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Solving Common WiFi Woes |
| In
just the past decade WiFi has become the standard connection to the
Internet for many of the computers and other Internet enabled devices
in most households and offices. The days of running and
occasionally tripping over Ethernet cables are long in the past.
From time to time WiFi breakdowns can send peoples’ computers,
tablets, and smartphones from networking to not working. Many
problems that can cause WiFi networks to slow down or lose connection
can be easily remedied. One of the most common reasons that connections on WiFi networks in interference from other devices transmitting their signals in the 2.4 GHz band. All the other WiFi networks, cordless phones, baby monitors, and wireless intercom systems you and your neighbours are using are causing your WiFi network to slow down or bringing your network to a complete halt. Apartment and Condominium dwellers are most likely at risk to experience interference on the 2.4 GHz WiFi band. Traditional WiFi networks using the 2.4 GHz band have 11 channels which they use to communicate. The easiest way to find the clearest channel is to use Net Stumbler on Windows based computers or one of the numerous WiFi scanners available for any smartphone out there. If changing the channel doesn’t provide an easy fix, if there is an older 2.4 GHz cordless phone still being used then retiring it and upgrading to a new 6.0 GHz cordless phone is required. A separate but related cause of poor performance of WiFi networks is simply having too many devices accessing the Internet wirelessly. Wireless congestion can be common especially on older 802.11g WiFi networks. Online gaming and watching online video are the biggest offenders that can slow WiFi networks down to a crawl. The remedy to connect common stationary devices that consume the greatest amount of Wireless bandwidth such as PC’s used for online gaming, video game consoles, smart TV’s and BluRay players and streaming video players with ethernet cable to the router. Hardwiring these devices frees up wireless bandwidth for tablets and smartphones. Slow or intermittent WiFi connections can sometimes be caused by wireless signals being weakened just by having the router setup more than a couple of rooms away. The more walls a WiFi signal has to pass through the weaker it gets. Again those living in apartments or condos are most likely to experience the greatest weakening of WiFi signals, walls built from metal studs commonly in recently built apartment and condo developments will weaken WiFi signals a lot more than wood studed walls found in free standing houses. The simplest and best fix is moving the broadband modem and router into an area that is in the centre of the house/apartment or condo. If changing the channel or moving the router fails to remedy WiFi connection problems a hardware upgrade is likely needed. Upgrading older B or G WiFi networks to 802.11N will improve range and connection quality. For those experiencing interference on the 2.4 GHz band to the extent that maintaining connections is nearly impossible then an upgrade to a dual band router WiFi network should be considered. Dual band WiFi operates on the 5.8 GHz band as well as the 2.4 GHz band. There are several models of older cordless phones operating in the 5.8 GHz band but not as many as there are operating on the 2.4 GHz band. Upgrading a WiFi network requires replacing the router, the heart of the network in most homes and offices the router is the little box with the blinking lights hooked up to the cable or DSL modem. The second part of the network that needs to be replaced as part of a upgrade are the WiFi adapters installed in or hooked up to the desktop or laptop PC’s on the network. The easiest way to do this part of the upgrade is to install a USB 802.11N dual band WiFi adapter. Causing a movie to stop playing or game over when it just began poor performing WiFi networks can cause unbelievable frustration. The good news it that an easy fix will do the job. |
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