Mesh WiFi Routers

What Affects Wi-Fi?

The signal from a router can be affected by several factors. This can lead to two users with the same device, receiving wildly different performance when accessing the a network. The following are just some of the factors that can cause a disparity in Wi-Fi performance:

• Distance Proximity to the router can have a drastic impact on the strength of the signal your device may receive. A typical Wi-Fi router can have an effective range of 100-150ft while indoors, beyond this you’ll find your performance will drop off.
• Obstacles As Wi-Fi signals are a form of radio waves, they are subject to being blocked by obstacles, such as walls, furniture, and appliances. Every object a Wi-Fi signal must pass through weakens the signal, which results in poor connectivity.
• Interference Other electronic devices cause network interference, such as mobile phones, Bluetooth, and even neighbouring Wi-Fi networks. These rogue signals can interact with the radio transmissions from your router, causing them to degrade over time, or even be lost, reducing the effective range of your Wi-Fi signal.
• Network Overload
If all devices on your network are using the same Wi-Fi channel, it is feasible to run out of bandwidth to support all your devices. This can be further exacerbated if other local Wi-Fi networks also use the same channel, increasing the amount of congestion along those frequencies.
• Outdated Hardware Older routers are restricted to what Wi-Fi standards they can utilise. Many people choose to stick to the same router their ISP originally provides, which means they may miss out on many modern standards that newer model routers may have, such as Wi-Fi 6E. As such, the frequencies become more congested, leading to increased interference and more latency.