How to Read the Range Up Coverage Heatmap

This Wi-Fi heatmap explanation begins with one rule: dBm values are negative, so -55 dBm is stronger than -75 dBm. Range Up’s map is a prediction based on your plan, material settings and router position — not a reading from your live Wi-Fi. Use it to compare layout changes, then verify a promising result in the actual room.

Read the six bands by what the room can do#

For video calls, aim for -67 dBm or better; 4K streaming and large uploads are more comfortable around -56 to -60 dBm. A direct dBm measurement has normal 3–5 dB movement, but use the map to compare relative changes under the same assumptions. The dBm chart adds the live-reading context.

Spot the path that made a room fail#

Follow the color path from router to target. A gradual fade usually means distance. A sharp shadow after one wall, fireplace, bathroom or mirror points to an obstacle. Ordinary drywall loses roughly 3–6 dB, interior walls with plumbing 5–8 dB, brick 10–16 dB and reinforced concrete 15–25 dB. The wall guide and Range Up’s wall settings help make that input honest.

Look at the useful place, not a whole room’s average. A desk by a doorway can be Fair while a bed behind a dense wall is Poor. Mark the actual target tile before judging whether a new placement helps. In a multi-floor home, use the 3D view to see whether the shadow lines up with a staircase, slab or vertical masonry core; the multi-floor guide covers that model.

Choose the right response to the band#

A Fair target can often be rescued by a carefully placed second radio. A Poor or Dead target needs a candidate that still hears the router around -60 to -67 dBm, normally on the near side of the worst obstacle. The extender placement guide explains that geometry.

Do not buy a repeater just because a color is orange or red. If the target already paints Good/Fair but real performance is slow, investigate congestion, client hardware or the ISP; the dead-zone explanation separates coverage from those lookalikes. If no candidate has a healthy router link and target reach, use a cable or move the router.

Compare Before and After by the target’s final dBm, not simply by total green coverage. The Before/After guide shows why a +15 dB change ending at -71 dBm is still poor, while a smaller gain that ends at -60 dBm is useful.

Use Range Up to model your home and the full Wi-Fi extender placement guide to translate the map into hardware choices.

Make a five-pass reading before changing hardware#

First locate the router and check that nearby open tiles are Strong or Good; otherwise the drawing may have a wall on the router or an implausibly heavy material setting. Next, follow the color falloff along the route to the target. Then look for sharp shadows that align with a wall, floor or dense object rather than assuming distance is to blame.

Fourth, compare the target to what it needs. A guest room used only for browsing can tolerate Fair; a daily work desk or 4K television benefits from Good. Finally, test a realistic change — router move, one outlet or a wired node — and compare the target’s final band. Do not use a house-wide coverage percentage to hide a still-poor office.

The map cannot see furniture placement, traffic load or the live wireless environment. Its stable strength is that it lets you compare the same geometry under several changes. Confirm a winner in the real room before deciding it is a permanent fix.