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Q&A: WI-FI

How do you boost wifi without spending a penny?​
  1. Stop using WiFi and plug in with an ethernet cable. That will be much faster than Wifi will be.

  2. If you must use Wifi, place your router as close to the center of your space as possible. Make sure there are no mirrors between you and the router.

  3. Try raising the router (higher)

  4. Try re-orienting the router

  5. Try reorienting the antennae.

​How does Google WiFi work compared to a normal router?

​It’s just a regular wireless router in a round case with a nice user interface that says ‘Google’. There’s no secret or even unique technology in it that you won’t find in many other equally competent devices.

​The ability add other mesh devices is tempting, but it does slow things down some. Having said that, it’s neat and easy to set up, if you’re looking for that it’s well worth looking at.

​Does a WiFi router increase the Internet speed?

No, it will actually slow it down, because WiFi introduces delay (latency) and reduces available bandwidth (capacity) when compared to a wired connection.

​In addition, the router being between you and the Internet and performing Firewall and NAT services will introduce further delay.

​Internet speed (latency) is entirely a function of your ISP and where you are geographically compared to the site you are trying to access. Internet capacity (bandwidth) is a function of your ISP connection, primarily, and how your ISP is connected to the rest of the Internet, and the capacity available at the site you are trying to access.

 

Can Wi-Fi go through glass and downstairs?

First, 2.4GHz WiFi will go through more barriers and go further than 5GHz.

We would set up your router or AP, the test it in various locations on both 5GHz and 2.4 GHz. You can adjust parameters to trade off distance with bandwidth by using narrower channels (20MHz rather than 40 or 80) and lower bandwidths to increase your chances.

Generally, WiFi will be blocked by mirrors, IR proof windows, water tanks and pipes, and wire mesh in older walls. If you can arrange things to avoid those you will have more chance of success for sure.

Another thing to bear in mind is the type of antennas you have on your router or AP. Different antennas (and their position) affect the radiation pattern of a signal. You can improve your chances by knowing this pattern and adjusting the orientation of the AP and/or antennas accordingly.

​If the public Wi-Fi I'm using is being hacked, and I'm using a free VPN, can they still access or sniff out any of my information, browsing history, apps used, and emails? If so, can they actually see what I'm doing within the apps?

​Basic principles, If someone has access to the WiFi you are on, and packet captures your traffic from and to your device, then the following is true: your data is only as secure as the amount of time and effort (i.e. money) an attacker wants to put into breaking it. In most cases, a VPN will protect you from casual observation and up to a medium-low level of effort and expenditure, a free VPN maybe slightly less so.

​How can I get faster speed from my wifi router in a crowded neighborhood?

​There’s a few engineering solutions that will help you in this circumstance.

​First, use 5GHz and not 2.4. The higher the frequency, the less the signal will penetrate walls and other obstacles. What you’re looking to do is obtain enough usable signal above the noise (interference) level, and you’ll have a lot more chance of doing this at 5GHz as less interference will enter your house/apartment.

​Second, use a free app like WiFi analyzer on your phone to see what the channel is with the least interference, and set your router or AP to use that. As Mark Allen suggested, if your router supports DFS channels, one of those may well be the least congested.

Third, if it has an ethernet port on it, plug it in - especially game consoles and media streamers. It’ll perform better and leave more wireless capacity for other things.

​Fourth, try different router locations and orientations.

​Last - and possibly the most effective - use 802.11ac wireless with beam forming. This will focus more power (and hence overcome interference) to the wireless client.

 

If I'm a teenager wanting to buy faster WiFi just for video games on PlayStation and computers, what should I get for around five hundred dollars? 

Our best suggestion is don’t use WiFi, use Ethernet cables. It’s going to be significantly faster (latency) and higher capacity (bandwidth) than any WiFi connection you can buy. If you need to connect multiple devices in the same location, buy an un-managed Gigabit Ethernet switch (not a router!) and enough patch cables to hook all your devices to it. Then run one Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cable from the switch to a LAN port on your router or cable modem. Make sure that port on your router or modem supports Gigabit and is not 10/100 only.

There are a number of technical reasons why this is better than WiFi that aren’t obvious if you just compare the bandwidth numbers. Happy to go into that if needed.

 

How do I boost my WiFi extender (Linksys RE6500 WiFi extender) to reach even a longer distance to my mobile devices? 

