Tired of slow or spotty internet? Check these things that could be slowing down your home Wi-Fi network
Your Wi-Fi is slowing down, but why? With so many wireless devices in our homes now, even little flaws can take a toll on performance. In this guide, we'll take a look at common issues, why your Wi-Fi might be slow, and how to solve them.
1. Too Many Devices (Internet of Things)
IP cameras, Google Home Minis, smart bulbs, smart plugs... our homes are increasingly filled with Internet of Things devices, each of which sits on the Wi-Fi network with its own IP address.
While your average light bulb isn't going to send or receive a large amount of data, older routers simply weren't designed to handle that many registered Wi-Fi devices at once. Past a certain point, you'll start experiencing dropouts. Having too many devices on the Wi-Fi will slow it down.
Solution: Consider how old your router is, and if you can afford to upgrade to a newer model. I recommend Ubiquiti UniFi as the best for a high capacity scalable Wi-Fi, though it is expensive. For smaller homes, Ubiquiti AmpliFi is a more budget-friendly option.
If you're planning on blanketing your home in smart sensors, use Z-Wave where possible. It operates at a different frequency to Wi-Fi, so it won't cause interference.
2. Wireless Network Range and Signal Penetration
Where you place your Wi-Fi router is the single most important factor affecting the speed of your home Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi routers transmit both a 2.4Ghz signal (often referred to as b/g/n), and 5Ghz (ac). The 5GHz network is faster. So why not just disable the 2.4GHz network? Simple: the 2.4GHz signal can go through walls and other solid objects easier. A thick concrete floor or wall will stop the 5Ghz network entirely.
3. Too Many Users
Your internet connection is only so fast, and that speed is shared with every other user in the house and all of their devices.
As well as the obvious things like computers, phones, and tablets, you'll also find Smart TVs, game consoles, media streaming sticks, smart home hubs–all of which may be sending or receiving information at a particular point in time.
You may be surfing the web on your tablet, while your Xbox is grabbing the latest DLC content, Windows is updating, and the set-top box is streaming an on-demand movie
4. Old Network Cables
If your computer is plugged directly into your router, or if you're lucky enough to have Ethernet cabling throughout the house, it's worth checking the cabling.
While electrical cabling might last for 50 years or more, network cabling has undergone several important upgrades that affect the speed it can carry data.
The easiest way to check is to look at the cable. You should see a Cat number specification somewhere:
- Cat-5 is the oldest and slowest network cable still in use. Performance is limited to 100 Mbps.
- Cat-5e is the most commonly used network cables today; supports Gigabit Ethernet (1,000 Mbps).
- Cat-6/6a is fastest network cabling in common usage and supports up to 10 Gigabit (10,000 Mbs).
