Work out what’s wrong
Are your neighbors causing your Wi–Fi problems?
>> THERE ARE MANY things that can cause your home Wi–Fi network to slow down or become unreliable. Many electrical appliances, such as microwave ovens, cordless (DECT) telephones, and baby monitors generate electromagnetic signals that can interfere. Thick walls can block the signal travelling from room to room, and ceilings between floors can create a “deadspot” upstairs.
The biggest culprit, though, will probably be rival Wi–Fi networks running in the homes of nearby buildings, so it’s worth knowing a little bit about how Wi–Fi networks transmit their data so you can pinpoint any interference.
FREEWAY MADNESS
Most conventional routers broadcast their Wi–Fi signal on two main frequency bands, at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. You can think of these two bands as being like two separate freeways for transmitting data (often referred to as your network “traffic”). Each band is also divided into a number of “channels” — a bit like the different lanes on a freeway.
If you check your Mac’s Wi–Fi menu, you’ll see a number of different networks belonging to your neighbors. They’re all broadcasting on those same two frequencies so it’s no surprise that all those competing networks can interfere with each other and slow things down.
The 2.4GHz band isn’t as fast as the 5GHz band, but it does tend to provide greater range and reliability, so if you want to improve the Wi–Fi signal in an upstairs bedroom, it might help to connect the devices in that bedroom to the 2.4GHz band by using the Wi–Fi Settings panel on each device. Other devices, such as an Apple TV box that might be in the same room as your broadband router, will be better off on 5GHz — especially if you’re trying to stream 4K video that needs a really fast connection.
However, those microwave ovens and other devices in your home tend to use 2.4GHz as well, which means that this band can get congested. As mentioned, though, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands are also divided into channels, so it is possible to use apps such as WiFi Explore Lite (intuitibits.com) in order to monitor the networks and figure out which channels are the most congested. You can then experiment by switching channels to see which ones provide the best performance.
Of course, it’s quite possible that the interference is simply coming from a thick brick wall, in which case the best solution might simply be to buy a more powerful router or a range extender. But when it comes to diagnosing network problems, it’s always worth taking a quick look at your network neighborhood first to see if there are any obvious congestion problems that you can resolve without spending any money.