With all the Wi-Fi enabled devices that are available to consumers today the average home network is comparable to a small business network from a few years ago. Every member of a household has their own smartphone, tablet, or laptop and then throw in the Wi-Fi enabled appliances, gadgets and printers the average household of 3 people can easily contain 15 devices, if not more. When you stop to think about how one Wi-Fi modem is supposed to supply enough signal to support all of these devices it doesn’t seem logical… because it’s not.

Each time you add a new device to your Wi-Fi network the modem has to divide a portion of the signal to a new device. Do you have four devices in your home? Then your Wi-Fi is being split into four portions. You would think these portions would be equal but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes the issue isn’t the Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi signal can be getting to your device but your device’s signal might not be strong enough to send it back to the modem. In addition to your device not reaching the modem there is also the wireless pollution from your neighbors that could be interfering with your devices. There are a number of reasons why we can’t use our devices when we want to, but the good news is there are solutions.

In today’s wireless world it is easy to get caught up in all the hype that wireless is better. However having certain devices hardwired can improve their performance while removing strain from your Wi-Fi. For instance if you can hardwire your smart TV’s and entertainment systems to your modem you won’t be dividing the Wi-Fi signal for those devices. The fewer items using your Wi-Fi the better the rest of your devices will work. Not to mention the speed of the hardwired devices will be consistent no matter how the Wi-Fi is doing.

If you have full bars on your Wi-Fi enabled device but you can’t actually use it chances are the device doesn’t have a strong enough signal to reach back out to the router. You can make it easier on your devices by adding Wireless Access Points (WAPs) to your home. These devices are hardwired to the main router and give off their own Wi-Fi signal to spread around the home. By having these access points in various locations you’re making it easier for the signals from your devices to reach back – making it work faster. How WAPs are installed is important – if you were to install them in the same location on each floor their signals would end up overlapping and they would be too busy fighting each and your signal wouldn’t improve. The best WAPs to purchase are the ones that are considered commercial grade because it can handle more devices. Buying a WAP or router that can’t handle the number of devices you have is counterproductive.

The other problem can be related to your neighbors and it has nothing to do with the fact that they rake leaves into your yard or that their dog is constantly at your house. Your neighbors probably took their internet modem out of the box and plugged it in, leaving all of their settings in factory mode.  This means that you and all of your neighbors are most likely on the same wireless channel and you’re all fighting for the top spot to see who gets the Wi-Fi signal. With all of that Wi-Fi pollution it is no wonder why you can’t get Wi-Fi on any of your devices!

There is a way to improve all of these issues. If you’re building take the time to consider your network. Get your WAPs hardwired into your walls before they are done. If you’re having internet issues in your existing home call us today and we will diagnose the problem and decide what type of system you need to help you reach your network potential!

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