We ran across this problem about four years ago when we first started OFFICE IN AMERICA CO. Since we are in the business of providing business services, our customers work by using the facility’s amenities including a reliable internet connection, so they can work speedily without interruptions.

The internet connection is usually the first to blame.

Comcast Business personnel came to visit us numerous times only to confirm that their connection is good when it is wired. Consequently, the blame is now pointed to the Wi-Fi router. We moved from one router to the next.

Here are some of the lessons learned:

1. Wi-Fi routers operate on channels

What does that mean? The analogy of that is imagine you are driving a car and you are on a lane. The car is the data signal. The lane is the channel. You can only drive on a lane. Image if your neighbor also have Wi-Fi router and they happen to be on the same channel as you are. It is like having two cars driving on the same lane: congestion! What you should do: be sure you are driving on an empty lane. If your connection is too slow, try changing to a different channel.

2. Wi-Fi signal is invisible to all but not to a wall

There is a reduction in signal strength every time there is a wall. Wooden material reduces less than metal or concrete materials. Signal filtration happens. What you should do: place the Wi-Fi strategically where it has the least wall or barriers, whether it is horizontal or vertical, so it can transmit signal without obstacles. Place it on several spots and find the best location for it. You’d be surprised.

3. Wi-Fi signal is broadcasted on different frequencies

The most common ones are 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The 2.4 GHZ frequency allows the signal to reach farther but the signal is weaker. The 5 GHz frequency is the opposite; handles stronger signal but shorter distance. So why not just choose 5 GHz all the time? Same question goes to radio frequency. FM radio has strong signal but cannot go outside city limit. AM radio can reach a place as far as 300 miles from the station but it is staticky. What you should do: get a Wi-Fi router that can broadcast both for only a couple of dollars extra. Name the line separately. i.e. OfficeInAmerica24G and OfficeInAmerica50G. As such you have a full control of what you prefer when you use internet in different part of your office or house.

Several solutions worth exploring:

1. Buy a good Wi-Fi router. Don’t buy uncommon name brands and don’t spend less than $65.00. You’d be surprised for with a little bit more money you get a reliable equipment such as Linksys, NetGear, Belkin or even Apple. Some of them now have phone app to setup, control and monitor activities.

2. Get a Wi-Fi router with signal repeaters. If there is no possible location for the router to be in an open space, signal repeater should be used on a place with a weak signal. It’s job is to repeat the Wi-Fi signal, so you can exchange data properly. One of a good product repeater is Google Wifi. It costs about $299.00, and it is plug-and-play for your convenience. Certainly, there are other products similar to it.

3. If money almost no object, we finally choose to get nothing but the best. In other words, we do not want to compromise. We want strong connection where 500 users can login at the same time. We want a device where if a channel is being used, it will automatically switch to another channel without us doing anything to it. This is the ULTIMATE solution to us. The Ruckus ZoneFlex. Yes, it costs $1500.00 but every since we changed it three years ago, we’ve never heard a single complaint and saved tons of resources by not dealing with internet issues.

4. The cheapest but yet undeniable solutions: Ethernet cable. I know it sounds funny, but I would rather have a little cable crossing here and there so I have one less thing to worry about. 100’ flat Ethernet cable is only about $11.99 at Amazon.com

I hope this information helps.