Slow Wi-Fi bringing you down? Check these settings to see if your wireless network is misconfigured.
Too many or too few access pointsIf you have too many access points (especially ones that live on the same channel), your access points will constantly be interfering with one another. On the flip side, if you don’t have enough access points, you will have gaps in coverage which will ultimately stop your productivity in its tracks.
Plug ethernet in wherever possible
It sure is convenient to have portability. Best practice is to plug in your ethernet cable to anything that can be hardwired. This simply limits the number of devices using your Wi-Fi and leaves all the spectrum open to devices that cannot be hardwired.
Hard-wiring has another benefit of being more secure. Often, we don’t even know that a product has wi-fi capabilities, and these are easy known pivot-points to gain entry into a network. If the device can be hardwired and Wi-Fi turned off, it mitigates this issue.
Decommission old equipment
802.11b = bad. If you can turn this band off, then you should do it. If there are any items in your network that run on this standard, it can slow your 144 Mbps network down to 1 Mbps.
On the topic of decommissioning old equipment – check the Wi-Fi card in your computer. Wi-Fi cards are relatively inexpensive and can impact your performance greatly.
Check the placement
A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band is shared with microwaves, Bluetooth, baby monitors, and wireless cameras so if your access points are close to any of these there is a high likelihood that they are interfering with one another, in a technical term called retransmissions.
Also, be aware that certain types of materials will change the way that waves behave. A metal wall, for instance, will block the waves from going through that wall to the other side.
Access points that are relatively close together should not live on the same channel (either 1, 6, or 11). By simply switching the channel, you may not need to turn off or move any access points to regain some function in your network.
Access points whether they are too close or too far apart can be one causing factor to slow internet.
Network roaming
By changing your SSIDs to be the same, you enable roaming that allows your device to transfer from one access point to another seamlessly.
Enable 5 GHz Wi-Fi
AM radio is to FM radio what 2.4 GHz is to a 5 GHz network. AM radio has a lower quality of sound but can go a much longer distance than an FM band can. 2.4 GHz range is much farther than its counterpart, but it is low-fidelity quality. By enabling both bands (and enabling your controller to move 5 GHz capable devices), you can take some of the pressure off your 2.4 GHz network which in theory would increase the efficiency of the network. If you don’t have a router or access points with 5 GHz technology, it may be time to revisit your fleet and make some updates.
We understand that all this talk can be a little confusing and not to mention a little overwhelming. It's also incredibly frustrating to conduct business without having sufficient internet and no time to try and diagnose the problem yourself. Twinstate Technologies' trained and certified technicians are available to come and help troubleshoot any misconfiguration your internet may be experiencing. Contact us to request a discovery call.
Originally published on 08/02/2017
Topic: WiFi, WiFi Network, Network Configuration