In many of the UnGarbled-Tech columns I have written I have touched upon Wi-Fi for homes or the office. Even 10 years ago, Wi-Fi was a luxury that allowed you to sit in the backyard and answer your emails. Today the terrain has totally changed. We have telecommuters, home-based businesses, or hybrids. Many offices, GCG included, will have VOIP phones that will ring in the home and office.

With the increase of IOT-connected Wi-Fi devices such as thermostats, cameras, light bulbs, pet tags, garage doors, and other devices, stronger Wi-Fi is critical. Adding SmartTVs with streaming Wi-Fi is becoming more and more essential.

Let’s talk about Wireless Access Points. These can be purchased at Staples, Amazon, and other high-tech outlets. But most people don’t know how to set up Wi-Fi in their homes. Let me use the Garb family as an example—as they say, “the shoemaker’s children go barefoot.” My laptop has a crack on it, the fan doesn’t shut off, and all my kids are complaining that their laptops could be better. My wife and I opted to go with low-end IOT laptops with 32 GIG SSD (Solid State Drives) and Windows 8.1 with an Atom processor with two gigs of RAM. Most students don’t need more than that and use Google and online storage. This is for schoolwork only.

Three kids, two parents, and everyone but my 10-year-old has a smart phone. We added it up and we have about 25 devices including smart bulbs, routers, SmartTVs, Rokus, Chromecasters, and switches. Imagine what a larger family with Tablets and Macs will use.

Home Access Points will advertise the world, so how come the Wi-Fi bandwidth drops so much? It’s all about concurrent connections and how your house is built. Home routers like Linksys and DLink are built for about 15 concurrent connections. Remember all those devices are also on the Wi-Fi network taking up bandwidth as well.

What can we do to solve the Wi-Fi issue?

Best thing to do is to have a proper IT professional evaluate your needs and what works best for you home. Follow these rules of thumb for Wi-Fi.

1. Make sure you have the fastest Internet you can buy.

2. Purchase a new updated and brand-name router. GCG recommends the ASUS or Sonic Firewall.

3. Wireless Access Points should be Wireless N or AC.

4. A POE switch (Power over Ethernet) allows Wireless Access Points to be run only with a network wire. No electric wires, and perfect for crawl spaces.

We have clients who had one room with the Wireless Access Points, and the room right next to it had no Wi-Fi. The piping, what the walls are made of, and concrete will all make a difference.

If you have a choice and opt for a one-time charge, have a hard line run to each floor and then connect your Wireless Access Points to the hard wire. Don’t bother wasting your money on the devices that use your electrical wiring as a conduit; it never works. Same goes for repeaters that claim they will regenerate the signal—it usually makes things more frustrating.

If you have a hard line, name the SSID (Wi-Fi) network the same for the entire house. Again if proper Wireless Access Points are purchased these devices will tell the next Wireless Access Points that your PC is on its way. That is, some users will see full bars on their Wi-Fi then they move throughout the home and the bars drop. The Wireless Access Points may be right near you but the laptop still has one bar? Good Wireless Access Points will tell the next Wireless Access Points to drop your signal and send it to the next Wireless Access Points.

Many of the higher-end Wireless Access Points can be expensive and are only available from re-sellers like CDW.

I will most often give the DIY solution. Having installed Wi-Fi in homes and offices for the past 20 years, my suggestion is to hire a competent IT group if the Wi-Fi hasn’t been successful for you.

Most homes have the Wi-Fi in the basements. It may not look pretty but Cablevision and Verizon will move the modem to the middle floors. That may help in a pinch.

I predict that cable companies will be following DIRECTV Genre’s lead with “Wire-free” Cable.

Shneur Garb is the owner of The Garb IT Consulting Group in Teaneck. Ask your tech questions at [email protected].

By Shneur Garb