In most homes, Wi‑Fi isn’t failing because of your internet plan, it’s failing because the signal is wasted in every direction except where you live your life. Aluminum foil works as a crude but real radio‑wave mirror, shaping that invisible cloud so more of it lands in your office, bedroom, or dead‑zone corner instead of bleeding into the stairwell or the street. Researchers at Dartmouth proved that carefully designed metal reflectors can boost coverage in chosen areas and choke it off where it doesn’t belong, even adding a quiet layer of security by shrinking how far your network leaks outside.

A DIY foil “C‑shaped” reflector behind your router is just a rough, kitchen‑table version of that idea. It won’t increase your router’s power or replace a good mesh system, and in some layouts it may do almost nothing. But it’s free, reversible, and revealing: if a single sheet of foil can noticeably change your connection, it’s a sign your Wi‑Fi problem was never your provider — it was how your signal was being thrown away.