What Makes Your WiFi Slow?

The internet is nowadays a very necessary tool in the lives of many people, either for entertainment or for work, therefore the speed of Wi-Fi is very important. 

Let’s see some of the causes that do not allow Wi-Fi to operate optimally, and also what you can do about it to avoid them.

Assess Your General Network

Before reviewing a problem and how to fix it, it is necessary to know the speed with which your network is working. To be able to do this, it is important to check the exact speed to rule out a problem with the general network and not just Wi-Fi. In order to buy the network, it is advisable not to use a mobile device or laptop connected by Wi-Fi, ideally use a device connected directly to the router or internet modem and rule out a problem with your ISP or broadband modem.

Also, many times Wi-Fi will not have the same speed advertised on your phone or laptop as your Internet connection advertises. So even you find that you can’t make a 5 Mbps DSL connection faster with a state of the art Wi-Fi hardware, or also with state of the art Wi-Fi hardware and a fiber connection, because it will not exceed the inherent limits of the Wi-Fi standard.

Outdated Wi-Fi Routers Impact Performance

Wi-Fi hardware has advanced fairly steadily over the years, so if you’re still using a router you bought many years ago, this can be a starting point for considering issues and causes of your Wi-Fi being slow. Also, if you have recently changed your devices, such as your smartphone, or laptop, and it is newer generation, it is most likely not fully compatible with your old router or your router/modem if you have both devices. on one only. By clicking here you can find some of the Best Wi-Fi routers.

Poor Router Placement Dampens Signal Strength

The place where you have your router is very important, since there are many things that can be considered as obstacles to the network. For example, if you need a stable connection in your living room, study room or bedroom, it is not a good idea to have your router in the basement as the distance would be much longer and the network could be lost. Ideally, you should have a central location for your router, so the Wi-Fi network signal can spread properly throughout your home.

Too Many Devices Bog Underpowered Hardware Down

The latest hardware on the market not only has more speed, but can also have more capacity and power so that the number of devices connected via Wi-Fi is much larger. However, keep in mind that the number of devices is very different from the number of users using the Wi-Fi network.

What type of devices?

Many devices that use the bandwidth also often use Wi-Fi, for example, some smart home devices, for example, cloud-based security cameras use a large amount of bandwidth. Also on many occasions, almost most devices, even when not in use, have quite a high bandwidth overhead, so if you add up all the devices that are in your home you can find one of the reasons why the Wi-Fi network is slow. Also, a good option is to check how many devices are connected to your Network.

However, this does not mean that you have your devices, such as an Xbox or a smart TV completely disconnected from the Internet, but you can connect other devices via Ethernet, in order to free up more space occupied by Wi-Fi connected devices. Devices that are not in use are considered as bandwidth vampires, which to understand them a little better are like energy vampires in the home.

Old Hardware and Cables Reduce Speed

In case you have a slower than 100Mbps broadband you may never realize that there are devices or connections affecting your network, however if you have a faster broadband you may notice that there are old cables and hardware that reduce the speed.

So, in case you have outdated Cat5 cables or an outdated 10/100 network switch mixed in with your network hardware, this will slow or hinder speed as well as limit the speed of your Wi-Fi network. -Fi. And to avoid these inconveniences you can check these network cables and that they are Cat5 or better Cat6.

Channel Congestion Dings Wi-Fi Performance

These types of Wi-Fi network problems are more common in the 2.4GHz bands than in the 5GHz bands, however, it is best to be aware of both bands. Since congestion in a channel can occur when several devices are using the same frequency and the same channel to receive data from the network in the same airspace. Therefore, you can review which are the most congested channels and also refer to the documentation for your particular router to switch to less congested channels.

Wi-Fi Extenders Increase Reach, But Decrease Speed

Wi-Fi extenders are known to often reduce your network performance and cause network congestion, latency, as well as reduced speeds.

So, to check that your Wi-Fi extender is working properly, temporarily unplug it, then check the overall performance of your network with devices connected directly to the main Wi-Fi router, so you can see the results and whether the extender is a problem for Wi-Fi performance or not.

To keep in mind

If your Wi-Fi extender is misconfigured and implemented, you can use the tips above to resolve the issue. Or if the extended coverage might be too much for your main router, even with the help of the extender, a better option may be to replace the router + extender setup with a more robust mesh network.