Network and security
Why is the wifi in the office slow?
Short answer
Slow wifi in the office is usually down to the wifi itself, not the internet connection. The usual causes are too few or badly placed access points, extenders that halve the signal, interference from neighbours, too many devices on one point and ageing equipment from the provider. Test with a cable first: if the internet is fast that way, the problem sits between the ceiling and your laptop.
Is it the wifi or the internet?
That is the first question, and you can answer it in five minutes. Connect a laptop to the router with a network cable and run a speed test. Then run the same test over wifi, in the spot where people complain.
- Cable fast, wifi slow: the problem is in the wireless network. By far the most common case.
- Both slow: it is the internet connection or the router itself.
- Sometimes good, sometimes bad: look at the time. Always around lunch, or always when someone runs a backup?
The six causes we find most often
1. The access point is in the wrong place
The provider’s router sits in the meter cupboard, behind a steel door, next to the fuse box. Wifi passes poorly through metal and concrete. The people furthest from the cupboard get what is left.
2. Extenders have been added
Someone plugged an extender into a socket. The bars on the phone are full afterwards, and the speed is halved. Full signal and slow internet is the telltale sign.
3. Too many devices on one point
A home access point is made for a family. In an office there are laptops, phones, printers, screens in the meeting room and the phones of visitors. Each device gets a slice of airtime in turn.
4. Interference from the neighbours
In a business centre every company transmits on the same limited set of channels. If everything is set to automatic, they often pick the same channel. You see this when the wifi is good in the evening and at weekends and bad on working days.
5. Old devices set the pace
Wifi talks to each device in the language that device understands. An old printer or scanner that only knows an outdated standard keeps the network busy for longer than needed.
6. Laptops stay on the wrong access point
You walk from your desk to the meeting room. The laptop stays connected to the access point at your desk, even though there is one right above your head. Business access points steer laptops to the nearest point; separate points from different brands do not.
What fixes it?
In order of what gives the most:
- Access points on a cable. On the ceiling, where the people sit. This solves causes 1 and 2 and often 3.
- Enough points, managed centrally. They divide the channels among themselves and hand a laptop over to the nearest point.
- Separate networks. Employees, guests and devices such as printers each on their own network.
- Cable what stays put. A fixed desk, a printer and a screen in the meeting room belong on a cable. That frees the wifi for what really has to be wireless.
Buying new equipment without knowing which cause applies is the expensive way. A survey on site shows where the signal drops and how many points are needed.
When is it the internet after all?
When the test with a cable disappoints too. Then check what is going on at that moment: a backup to the cloud, a large update, someone uploading videos. A connection with a low upload speed clogs up fast, and you notice it as stuttering video calls.
If the line is structurally too small or drops out, the options are a bigger subscription or a second connection as a reserve.
We survey, design and install under business wifi and network installation.