There’s no real benefit in boosting the output power with an amplifier as WiFi is a two way street; your remote device could ‘hear’ your boosted extender, but your boosted extender couldn’t hear your remote device, which hasn’t been boosted (also, boosting WiFi with an amplifier is illegal in many jurisdictions).

WiFi is a relatively short range technology. If you need more coverage, more access points is the best engineered solution, if you can afford it.

If you can’t do taht, you can ‘tweak’ your range with settings (use narrower channels, stop using 40MHz and 80MHz widths), use a channel with the least interference, use 2.4GHz rather than 5GHz for range. You can also change the location of your AP to get better range, and maybe use higher gain antennas if your device will support add-ons.

 

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How can I tell if my ISP is blocking my WiFi?

Unless you have WiFi that’s provided by your ISP (the way Comcast in the USA provides a hybrid router/modem that you can’t really manipulate) your ISP is unlikely to be able to influence your WiFi, or block it specifically.

​If your WiFi doesn’t work, connect directly to your modem or router with an ethernet cord. If that works, it’s most likely interference, settings on your WiFi, or your client’s WiFi adapter.

If it doesn’t, you probably have a technical problem, with your connection and need to contact your ISP. Probably need more information to give you a more accurate answer here. Feel free to add more info (info@campustech.net)

​Why is the speed of a WiFi signal sometimes less than 800 Kbps at midnight? How can I solve it?

​Most common reasons (in no particular order):

  1. The way you are testing the throughput may not be entirely accurate, most ‘speed tests’ really aren’t

  2. You may be confusing Kbps and KBps (small b = bits large B = Bytes). 1 Kilobyte = 8 Kilobits. Some programs such as uTorrent report capacity in Kilobytes.

  3. It could be wireless interference on the WiFi connection. Test with an ethernet cable. WiFi, especially domestic grade WiFi is pretty poor, generally. Believe it or not of you live near a train track and a train goes past your WiFi will slow down (because of all the passengers devices sending frames). There are thousands of other reasons.

  4. You have a connected device on your network that comes alive and soaks up bandwidth. Infected PC’s that are part of botnets can do that.

  5. Someone else is ‘stealing’ your bandwidth, How many devices on your network? Are they all yours? (OK this isn’t all that common).

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Why does Netflix load slowly even though I have fast internet?

It’s probably not Netflix. You say you have ‘fast’ internet, by that we assume you mean ‘plenty of bandwidth’ and you should know that bandwidth is not speed. Bandwidth is capacity - the speed of a connection is it’s latency.

​Because most video streaming (including Netflix) uses TCP for communications, it sends small chunks of video one at a time, and waits for a response on each one. What this means is that you can have all the bandwidth in the world (1 Gigabit and beyond) but if your latency is over 50–60ms, you will see ‘buffering’.

​So take a look at the latency between you an the Netflix server. That’s a good place to start to see what’s going on.

Why do smart devices need to connect to the 2.4 GHz band of WiFi?

Three reasons:

1. Cost - single-band 2.4GHz chipset is less expensive and smart devices are built to a low budget

2. Range - 2.4 GHz will go further / penetrate more obstacles than 5 GHz

3. Compatibility - There are still some markets where people still use 2.4 GHz only, although that’s becoming less. However, all WiFi devices support 2.4 GHz but not all support 5 GHz.

​How does Google WiFi work compared to a normal router?
How do you boost wifi without spending a penny?​
​Does a WiFi router increase the Internet speed?
​How can I get faster speed from my wifi router in a crowded neighborhood?
​If the public Wi-Fi I'm using is being hacked, and I'm using a free VPN, can they still access or sniff out any of my information, browsing history, apps used, and emails? If so, can they actually see what I'm doing within the apps?
Can Wi-Fi go through glass and downstairs?
If I'm a teenager wanting to buy faster WiFi just for video games on PlayStation and computers, what should I get for around five hundred dollars? 
How do I boost my WiFi extender (Linksys RE6500 WiFi extender) to reach even a longer distance to my mobile devices? 
How can I tell if my ISP is blocking my WiFi?
​Why is the speed of a WiFi signal sometimes less than 800 Kbps at midnight? How can I solve it?
Why does Netflix load slowly even though I have fast internet?
Why do smart devices need to connect to the 2.4 GHz band of WiFi?
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