5 Ways You Can Improve Your WiFi When It Comes to Home Working
The current situation has seen rise to many people having to work from home. This hasn’t come without its challenges; suddenly employees have had to find the right area to work, whether that’s in an office, bedroom, kitchen or anywhere else the laptop can sit. For those of you with children at home, you may have had struggles to find peace and quiet from the noise and disruption family life brings.
When talking about struggles of working from home, we cannot forget the disruption that our home WiFi can bring! Have you experienced frequent delays in your internet? Has your image frequently paused during a Zoom meeting as your internet struggle to keep up with the demands of these new online working demands? We know how frustrating a lagging internet can be, that is why we have decided to compile 3 ways in which you can improve your WiFi to make home working more of a breeze than a tornado.
Why do you experience WiFi problems?
In most cases, the router is located in either the lounge or the hallway. This means that the router isn’t central in the home, so there will be distant points and rooms which will suffer with poor coverage, causing that slow speed and interruption to your browsing. The ‘free’ routers which are given to you by your internet provider are also great for light day to day use, but not so great for the heavy use which we are seeing in a home working day.
What can you do to rectify this problem? There are 3 solutions which we will go into below.
1. Connect via cables (direct connection)
In todays’ technological advances we like to be as wireless as possible giving us the freedom to work where is most comfortable for us in our home. However, with the strain of a family using one router this can drastically lower your internet connection. The easiest way to boost your internet while working is to connect a cable straight to your device from your router, it is the most sufficient way to bring the highest signal with zero loss.
PowerLine adaptors are sold in pairs as a starter kit because they need to be connected to either end of the router and device, but once you have two set up you can add multiple others without having to pair them up.
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2. Update your router
There are a few simple changes you can do to update and improve your current router with minimal or no cost. One thing you can do is change the antennas that comes attached to the supplied router. The standard antenna which stands only a few inches tall has about a 4dB gain could be swapped for one that is between 10 to 15 inches tall has a 10 dB gain.
You should also ensure that your router is running on the newest firmware available by checking the IP address of the router in the web browser. Select on the Firmware Update or Router Update and install any updates that need doing.
3. Check that you are WiFi Leech Free
Make sure that you have an encrypted, password- protected WiFi so that there are no WiFi leeches. Ensure that your password is strong so that no one can easily guess it. Having lots of people on the one WiFi will put a strain on it, causing those nuisance internet problems.
You could also switch to using a different WiFi channel. Many users will just settle on the default channel that your router has been using, however this can cause WiFi traffic jams. Find out which channel is occupied the least and switch to it. You can log into your router as an admin and go into the wireless settings to change channels.
4. Boost your current WiFi signal
If you suffer with ‘dead spots’ in your home, especially where you may do your work, then you can always boost your internet signal to get more coverage throughout your home.
Purchasing a WIFI Range Extender will improve your signal range and is simple to set up. By placing the extender into a standard plug socket somewhere between the ‘dead spot’ and the router, it will increase the signal range. Take note that some configuration is needed but it is simple and straightforward to follow with the instructions provided with the Extender.
This solution isn’t perfect and is more suited to lower volume use
5. Improve your current router
Sometimes the router that is sent out from your provider just isn’t good enough and may need improvements to be made. By keeping the router but disabling the WiFi you are ensuring that the core of the kit stays in place, reducing waste. This does not lead to creating support problems, but it results in you being able to connect superior WiFi equipment to the router to give you a boost and wider range of speed and a much more reliable internet. Say goodbye to those Zoom pausing problems!
Access Points, or AP, are replacement units which can operate independently. You can get one with more power and swap a poor WiFi device with a better one. A little like the WIFI Range Extenders, you can plug several Access Points around your home, particularly if you have a larger home or one with thicker walls. This will result in a wide and stronger coverage.
How do several APs work together? By operating as a ‘mesh’. 2, 3 or even 4 AP can be presented as a single WiFi name for your whole home. These allow you to connect to the signal which is the strongest and most reliable for your current location. To ensure this works seamlessly, you will also need to combine with Option 1. You will need a PowerLine adapter to install the APs as they will then be spread around your house for a more reliable connection, ensuring your homework life is seamless with less internet frustration.
At this point, you may feel quite overwhelmed. Fear not, ACU IT can help give you guidance and answer any questions and queries you may have on your journey to achieving better WiFi at home.
By using some of tips above, you will be able to boost the coverage and reliability of your WiFi, making home working that much easier and less frustrating. Although some of these tips require purchasing equipment, as we don’t know how long home working will be around, this will be worth doing. Even when it’s not as needed- these tips be an advantage for when your children want to watch Disney Plus, whilst you want to indulge in a Netflix film!
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