There’s not much worse than having your wifi cut out on you right when you’re in the middle of doing something fun or important!
Ideally you want your internet connection to run perfectly smoothly at all times, without any unwarranted interference.
So to that end, it makes sense to delve into which of your appliances do or do not interfere with your wifi. Because only then you can strategize on what you can do about it.
Can a microwave interfere with wifi operations in your home? Here, we’re going to examine whether your microwave oven can interfere with your signal, and we’re going to dip ever so slightly into the mechanics of it all.
Then we’re going to explain how best to handle any interference from your microwave, before we go on to looking at what other appliances and devices you may have that may also interfere with your wifi signal.
And, if you haven’t guessed it already, the answer is “Yes”.
It is indeed possible for your microwave oven to interfere with your wifi signal.
Both microwave ovens and wifi routers work by way of electromagnetic radiation, microwaves and radio waves.
Most microwave ovens tend to be very well shielded, retaining the bulk of their radiation within the appliance. Thus, usually they will not emit enough radiation to interfere with wireless communications such as wifi.
However, it’s important to note at this point, that microwave ovens are not always perfect, and a certain amount of energy, in the form of electromagnetic microwaves, can leak out to the exterior.
When these leaking electromagnetic waves are hitting the same frequencies as the wifi router, as they often tend to do, in the wifi frequency band of 2.45GHz, then you get signal interference, and an interrupted internet connection.
It’s not inevitable, mind you, just a possibility.
But, if you know your microwave is on the older side, it may be time to update. Check out our Panasonic convection microwave review.
Related Content: The 7 Best Microwave Convection Ovens You’re Sure To Love
How to reduce interference between your microwave and your wifi signal
If you believe that you’re getting wifi interference from your microwave, then you should first address the situation by eliminating any other factors that may be affecting your wifi connection.
This is because there are several other household appliances and devices that can also interfere with your wifi signal. (More on that later.)
When you are able to confirm that it is in fact the microwave that is causing said wifi signal interference, then there are a number of different methods you can try to rectify the problem.
The first, and perhaps most obvious solution is to keep the microwave as far away from the wifi router as is possible.
Of course, in many situations that may be far easier said than done, for example in a small studio flat. However, if you are able to keep them fairly separate, then please do so.
Another option would be to rely on wired Ethernet connections instead, just as we used to in the good old 1990’s. Which might be fine in some instances, like for online shopping on your laptop. But that’s not a solution for browsing on your tablets or smartphones.
The next thing to consider would be to replace your microwave altogether, and get one that provides much better shielding and much less leakage.
And there’s much to be said for this solution - you don’t really want to have a microwave that’s leaking radiation if you can help it.
And there’s also a fourth solution, which isn’t necessarily a perfect solution but could certainly help with the problem.
And that involves replacing your 2.45 GHz wifi router with a modern dual-band 2.45 GHz and 5 GHz router, which unfortunately, is more expensive than a regular wifi router.
Your microwave oven could potentially interfere with both the wifi router’s 2.45 GHz radio waves, or with the 5 GHz radio waves. However there should be less interference with the 5 GHz frequency.
Hence why it’s hardly a perfect solution.
Or, alternatively, you may find that using a wifi booster or wifi range extender might do the trick.
What other things can interfere with your wifi signal?
If you find you’re having trouble with your wifi signal at home (or at work), you should not immediately assume that it’s because someone is cooking something in the microwave.
There are a number of different things that can interfere with the signal. There’s your neighbour’s wifi network, external monitors, any bluetooth devices that you have set up in your home, refrigerators, baby monitors, physical obstacles including walls, fish tanks, underfloor heating, cordless phones, or even your TV.
So if you find that you are having trouble with your wifi signal, there could be any number of reasons why, and you may have to do some experimenting, to determine what the root of the problem really is.
Thankfully there are some great websites which can walk you through the troubleshooting process. Here’s the link for our favorite one: How to troubleshoot wifi interference with NetSpot.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, yes, it certainly is possible that your microwave oven can interfere with your wifi signal. But that’s not to say it’s inevitable, and it's only really going to occur when you’re cooking something in the microwave.
Once you can be sure that it is in fact your microwave oven that seems to be causing the problem, then there are a number of different things that you can try and do about it.
Please refer back to our earlier section to examine the different ways to rectify this problem.
You may find that you don’t have to take a lot of action to solve the issue, or you may find that you’ll have to spend a bit of money, and buy either a new microwave or a new wifi router.
By this point you should feel sufficiently informed to decide which strategy to take to deal with this irritating problem, or you could try several options and see which set of circumstances works best for your particular set up.
And you’ll soon be sure to have your wifi running just fine.
