Every single home or office in the world has some degree, whether small or large, of wireless interference – or EMI (electro-magnetic interference). Additionally, interference sometimes originates from outside the home. This can cause issues maintaining a connection to the wireless network and can also affect the speed of the wireless connection. Wireless performance cannot be guaranteed due the many variables in homes or office which can affect wireless connections. However new standards and hardware installed correctly can minimise the performance impact of interference.

Many WiFi router and WiFi access points installed in the past 5 years could only support a maximum WiFi throughput of 56Mb at best, when you add smart TV’s, streaming media, Foxtel, Amazon Alexa the list goes on and on, the WiFi network cannot cope. The newer standards of 5.8Ghz AC and beyond can run as high as 800Mb to 1300Mb thus allowing the full potential of the NBN high speed network to be enjoyed. The achieve these speed careful planning and WiFi design is required using the correct equipment.

Generally we want the router or access point to be about 1m to 3m off of the ground, or in other words, at about the same height as the devices being used or even higher. The higher the WiFi router or access point the better the signal and unobstructed line of site to the WiFi device.

Some walls cause interference more than others. For example, walls made of steel will cause massive interference, concrete and 1950’s solid clay brick walls are impervious to wireless signals, walls with plumbing in them will cause significant interference, and walls with electrical wiring inside will also cause some degree of interference. Gyprock plasterboard walls offer this least impact on the WiFi signal. Glass and now some glass window treatments block all WiFi signals.

For best results, try to separate the WiFi router or WiFi access point from any electronic devices – especially any other wireless transmission equipment and appliances, a common problem is kitchen Microwave oven, this plays havoc on early WiFi devices. Transmission devices wireless baby monitors, cordless phones, wireless headphones, and key fobs are more examples of devices that can affect your devices ability to keep a connection to the WiFi network. Careful planning and location of WiFi access points can help improve the user experience.

Most WiFi routers and WiFi access point devices are dual mode using 2.4 GHz or 5.8Ghz. If troubleshooting EMI is not producing results, try setting the router to the 5.8GHz frequency. Please bear in mind, any devices which will connect to the network must be capable of communicating at 5.8 GHz. Using this frequency is particularly helpful when surrounded by other wireless networks or when all other troubleshooting fails. 5.8Ghz is now current baseline standard for high throughput in homes and offices for WiFi connection, this is commonly known as WiFi 5G, not to be confused with the mobile phone 5G network.

This can depend on what the WiFi router or WiFi access point can provide, and what your WiFi device can support. If all of your devices are manufactured after 2006, your router should be configured to use WPA2-AES. This is default globally, this ensure the necessary communication encryption and prevents unauthorised access to your WiFi network, failure to have WPA2-AES will result in a breach of your WiFi network.