Work out what’s wrong
Are your neighbours causing your Wi-Fi problems?
There are many things that can cause your home Wi-Fi network to slow down, or become unreliable. Many electrical appliances, such as microwave ovens, cordless (DECT) telephones, and baby monitors generate electromagnetic signals that can interfere. Thick walls can block the signal travelling from room to room, and ceilings between floors can create a ‘deadspot’ in an upstairs room.
The biggest culprit, though, will probably be rival Wi-Fi networks running in the homes of nearby buildings, so it’s worth knowing a little bit about how Wi-Fi networks transmit their data so that you can pinpoint any interference.
Jargon buster
The Wi-Fi 6 standard (aka 802.11ax) that was launched last year is much faster than the older Wi-Fi 5 (aka 802.11ac) that most of us are still using. However, Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 both use the same 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to transmit Wi-Fi. The forthcoming Wi-Fi 6E adds a third band – 6GHz – and adds more channels too, for even greater speed.