04
Jun
Wi-Fi is not the same as internet!
in Blog
Comments
Quite a few times we have heard “My Wi-Fi is slow and web pages take ages to appear”. There is some confusion in this sentence so let me explain the two elements behind this.
Wi-Fi – this is the wireless connection between your equipment – laptop or smartphone and the wireless equipment – your router or access point.
Internet – (Where web pages come from) the broadband service supplied by your I.S.P. (Internet Service Provider) and delivered to your home or business via a Router.
The issue is that as Wi-Fi is used to deliver the internet between your router and your PC or smartphone, there is a perception that this “is” the internet.
Does this matter? Well yes if you are looking to improve the situation. To keep this simple I won’t go into too much detail but will suggest what you should do and who can help with this.
Firstly check if your internet is being supplied at the speed that you are paying for. You need to understand that while you may be paying for an 80Mbs Fibre connection this will only be supplied if you are close to the cabinet. You can expect to receive less than this due to the distance from the cabinet and the exchange. We would initially recommend speaking to your I.S.P. and ask them to test your speed. In most instances, you can use the site http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com which is the best tester as it will register any problems found with your I.S.P. and BT to help them improve the service. Sites such as Google and Speedtest.net also offer tests but are only going to give approximate speeds. We would recommend running any speed test from a device (PC or laptop) connected directly to a router with an Ethernet cable and disconnect all other devices. If you are finding the speed to be below the expected speed then your I.S.P. will go through the options including checking settings, replacing the router, checking phone quality (i.e is there noise on the line or are your callers voices too quiet) or replacing the master socket front plate or cabling. One item we have mentioned in the past is a “Profile Reset” and you can read more about this here.
Secondly, now you have proven your internet is OK, you can look at your Wi-Fi. This sounds a little obvious but does sitting next to your router give a better experience on the internet. If yes, then we recommend speaking to an IT technician to see if there are adjustments that can be made to your router or access point, such as changing the frequency can improve things. If not then upgrading equipment or a booster may be required.
I hope this helps with understanding the difference between your internet and Wi-Fi and how to improve the output.
