Have you ever wondered why your Wi-Fi isn't giving you the fast speeds you expect? Or why does it keep disconnecting every time you move around the house? Wi-Fi networks are affected by many factors beyond routers, bandwidth, and interference, but there are some smart ways to boost your network.
What is network congestion?
Network congestion occurs when your network cannot send all data packets back and forth between the router and connected devices. The result is lagging Internet connections and high levels of interference, packet loss, and latency.
Think of your network as a pipe and data packets flow through that pipe. If the pipe is not wide enough for all the packets that want to pass through, some packets have to wait while others pass through normally. You can set up QoS on your router to prioritize traffic and minimize crashes to some extent, but if you don't have it set up (or don't have it), everyone's Internet experience will be different. not good.

Remember that this has nothing to do with your Internet speed. So you can have the fastest Internet package your ISP offers, but if the router, and specifically the network bandwidth, isn't up to the task, then a lot of that bandwidth will be wasted. The bandwidth your ISP gives you and what your router can use are different. This is one reason why you should change your ISP-provided router as soon as possible.
The delay in packets arriving at the router and then being routed to a device is not always apparent. If you're gaming, you'll definitely experience high ping or packet loss, but if you're streaming a movie, generally, there will be enough cache for packets to arrive in a timely manner.
From time to time, you should analyze your Wi-Fi network to find out if you are connected to a congested Wi-Fi channel. The router will automatically try to connect you to the best possible channel, but it doesn't always get it right. Luckily, this problem is quite easy to fix.
Edit Wi-Fi channel
The first step to avoid network congestion is to switch to a better channel. If you are still using a 2.4 GHz router, the number of available channels is quite low and most, if not all, of these channels will be subject to interference from other devices within range of the router, including routers. other and even household appliances.
In general, channels 1, 6, and 11 are best if you are using a 2.4 GHz network. However, this will vary depending on your location and the level of interference your router is dealing with. 5 or 6 GHz routers can access a significantly higher number of channels, so being able to connect to these Wi-Fi bands will give you better speed and stability.
The best way is to use a Wi-Fi analysis app and find the best channels on each available Wi-Fi band. You can then configure your router to connect devices to these channels and thus avoid the problems that a congested network can cause.
Use less congested Wi-Fi bands
First, if the router does not support the 5 or 6 GHz Wi-Fi band, you should consider buying a new router with these essential features.
These bands use channels that are less susceptible to interference from other devices, have more channels, and provide more bandwidth than 2.4 GHz channels (at the expense of broadcast range). As mentioned earlier, these bands also have significantly more channels, meaning they can withstand higher amounts of interference before Wi-Fi begins to degrade.

Switching to the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band will significantly increase the WiFi speeds and stability you get from your connection. These higher frequency, less congested bands give you better speeds, more bandwidth, and greater stability so you can finally use the full bandwidth provided by your ISP at once. reasonable way. They're not as good as a regular Ethernet connection, but are far superior to the standard 2.4 GHz band you might be using.
Network congestion is a cause of slow Wi-Fi without you even realizing it. As more and more wireless devices begin to operate within close range of each other, the problem gets worse. Luckily, the fix is simple and doesn't require a complete overhaul. A better Wi-Fi router and some smart configuration will help you get the most out of your Internet connection.