp basement. Can I fix this with simple steps like changing the router's location or adjusting the antennas, or do I need to take more drastic measures? How effective are mesh systems? Would a single powerful router suffice? How can I minimize performance loss when connecting 10+ devices simultaneously?
How can I improve my home Wi-Fi quality?
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Well buddy, let's start from the basics: changing the router's position usually gives a 50-70% improvement, but since it's in the basement, if the topology is closer to the apartment, you can actually do something about it. First, if the router is near the basement, place it upstairs, in the middle of the apartment, and make sure the antennas are vertical, not horizontal (this matters for some devices). If 2.4GHz band passes through walls better, unless you have a specific reason, you should support both bands unless you're only using 5GHz. If you have a fiber modem and they're integrated, enabling QoS and prioritizing traffic can help, like preventing games from lagging while streaming a movie.
As for mesh systems, I'd recommend them if you have 10+ devices and performance really drops. Either your radical solution could be a mesh system, or you could set up an ethernet backbone to reduce local network traffic. For example, TP-Link Deco X20 AX3000 mesh systems support up to 3.5Gbps, and even when synchronizing at 2.4Gbps on the 5GHz band, there's no drop. But if you want a single powerful router, the simplest solution is models like the Asus RT-AX86U AX5700; with 4x4 MU-MIMO, if it supports 2Gbps fiber, you can get a synchronous speed of 2.4Gbps. Lastly, if you realize the router is insufficient, ask your ISP for a new model—they usually send the latest modem in their programs, and the issue might be with their fiber line.