• zxqwas@lemmy.worldEnglish
    42·
    2 months ago

    It will probably reflect some of the radiation. Wifi reception will be poorer behind the aluminium and possibly better in front.

    A cheapskates version of a directional antenna.

    • Raltoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18·
      2 months ago

      Indeed, although this type of thing was more common with older wifi generations, so I’m not surprised kids these days wont know.

      For example: We cut the top off an old beer can, poked a hole and stuck it onto the antenna to have stable download speeds across a courtyard.

      • Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        I remember like 15 or 20 years ago the popular thing was printable papercraft doohickeys that you’d cut out and glue together with aluminum foil on the backside that were like little satellite dishes that mounted on the antennas that were supposed to boost/aim your wifi signal. I gave them a try, but if they made a difference it wasn’t big enough to be noticeable.

  • Clearwater@lemmy.worldEnglish
    35·
    2 months ago

    I unironically do something similar to this. In my area, the only options are a dogshit local WISP, Starlink/other satellite, or (where possible) cellular.

    I am one of the “lucky” people who are able to use cell for my internet, however whether it’s the cell company having a craptastic network, software/hardware bugs on the my customer equipment, or a combination of both, there is only ONE cell tower I can connect to which yields a useful connection.

    All other towers result in the equipment failing to connect to the tower, connecting but failing to get an internet connection, or only yielding download speeds 5Mbit of less.

    I have found that by shoving sheet metal around my ISP’s equipment, I can quite easily block off the non-functional towers and ensure they’re never connected to. I don’t think speeds are any better, but it does help with reliability.

  • Zerush@lemmy.mlEnglish
    8·
    2 months ago

    I have put my router in a 4 m parabol antenna, with this the signal has also improved somewhat, it only prevents me from using the sofa that is next to the router.

  • Rose56@lemmy.caEnglish
    8·
    2 months ago

    I did this back in 2010-13, to get better internet in my house! It was a video from a youtube, where he used cereal box with aluminum.

    • Glitterbomb@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      I stumbled onto these on Amazon last night actually. The user submitted video reviews are insane. I was screaming. I got to the head scarf that blocks the 5Gs and I had to stop.

      EMF BLOCKING BASEBALL CAP