Four reasons for the slow speed of Wi-Fi and their countermeasures

Wi-Fi (wireless network) has become a matter of course. Thanks to Wi-Fi, you can connect your computer and smartphone to the Internet and work anytime, anywhere.

In other words, for us living in modern times, Wi-Fi is indispensable.

In other words, the speed of Wi-Fi will slow down or no longer last, which can be an obstacle to anything.

If the Wi-Fi suddenly slows down or disconnects, action needs to be taken as soon as possible. Unfortunately, however, it is not easy to determine why Wi-Fi is slowing down.

This time, in order to find out the reason for the late Wi-Fi, I explained four key points that need to be checked.

Location reason of 1.Wi-Fi Router

Many people underestimate the importance of installing Wi-Fi routers in the right location.

With just a slight change of position, the speed of the Wi-Fi may slow down or slow down.

Is the height of the router high enough?

Maybe you, like many others, take the new router out of the box and put it in an easy place near the power outlet. Don't think too much about it.

For example, some people put it on a shelf or desk, or on the floor. The height of the router is important. When a router is installed on the floor or in the shade, performance degrades significantly in most cases.

Please set the router as high as possible to expand the range of radio waves. In addition, placed in a higher position, it is also difficult to be disturbed by radio waves.

Is it surrounded by concrete or metal?

Concrete and metal are the biggest obstacles to Wi-Fi signals.

For example, Faraday cages use metal to block electromagnetic fields (Faraday cages can also be used to prevent RFID hackers).

In addition, it is not possible to set the router in a basement surrounded by a lot of concrete.

In addition, in addition to concrete and metal, other materials may also be the main reasons for reducing the performance of Wi-Fi networks. Please make sure that the router is not blocked by large objects.

How far is it from the router?

The farther away from the router, the weaker the Wi-Fi signal.

Therefore, the router is ideal for installation as close as possible to the equipment used. However, this is a recommendation that only applies when there is only one place where you use Wi-Fi frequently.

If you use Wi-Fi in different parts of your home, you need to install the router near the center of the house.

Wi-Fi will be broadcast to 360 degrees, so it is unreasonable to install it in the corner of the home.

In addition, if the broadcast capacity of the router is low or the house is quite large, the range of Wi-Fi radio waves must be expanded. The radio range can be expanded by using Wi-Fi repeaters and Wi-Fi signal amplifiers.

For those who want to pursue router configuration more scientifically, please refer to this experiment done by Jason Cole, a software engineer in London.

He mathematically modeled the places where Nobano Wi-Fi was easy to reach and difficult to reach after moving to a new apartment.

Using his app "WiFi Solver", you can do the same thing in your home. The application is currently available on Android and Chrome operating systems.

Download: "WiFi Solver" Android | Chrome OS (free)

2. Microwave ovenやスマホからの無線干渉とノイズが原因

Even if you can't feel it, there are wireless signals flying around everywhere, passing through your body. These signals come from electronic devices, Wi-Fi routers, smartphones, satellites and mobile base stations.

Wi-Fi usually operates at a different frequency than these devices, but a large amount of radio noise can cause interference.

The following is a general description of the reasons for the interference, please take measures to minimize the impact.

Microwave oven

Microwave ovenはWi-Fiネットワークに干渉を引き起こすことがわかっています。これはとくに、旧式のルーターでよく見られます。Microwave ovenが動作する周波数2.45GHzが、Wi-Fiの帯域である2.4GHzに非常に近いためです。

2.4GHzのWi-Fi帯域といっても、実際には、2.412GHz〜2.472GHzの範囲でブロードキャストされるため、まれに、Microwave ovenの周波数がWi-Fiの周波数と重なることがあります。

そうしたことが起きると、ルーターのデータ転送が妨害されてしまいます。もっとも、ほとんどのMicrowave ovenはシールドが内蔵されており、電波が外に漏れないようになっています。

However, interference may occur within the range of insufficient shielding performance.

