Fix niggling Wi-Fi problems
Not all issues bring your network grinding to a halt. Here’s how to troubleshoot, maintain and improve your wireless performance
It’s not just interference from neighbouring networks you need to consider when troubleshooting your 2.4GHz connection: internal network congestion is also an issue, particularly if you have numerous wireless devices all competing for bandwidth. To reduce overcrowding on the 2.4GHz band, now is the time to consider switching compatible devices to the 5GHz band.
It’s a no-brainer if your wireless device is in direct line of sight to the router itself – the 5GHz band is much quicker than 2.4GHz, so you should see speed improvements straight away. Sadly, however, the range at this frequency is far less than the 2.4GHz band, so be prepared for performance to drop off more sharply the further away you are from the router. Nevertheless, you should still be able to shift even a handful of devices across to the new network – more if you make smart use of your Wi-Fi extender (perhaps disable the 2.4GHz band if not needed to allow you to place it closer to the router), all of which will help free up bandwidth for the remaining devices on your 2.4GHz network.