Whether working, watching your favourite online TV shows or keeping up to date with the latest happenings on social media, speedy internet at home is important. Intermittent access is frustrating for our always on, always connected lifestyles.
Good Internet essentially depends on two components: the transmission rate and the reception. According to a recent study by reichelt elektronik, 45 percent of Brits have issues with their Wi-Fi temporarily cutting out. A further 34 percent said they had issues with the quality of reception in different rooms.
Households in the West of the UK experienced the issues with Wi-Fi quality the most (38 percent). Furthermore, the Western region also experienced issues with reception cutting out the most – 50 percent said this was a problem, highlighting the focus areas for signal improvement.
“There is nothing more frustrating than watching your favourite Netflix boxset and facing the dreaded buffer wheel as the signal cuts out half way through an episode. For households that struggle with quality Wi-Fi coverage, particularly in the West of the UK, Wi-Fi repeaters can help to solve the issue in the home by repeating the signal and increasing the signal range to reach all the areas it is needed in the house,” said Thomas Kruse, Product Manager for network technology, reichelt elektronik.
Repeat repeat repeat
Despite repeaters being an affordable, easy to install solution, only 10 percent are currently using a repeater in the home to improve reception and a mere six percent are planning on installing one soon. A staggering 54 percent say they don’t know what a repeater is, rising to 58 percent amongst 18-24 year olds, resulting in 30 percent of UK adults not planning to install one and will therefore continue to have Wi-Fi coverage issues.
Routers reach their limit
Conventional Wi-Fi routers, typically near telephone sockets or cable connections, reach their range limits, causing the quality of the reception to decrease.
Wi-Fi access is most important to Britons in the living room – 76 percent of UK adults concurred and this was consistent across all age groups. The top three rooms in the home that were cited as the most important places for good reception were:
1. Living room – 76 percent
2. Bedroom – 52 percent
3. Kitchen – 33 percent
Top tips to improve your Wi-Fi reception:
1. Keep your router visible – any objects blocking the router can cause the signal to be disrupted so ensure it’s in a visible place in your home.
2. Secure your Wi-Fi inside and outside – ensure that only trusted people have access to your router password so neighbours and other sources are using your Wi-Fi, affecting your signal.
3. Use a repeater – increase the range of your router signal by installing a Wi-Fi repeater.