Bluetooth device (device)

もう1つの一般的なワイヤレス接続であるBluetoothも、2.4GHzで動作します。基本的には、適切に設計されたBluetooth device (device)は、干渉を防ぐようにシールドされています。

In order to avoid frequency conflicts, Bluetooth manufacturers use frequency hopping. The signal rotates randomly between 70 different channels and switches 1600 times per second.

最近のBluetooth device (device)には、現在使われているチャネルを識別し、回避する機能がついています。とはいえ、干渉が発生する可能性がないわけではないので、ルータはできるだけBluetooth device (device)から離すようにしてください。

Bluetooth device (device)をオフにして、問題の原因がBluetoothでないことを確かめてください。とくに、チャネル管理機能のない旧式のBluetooth device (device)は要注意です。

Christmas lighting (lighting)

Oddly enough, Christmas lights (or leprechaun lights) are the real culprits for the slowing down of Wi-Fi. The problem is caused by the interaction between the electromagnetic field generated by light and the Wi-Fi band. Flushing the lamp requires special attention.

In addition, the latest LED lights can not rest assured. In the LED string, the flickering chip is embedded in the lamp tube, and the electromagnetic folding produced by the chip will interfere with the Wi-Fi radio wave.

In fact, any type of electron light may cause electromagnetic field interference, but in most cases, the effect is very small.

Having said that, routers should try to stay away from electronic lights.

Background noise (noise)

There is an application called "Architecture of Radio" developed by the information designer Richard Vijgen.

The application uses information from satellite and mobile base stations, Wi-Fi information, and GPS location information to map invisible signals around itself.

This application is not a measurement tool, but it can help you visualize the digital signals around you.

Download: "Architecture of Radio" Android | iOS ($3)

3. The reason for the Wi-Fi router in the house and room next door

Almost all houses with Wi-Fi networks are the main cause of channel duplication.

This problem can also occur in urban housing, but it is particularly common in a large number of router-intensive residential neighborhoods and apartments.

When using a router that uses only 2.4 GHz or a device that can only receive 2.4 GHz wireless signals, channel duplication is easy to encounter problems.

Because there are only 14 channels that can be sent and received. When two routers broadcast on the same channel of the same frequency, they interfere with each other.

Therefore, it is important to select the appropriate channel in the router settings. If you are the nearest router, you can automatically select the channel, but in some cases you'd better find the most suitable channel yourself.

It is also possible for someone to try to connect to your network without permission.

Security is also an issue, but this may also be the reason why Wi-Fi is slower. The best way to prevent free rides is to set a strong password on the router. It is important to note that the weak passwords of the WEP standard are easy to break.

Keep the router up to date and check periodically to see if the network is connected to suspicious devices.

4. The reason is that the family

Are you using the computer to download huge files?

This may be the reason why Wi-Fi is slow.

Downloading bulk files can seriously hit Wi-Fi performance, making it slower or difficult to connect.

In some cases, such as operating system updates, it is inevitable, but if you are performing a non-urgent task, please stop downloading temporarily.

In addition, friends, roommates, family and other people connected to the same network may also be running games, videos and other things with large bandwidth.

In this case, you can give priority to your own traffic by enabling QoS in the router settings.

60% of the human body is water, which attenuates radio waves, so humans may also be responsible for the delay in Wi-Fi. Of course, I'm not talking about kicking people out of the house.

However, routers should be placed away from where people gather. The impact is small, but it must not be ignored.

The countermeasure when Wi-Fi is slow is based on the reason.

It is not easy to find out why Wi-Fi is slowing down.

There are many possibilities, from the location where the router is installed to the people at home. After shattering all the physical factors, you may need to turn your attention to numbers.

Please change the DNS settings to determine if the situation will improve. In addition, if people think that Wi-Fi is slow only because of their smartphones, it may also be because of the Internet connection there.

I want to read it together.

Improve speed and safety! 10 ways to enhance Family Wi-Fi

How to identify the reasons for the slow speed of the Internet and restore the speed

Image:Depositphotos,Casezy idea/Shutterstock.com

Source: Google (1, 2, 3), Apple

Original Article:4 Reasons Why Your Wi-Fi Is So Slow (And How To Fix Them) by MakeUseof