Are you struggling with poor WiFi and/or Internet Connectivity? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, many other people share your pain, but it really doesn’t have to be this way.
Why is my WiFi so annoying?
Whether you have an optic fibre connection for your Internet, or it’s coming over your existing telephone line, it will typically enter your home and quickly connect to a box called a router that is usually supplied by your Internet Service Provider. The router then provides WiFi coverage for your home and that would work perfectly well if all our homes were single-story, large open-plan rooms with no walls, and the router was installed right in the centre – but that’s rarely the case.
For most people, the router will be tucked away in a cupboard, in a corner, with plenty of walls and other obstacles between it and the devices that want to connect to it. It’s also quite likely that the WiFi hardware built into the router itself, is not the best quality and with the ever increasing numbers of devices that want to connect to WiFi, it shouldn’t surprise us that the router can begin to struggle.
So what is the solution?
If you’ve been to a Hotel or an Office building with very good WiFi coverage, you will likely have noticed that they install dedicated WiFi Access Points on ceilings or high up on walls. In most cases, these WiFi Access Points will have a high speed wired connection to the Router. They allow the WiFi transmitters and receivers to be placed in the most appropriate areas of the building, for the best possible coverage.
Every home is different, but for many people, adding just one wired WiFi access point in a well chosen location, will resolve their WiFi issues for good. For larger homes, it might be appropriate to install two WiFi access points. If you have a separate building, such as an office in the garden, you might consider connecting that to the router with its own cable.
How can Wired Networks help?
There is no doubt that the convenience of Wireless WiFi networks is unmatched, but when it comes to performance and reliability, Wired Networks reign supreme. Installing wired, WiFi access points in more suitable locations is a great first step, but why stop there?
Most people have internet connected devices that don’t move. Television? Sky Box? Home office PC? Games consoles? These types of devices usually have network ports on them for connecting to wired networks and when they are, they will always default to using the wired connection instead of WiFi because of the increased performance and stability of wired connections.
As with the careful placement of WiFi access points, the next step can be the placement of network sockets near these rarely moved devices around your home, particularly if they are bandwidth hungry devices such as TVs using streaming or games consoles.
Every device connected to your router by wire, is a device that no longer uses your WiFi, freeing up considerable bandwidth for your non-wired devices.
Can Thames Valley WiFi help you?
There is no reason why the high speed, reliable Internet connections businesses enjoy can’t also be enjoyed by home owners. Whether it’s just one WiFi Access point you need, or a Network socket in every room, we can help advise you and work within your budget to get the work done and ensure the infrastructure inside your home allows you to take full advantage of the Internet connection you’re paying for.