How far should you sit from a Wi-Fi router?

Question

How far away from a Wi-Fi router should I be?

Answer

For a typical 100 mW access point, free-space power density is roughly 8,000 µW/m² at 1 m, 880 µW/m² at 3 m and 80 µW/m² at 10 m, so most of the available reduction comes from the first few metres. Keeping the router out of bedrooms and more than 2–3 m from where you sit for hours is the practical answer; scheduling the radio off overnight removes night-time exposure entirely. All of these levels are far below the FCC and ICNIRP public limits, and ARPANSA's measurements of Wi-Fi in schools put typical exposures at a small fraction of those limits.

Related records

• Wi-Fi router (2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz)

  A consumer access point radiating roughly 100 mW EIRP per band, giving about 8,000 µW/m² at 1 m and 80 µW/m² at 10 m in free space.

  Sources & emitters

• Inverse-square law

  In the far field, doubling the distance quarters the power density: the cheapest and most reliable mitigation available.

  Glossary

Sources

1. fcc-part15 47 CFR Part 15 — Radio Frequency Devices (unlicensed transmitter power limits) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
2. arpansa-wifi Wi-Fi and health — Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
3. itu-fs-relations Free-space path loss and power density relations (ITU-R P.525) — International Telecommunication Union. standard, link checked 2026-08-12.