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How to decrease the RF radiation of your router or access point
Short answer: open your router's admin page (on the router in this video it is 192.168.8.1), go to Wireless and set the transmit power to Low instead of Max, High or Medium. Then go to System > Scheduled Tasks and set the Wi-Fi to turn off by itself at night, or to drop to a lower power at certain hours.
If you are worried about the radiation of your router and want to decrease it, here is how I do it step by step on a small, cost-effective router (about $30). It is not the fastest, but it has the options you need. If you have a different router, check its manual for the address and menu names.
The router I use for this
The router in the video is very tiny, it almost fits in your pocket, and it is powered by USB-C. It is not the greatest in speed, but for about $30 it lets me keep the wireless signal as low as possible. It also has a light on the front that you can disable from the settings.
Step 1: lower the Wi-Fi transmit power
- Connect to the router and type 192.168.8.1 in the browser (for this router; other brands use other addresses, see your manual).
- On the left side, click Wireless.
- For each band, choose the transmit power: Max, High, Medium or Low. I already have mine on Low.
That is all you have to do to lower the radio-frequency output. In my case the router is in a small room just for me, and I also don't want the neighbors to get my signal, so I keep it on low all the time.
Use WPA3 security (and the Apple fix)
Another good thing on this router is the security: it supports WPA3-SAE, the latest one you can get right now. The old routers used WPA version 1, then came version 2, and now we have version 3.
I had an issue with Apple devices not working. If you set the Wi-Fi mode to a/n/ac it works just fine. If you leave it on AC by itself, Apple devices will not connect. With Android I never had any problem.
Step 2: schedule the Wi-Fi to turn off at night
On the left go to System and then Scheduled Tasks. There you will see:
- Front LED: you can schedule or change it, although for most people it is not very important.
- Scheduled reboot: I set it to 3 a.m. every day. If you don't reboot a router at least every 15 days or once a month, it can start working slow; if it can do it by itself, just enable it.
- Wi-Fi schedule for 5 GHz: turn it on and set the times. In my case it turns on by itself at 7:00 a.m. and turns off at 23:00 (11 p.m.), Sunday to Saturday.
- Guest network and 2.4 GHz: the same menu, so you can turn them on and back off on a schedule too.
Step 3: schedule a lower power by time
In the same area you can schedule the transmit power. For example, from 10 p.m. at night it switches to low, and in the morning it restores to max, medium or whatever power you choose.
I don't need this option because I keep it low all the time, but if you have a big office or need to cover two or three rooms, you can use more power during the day and lower it at night when nobody uses it everywhere. For safety and your health, less radiation is better: I turn it off at night and use the minimum during the day, and that is enough for me.
Ubiquiti Amplifi and MikroTik
I also had a Ubiquiti Amplifi working, but it has no option for this: I cannot turn off the Wi-Fi, there is no schedule and there is no way to increase the security with WPA3. I talked with Ubiquiti and they don't have a solution, so I am going to stop using it.
MikroTik doesn't have all the features shown here, but you can go to the wireless menu and change the TX power to lower the transmission power. It is a little more complicated: to get the same on/off and power schedules you would create your own script.
If you want the full first-time setup of a small GL.iNet travel router, see How to set up the GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 Opal router.
Frequently asked questions
How do I lower my router's radiation?
Open the router's admin page, go to Wireless and set the transmit power to Low instead of Max, High or Medium. On the router in the video the address is 192.168.8.1; for other routers check the manual.
Can I turn off the Wi-Fi automatically at night?
Yes, on this router go to System > Scheduled Tasks and enable the Wi-Fi schedule for 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz. In the video it turns on at 7:00 a.m. and off at 11 p.m., Sunday to Saturday.
Why don't my Apple devices connect after the change?
In the video Apple devices did not work with the Wi-Fi mode set to AC only. Setting the mode to a/n/ac fixed it. Android had no problem.
Can I lower the transmit power on Ubiquiti Amplifi or MikroTik?
On the Ubiquiti Amplifi in the video there is no option to schedule or turn off the Wi-Fi and no WPA3. On MikroTik you can change the TX power in the wireless settings, and you can write your own script for schedules.