This post was originally published in 2018

WiFi is a funny thing

Not funny HaHa

More like funny What the Hell!

Remember these two important rules when dealing with Wifi

1. Your mileage may vary
2. Everything interferes with WiFi

On the Everything list:

• Walls
• Windows
• Doors
• Microwave ovens
• Cordless phones
• Big Screen TVs
• Other WiFi networks (your neighbors)
• The phase of the moon
• Your attitude
• The cat
• Barometric pressure

Most of us assume WiFi just goes right through walls, windows and floors without obstruction.  A more realistic view of WiFi is to visualize your space with all the walls covered in mirrors and you’re trying to bounce a laser through it. Something like this:

Note the placement of the two Range Extenders or Repeaters in the example below. Without actually testing the results you don’t know for sure, but this would be a good starting point. You may well need one in the conference room as well. The solid lines assume all doors are open and the signal is free to bounce from wall to wall. The dashed lines show the lower quality signal as it goes through the walls.  As you can see, some areas get less signal than others as a result. I’ve had homes where I could not get a WiFi signal out of the room with the router.  Literally.  I don’t know what was in the walls, but whatever it was, it effectively created a Faraday Cage. (Google it) So, if you want signal everywhere, sometimes you need range extenders.  Or in today’s terminology, a MESH network. So what’s the difference between using a range extender or Mesh.  Basically it’s this.  With range extenders, each extender creates another WiFi signal with a different SSID.  So you could have 2, 3 or 4 different WiFi networks in your space to connect to.  That’s messy and creates interference (see list above). For instance: In the Harris household the router is configured to be HarrisWiFi and that’s what your laptop connect to.  The range extender shows HarrisWiFi-EXT and you have to connect to that when you’re out of range of the main signal. With Mesh, each mesh device mimics your original network SSID, so you only see one WiFi network in your area and if you connect to it, the mesh keeps you connected as you travel from room to room.  So in the example above, now you connect to HarrisWiFi at any point in the house.  Much simpler. All this is not as simple as I have just made it out to be. As I said above, everything interferes with WiFi.  The signal weakens with every wall, door or window the signal passes through. Most people think a range extender works by putting it in the room where they can’t get any signal. Nope. A range extender works in a room where it’s still got fairly decent signal.  It can only re-transmit what it has to work with.  So if it starts with a weak signal…  That’s what it sends out.  You didn’t solve your problem, you just made it a more expensive problem. Therefore, the first range extender goes at the edge of still acceptable signal.  The second goes at the edge of good signal from the first and so on. The same goes for MESH.  but then you only have one SSID to connect to.  And that causes a lot less interference – and makes it easier for your devices to remain connected. All the years I’ve been installing home and small business networks and WiFi, I’ve found one brand to be the most reliable and that is ASUS.  That’s what I personally use and what I install.  Exclusively. ASUS does not compensate me for this.  They should.  But they don’t. Go to the Deals link on any page for the devices I like and use. If all of this makes you just wring your hands in dismay, contact us for a solution If you’re local to Dallas, Texas we can come to you – or We can remote in to anyplace in the world. (not for WiFi upgrades of course)

DFW Computer Integration 4851 Keller Springs Rd Suite 216 Addison, TX 75001 recover@dfwci.com

