When we think of a wireless internet connection, we imagine an invisible force that can permeate through anything. Home internet speeds have grown increasingly fast throughout the years, and we expect nothing less than immediate service. That is why it can feel frustrating to deal with lagging, buffering, and slow internet speeds. Before you throw your router out the window, you might want to double-check that these five things aren’t interfering with your wireless connection.
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi works a lot like a busy highway. When you think of it that way, you can picture Bluetooth devices as motorcyclists on the road. Bluetooth works by frequency hopping all along the broadband network, skipping nearly 1600 times in one second. As such, if your Bluetooth device hops onto the same frequency as your Wi-Fi network, you can expect some delays.
Neighbors
Living in close quarters to your neighbors, like in an apartment complex, can affect the quality of your internet connection due to the different equipment and usage habits. Moreover, you might have neighbors or nearby hackers trying to access your personal network via your router to use your internet. That is why it is so important to know how to secure your wireless internet connection to protect you from unauthorized users.
Nearby Radios
You might think that radios use a completely different system and that it could never be the culprit interfering with your wireless connection. However, many radios, like walkie-talkies, baby monitors, and locators, use the same frequency as older Wi-Fi and can thus affect your broadband.
Competing Networks
There are many different types of living situations. If you live with roommates, you might face some internet connectivity issues. These connection issues happen if your roommates also have a separate wireless network because the extra pieces of equipment can interfere. You might consider sharing a router and increasing your data plan or creating a guest network if needed.
Thick Walls
Sometimes, we forget that physical objects can also cause faulty Wi-Fi. Living in an area with concrete or thick walls can seriously affect your wireless connection. You might need to purchase boosters if you use the internet in another room or consider working nearby your router to have the best access.
