The Wi-Fi connectivity It is one of the most used ways to connect to the Internet, the main reason is its convenience when connecting, since we do not need to use any type of network cable for it. The second reason is that we can connect from anywhere in our home, and also while we move around the house. However, on some occasions it is possible that the WiFi network not working properlyand there are some things that affect WiFi performance that you should take into account.
Aspects that affect WiFi at home
If your home WiFi network works poorly for you, you may have overlooked certain aspects that greatly affect both coverage and actual speed. Next, we are going to indicate the main problems related to coverage and speed that can affect you, and what we must do to solve it and not have problems.
Old or outdated WiFi router
One of the main reasons why the wireless network goes bad is because our WiFi router is old. Today it is recommended that the router we have at home is WiFi 6, to have the best possible performance and user experience. It is also very important that you have updated the firmware of this device, manufacturers usually release new versions of firmware with the aim of improving many aspects, and also improve the behavior of WiFi.
If you use the operator’s router, it would be recommended that you change it for a higher quality one, the vast majority of these routers work well via cable, but at the wireless level the performance is poor.
Bad location of the wireless router
We should never place the router inside a metal cabinet, nor inside a wooden cabinet with glass. We must place it on a table at a height of approximately one meter, and in a central place in the house, away from corners and also from thick walls that cause the signal to dim quickly.
It’s fundamental place the router correctly if you don’t want to have many coverage problems, and even cuts in the signal due to interference and signal bounces. At RedesZone we have a complete tutorial with the main recommendations on where to place the WiFi router to improve coverage.
WiFi channel too congested
WiFi networks use different frequencies (channels) to broadcast the signal so that clients can connect. If we have too many neighbors broadcasting on these same channels, when they are using the wireless network, our network will also be affected by the interference they cause. It is essential to choose a channel free of interference in our router, in order to have the best possible performance, both in terms of coverage, speed and stability.
A congested WiFi channel means having a high latency and also a lot of jitter in the connection, for this reason, it is so important to check which channels we have free, and select the ideal one in the router. Normally in current routers we have the “automatic” channel, but it is not highly recommended to use it because it can cause unexpected cuts in the devices.
Number of connected devices
Another factor to take into account is the number of connected devices. With the Wi-Fi 6 standard and OFDMA technology there should be no problem, but nowadays not all clients with Wi-Fi 6, so the wireless network will be affected. The more wireless devices we have turned on and connected, the slower the wireless network will go, although these devices consume little bandwidth, since they also have to have a certain time to transmit data (even if they are few).
If you are not going to use a specific device, it is best to disable the WiFi of that device in question, for example, a tablet that you are not going to use. However, you will not be able to deactivate IoT devices for home automation, because you will be left unable to control different aspects of the house.
Use of WiFi repeaters to amplify the signal
WiFi repeaters is one of the most popular devices to amplify the wireless signal, but you have to keep in mind that it will decrease the actual speed if you connect to it in half. Repeaters lose half of the bandwidth after the first “hop”, this is due to the very nature of WiFi, so you should take this into account before buying one, or at least using it.
As you can see, all this affects the home WiFi network, and solving it is quite simple to improve its performance.
