Is Your Wi-Fi Bars Maxed And Internet Still Crap?

Wi-Fi has revolutionized our lives. We can use our voice to control our lights, surf the internet on the couch or by the pool, and more. No surprise it was welcomed, but is your Wi-Fi up to par?

Ten years after weird rabbit-eared boxes first entered our homes, Wi-Fi has developed into a speed and accessibility behemoth we can't live without. Consider how many wireless gadgets you have in your home; the average home has at least ten, and many have more.

While older gadgets can function with poor internet, newer devices like 4kTVs and video streaming require fast internet. Add a game console, tablet, a couple smartphones, and a laptop or two, and your Wi-Fi is immediately overloaded. Unfortunately, most people only know how many bars their Wi-Fi has, not how fast it works correctly. Counting bars can be a real pain.

Here's why trusting Wi-Fi bar count can be a bad idea:

Bars Measure the Wrong Thing

While having a 'strong' signal is excellent, having a 'fast and available' signal would be much better. The internet may be down, and you would still have full bars because it merely measures your proximity to the Wi-Fi router. That metric ignores how many devices are vying for the same bandwidth or whether any remains for you. Your Wi-Fi will be available and up to the task.

Wi-Fi Going Sideways

While your neighbor's Wi-Fi can reach the back of their property, it can also reach into yours. In addition to disrupting and slowing your own Wi-Fi. In densely populated regions, your Wi-Fi is lost in a swirling vortex of signals all sharing the same frequency. It's a digital swarm that may bog you down. Change your Wi-Fi channel to one with less cross-talk.

Default Settings

Most residential Wi-Fi uses the 2.4ghz band. While this makes a plug & play router simple to set up, you lose speed. By using the 5ghz frequency, your Wi-Fi is protected from neighbor cross-talk. 5ghz is also speedier, which is nice.

Priority Not Set

You can also set up "Quality of Service" if your router supports it or provides you with one. This prioritizes Netflix, and Skype calls over less vital tasks like downloads. You'll be able to watch movies and video chat without freezing.

Conclusion

So, now we have covered why relying on bar count is a bad idea when determining the quality of your Internet connection. Now, we hope you can make more informed choices regarding your Wi-Fi moving forward.

I usually write for ITSM Rhino about business IT, like ITSM processes, but I also like writing about user issues.

Thank you for reading and leaving comments or questions. I love it when you do!