Your houseplants could be slowing down your WiFi by 40% – experts explain why, and how to fix it

When working from home, watching Netflix or simply scrolling TikTok on your phone, you’ll know how frustrating it is when your Wifi is particularly slow or ceases to work altogether. But could houseplants be the cause? A new study has revealed that your household plants can slow down your WiFi by a whopping 40%.

At Ideal Home, we believe that investing in the best houseplants is always a good idea. Not only do they enhance your home decor, but houseplants have a wide range of benefits, including air-purifying plants and even reduce the dust levels in your home.

However, experts have revealed that placement is key, as positioning your houseplants in the wrong area can actually disrupt your WiFi connection and slow it down. Here’s everything you need to know.

What did the study find?

Researchers at Broadband Genie found that moving your router away from your houseplants could increase your broadband speeds by 36%. This was particularly true for small flats and rooms that had large amounts of houseplants near the router.

(Image credit: Future PLC / David Giles)

‘Our researcher ran 5 speed tests with 4 large houseplants placed in their normal positions in relation to both the router and the device on which speed tests were being carried out,’ explains Peter Ames, Broadband Expert at Broadband Genie.

‘These plants were then removed, and 5 speed tests were carried out once again. The results are the average download speeds from those tests.’

The results found that the average download speed with the router placed near plants was 84Mbps, whereas the average download speed with the router placed away from plants was 114Mbps.

How do houseplants slow WiFi down?

(Image credit: Future PLC/Tim Young)

Peter points out that the idea of plants affecting WiFi speeds has been considered within tech circles for a while; however, the researchers were not expecting to see such a huge difference after moving the router away from the plants. But why is this?

‘WiFi is essentially radio waves. When these radio waves are obstructed by large obstacles such as plants with pots filled with densely-packed soil, they are at risk of being obstructed,’ says Peter,

‘This means that houseplants can weaken the signal if placed between your router and the device on which you are trying to use the internet.’

Where should you put your houseplants?

The moist soils and dense foliage of houseplants can absorb and deflect WiFi signals, and this is why your houseplants may interfere with your WiFi speeds.

But instead of getting rid of your pretty plants, you need to think more carefully about where to put them.

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

‘Physical obstacles like walls, doors and furniture can weaken the radio signal. Even items like fish tanks can weaken the signal, and the same logic also applies to the largest plants and pots,’ says Tom Heywood, broadband expert at Community Fibre.

‘For the best results, we recommend placing your router in a central, elevated position with as few obstacles around it as possible. Try and position it to avoid the signal getting blocked by large physical objects or thick walls.’

‘If you love your houseplants, don’t worry, you can still enjoy them throughout your home. Just try not to gather them around too many large plants around your router, as this could affect connectivity.’

However, Peter says: ‘even a cluster of small potted plants around the router or directly in the path you want the WiFi to take from router to device could cause issues.’ So, if you’ve been having connectivity issues, it’s best to keep the area around your router completely clear.

I for one, had no idea my houseplants could interfere with my WiFi, and I will be putting this research to the test in my own home. How about you?