Top 5 Reasons Why Your WiFi May Be Slow at Home

With so many Albertans being asked to work from home and with schools closed, more fights will break out in the homes unless everyone can have the internet speeds they need. It’s one thing to have access to your favorite programs on Netflix, but it is another when you can’t get video conferencing working for an important business meeting. Wi-Fi in your home has suddenly become a critical element of peace in the home. This article will walk you through simple tips to get your Wi-Fi ready for the serious business of working from home.

1. There are too many client devices connected to the access point.

The issue is capacity when you have too many devices all competing for the same amount of attention. Kind of like when you are trying to work from home, and you must deal with your children, pets, and others that need your attention. You can only help one person at a time, and so it is with your Wi-Fi access point (AP). When you have additional devices at home that are all communicating with a single AP, it will slow everything down. With Wi-Fi, the more client devices that are associated with an access point, the more clients utilizing the same channel, and the more clients actively contending for time, then the longer it will take for everyone to be heard – hence, lower throughput.

The Fix

Minimize the number of client devices associated with the AP or add another AP.

2. You picked a bad spot to place your access point and have low signal strength.

It can be frustrating when kids are shouting from the upstairs bathroom, telling you there is no more toilet paper, and you can’t hear a word they said. Wi-Fi APs and devices must be able to hear each other well enough to understand what the other is saying in order to have effective communication. The further away a connected device is from its associated AP and the more physical barriers between them, such as the walls in your home, the weaker the received signal will be, and the more throughput will be impacted.

Signal strength is measured in units of negative decibel-milliwatts (dBm) and is a way of describing how well you can hear someone after factoring in distance and physical barriers. The closer someone is to you and the fewer the barriers, the more likely you will be able to hear them and make out what they are saying.

The Fix

Move the AP closest to where you use Wi-Fi the most.

If you have stationary devices (XBOX, TV, desktops) and are able to plug in the ethernet line, plug in the ethernet line.

If you still are experiencing poor coverage in the areas you use Wi-Fi the most, consider adding an additional AP or a Wi-Fi extender.

3. You have legacy device issues.

The older you are, the harder it becomes for you to hear others and, at times, for them to hear you; it is just a fact of getting old. The same goes for Wi-Fi devices that are past their prime. Wi-Fi devices have several standards. The older the device, the higher likelihood of it not working with newer cell phones, tablets, and laptops. 802.11 describes a suite of standards for wireless local area networks that are governed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – view http://www.ieee802.org/11/ for more information.

Essentially, think of 802.11 as ‘Wi-Fi’ and 802.11a/b/g/n/ac as the main Wi-Fi iterations of standards for Wi-Fi chipsets that are in the Wi-Fi devices that we use. Depending on which standard the chipset in your AP follows and the chipset in your client device follows, you may not be getting the full throughput potential that you could be getting. If you have a device on your network using an older standard, then you will experience lower throughput not only with that device but with all other devices associated with the same AP.

Here is a quick reference for the max potential data rates for each Wi-Fi standard mentioned above:

802.11 (2.4GHz,
released 1997): 2 Mbps

802.11b (2.4GHz,
released 1999): 11 Mbps

802.11a (5 GHz,
released 1999): 54 Mbps

802.11g (2.4GHz,
released 2003): 54 Mbps

802.11n (2.4 GHz /
5 GHz, released 2009): 600 Mbps

802.11ac (5 GHz,
released 2013): 6.93 Gbps

Note that 802.11n and 802.11ac data rate potentials are quite high; a 7 Gbps download sounds pretty awesome! Unfortunately, these rates are not yet achievable. But, one day…

The Fix

If you do not have 802.11b devices on your Wi-Fi network, access your AP’s control panel and disable lower data rates.

Consider investing in newer APs and client devices that are 802.11n/ac enabled.

4. You are relying too much on 2.4 GHz and not enough on 5 GHz.

Data streaming over 2.4 GHz band has slower data transfer potential than data streaming over 5 GHz band. Without getting too technical, 5 GHz can transmit data faster than 2.4 GHz. 5 GHz also has more usable WiFi channels, which means you can have more devices, using channels to increase bandwidth and avoid high channel utilization and other impediments such as co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent channel interference. 5 GHz has more options to be on a channel with less interference and congestion, giving them greater potential to experience better throughput rates.

The Fix

As much as possible, plan for using the 5 GHz band.

For 2.4 GHz band-only devices, select the channel (1, 6, or 11) that has the least amount of networks.

5. You purchased the wrong internet plan.

With options for high-speed internet at home and the introduction of fiber into many neighborhoods, this shouldn’t be a problem. However, the increase in internet usage in the neighborhood will have experienced a huge spike with kids and parents all working from home.

Cable internet is a shared service, so you may want to consider upgrading your internet to rule out any issues with speed. Did you purchase a plan that offers 30 Mbps download speeds, and you have a family that loves streaming video at the same time on their own personal devices? Then, you may have purchased a plan that does not provide the download speeds that fit your needs.

The Tools

Use an internet speed test service to run a throughput test to see what your download and upload speeds are where you use Wi-Fi the most.

The Fix

Check your internet plan and consider upgrading if you are not getting the maximum throughput speeds that will meet your needs.

Resource

Minimum Requirements for Video Conferencing from Home: https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/work-from-home-broadband-connection-internet-fcc/