If you’re experiencing spotty Wi-Fi issues on your home network, there are a few changes you can make to increase signal strength and improve the experience. In fact, the best ways to improve Wi-Fi are usually small tasks, like moving your router, changing Wi-Fi bands, changing streaming channels, or updating device firmware. Aside from technical issues, there may also be objects around your home that are interfering with the signal, from appliances and other electronics to smart home gadgets.
Yes, smart home gadgets can jam your Wi-Fi network. This is usually not caused by one or two devices, or even a dozen, but rather by a large group of gadgets all communicating at the same time. The reason is probably not what you would expect. This doesn’t have much to do with bandwidth, because many of these devices, like smart plugs, switches, light bulbs, and sensors, don’t use much. We’re talking less than 1 Mbps per device. The real problem is either signal congestion or interference. Interference is a more intuitive concept: it’s when other wireless signals disrupt your Wi-Fi signal; So let’s take a closer look at signal congestion.
Think of the Wi-Fi channel as a highway, on which each connected device acts as a vehicle traveling on it. Phones, tablets, smart devices, smart devices: everything actually travels on this highway and communicates openly. When too many devices do this at the same time, they create traffic jams and slow things down. This has more to do with network airtime than bandwidth. Only one device at a time can communicate with the router on a given channel, forcing others to wait their turn. So the more devices you have connected, the more likely you are to experience performance issues.
Split Wi-Fi bands (and devices between them) or opt for a mesh system
The only real solutions to these airtime “traffic jams” are to either reduce or remove some devices with active connections, or to improve the capabilities of the source so that it can handle more. If you don’t have the budget to upgrade your router, your best option is to load distribute your network across bands or access points.
Most modern routers broadcast on two bands, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and some newer models even offer a 6 GHz band. Smart home gadgets, often considered low priority, tend to operate on the 2.4GHz band, and many don’t even support higher options. So a good first step would be to move as many of your smart home devices as possible to the 2.4GHz band, leaving the 5GHz band for things like your phone, smart TV, and gaming console. You can also set up a guest network just for smart home devices, but there’s always a chance that this will reduce the performance of your main network.
When it comes to the interference issue, your best option might be to upgrade your router. You can opt for a more powerful single-unit router or, the ultimate option, go for a mesh system. Mesh systems are generally better than traditional routers because they provide improved coverage and are better able to handle many devices. This is because mesh networks distribute communications across multiple nodes so that individual nodes are not overwhelmed. In theory, you could even free up your most commonly used node – say, the node in your living room – by assigning smart home devices to the least used nodes in the router settings, which could also help solve the “traffic jam” problem.