WiFi is a Blessing

And a Curse

Sometimes Both

I originally published this blog back in 2003.  I recently updated it because I am finding more people running into WiFi consistency or coverage issues.  With the proliferation of Smartphones and tablets – and Smart TVs, nearly everyone is dependent on WiFi on a 24/7 basis in today’s world.  But WiFi is a very imperfect technology.  Therefore, my thoughts on this topic based on decades of case studies: When choosing a networking design for home or office, at this point in time there are two basic alternatives: Hard-wired Category5 (Cat5) wiring or wireless (aka Wi-FI) 802.11(x) (a, b, g, n, etc…) systems. The two choices offer trade-offs as with all decisions in life. The wired option means the greatest speed and reliability. 100BaseT and Gigabit Cat5 wiring will give you speeds far in excess of wireless, but you may find it impossible or unsightly to retrofit some buildings with Cat5 wiring. Wireless, on the other hand. Requires no wiring – and is therefore easier to implement. You may find, however, wireless pitfalls you were unaware of. How about speed? 100BaseT Cat5 wiring, while theoretically capable of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps), typically provides around 25Mbps sustained data transfer. Gigabit networks (1000 BaseT), theoretically 10x the speed of 100BaseT are still limited by the throughput of your computer / phone / tablet, which in most best-case scenarios is 900 MBps (mega BYTES per second – 8x Mbps) best case scenario. Many older systems are far slower. The speed factor loses importance if you are only sharing Internet access, as for instance the lowly DSL speed was a paltry 3Mbps and even fiber systems like UVerse were  only 50 Mbps in the average installation, as they were limited by phone line speeds.  Spectrum cable and all the other Fiber providers offer Gigabit service at a competitive cost, but for the most part, your WiFi router will be the limiting factor. If you intend to share files and printers over your network, wireless may be too slow for your needs. Wireless networking products operates in both the 2.4GHz  and 5.0GHz frequency ranges. As a result, they are compromised by 2.4GHz cordless phones and numerous other environmental conditions. The 5GHz system circumvents the problem of interference by cordless phones, but it does not penetrate walls as well as 2.4GHz and therefore may not give you the coverage you need. Dual-band (2.4 and 5GHz) components are standard and provide compatibility with legacy 2.4GHz Wi-Fi installations.  2.4GHz is a very crowded space and has far more noise associated with the signal, resulting in data loss and interference.  5GHz was implemented as a solution to these problems.

Things to consider when selecting and installing wireless network components:

1: Antenna Style… Internet Gateways and Routers with external antennae are more reliable than the units that have internal antennae. NICs (Internal and USB) also work better with external antennae, as the wave propagation is superior and the signal has a chance to escape the metal chassis of the computer. The USB interface seems to work the best overall, as it can be placed some distance (2 – 6 feet) from the computer itself, improving wave propagation and allowing you to adjust the location until you have optimum performance. 2: Objects That Interfere With Wireless Signals… Large-screen TVs will interfere with the signal if they are near the line-of-sight path between the gateway and the remote computer. Large masses of metal such as AC ductwork, fireplaces, vents and fire-floors will deplete the wireless signal. Brick walls, likewise interfere with wireless wave propagation. Cell phones and microwave ovens, when in use, can damage the integrity of the wireless signal. 3: Multiple Access Points… Some higher-end systems support ‘repeaters’ or multiple Access Points. By distributing two or three of these throughout your home or office you can get around the signal strength problems that may be caused by either distance or loss due to objects described under item 2 above. Multiple Access Points will not, however solve interference problems caused by 2.4GHz cordless phones. 4: The Cost Factor is pretty much ‘a wash’, as wireless costs more for the hardware, but less to install. Category5 wiring is time-consuming to install, but the materials are inexpensive. 5: Security… Anyone near you (neighbors or someone in a passing car) can access your home network if you use a wireless network without encryption. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Just as there are people who write viruses, ‘key’ cars and TP houses, there are individuals with nothing better to do than cruise neighborhoods with a laptop or tablet computer looking for something to vandalize. 6: Router Location…  Centrally located is preferable.  If your router is at one end of a large house, you won’t have much (if any) signal at the other end.

7: Router Brands…  We ONLY recommend ASUS routers and Cisco switches.  We have very good reasons for recommending these brands.  30 years of experience has yielded a lot of data proving these to be reliable, well-made devices you can rely on.  We do NOT recommend Linksys or Netgear.  We have replaced more of these brands than any other due to various failures over the last 15 or so years.  If you have had a different experience, that’s fine too. Remember… “Your mileage may vary.” Every wireless installation is different. With exactly the same set of components in a different building, entirely different results may occur. Your installation may work perfectly one day and disconnect everyone the next – or randomly disconnect only one or more users. There are no guarantees that any consultant can make regarding wireless networking, as there are too many variables to consider – and the end-user can do things that negatively impact wireless performance. For instance:

• Moving a Wireless Access Point or USB NIC only a few inches may render the system non-functional in some installations.
• Adding a cordless phone – or using one in close proximity to a wireless computer or Access Point can knock all computers off-line.
• Power glitches can lock up the Wireless Access Point on some models and require a reset before wireless operation is restored.

Wireless networking is incredibly convenient – especially if you use a laptop, tablet or smartphone in your home and need it connected to the rest of the world. But will it work? We have installations that work flawlessly. And we have some that are a ‘moving target’, where it works most of the time, but has to be ‘rebooted’ periodically to stabilize. In many situations, the best approach is a combination wired / wireless system. Cat5 wiring is employed where convenient and wireless is added to accommodate those areas or devices where wiring is impractical. As you can see, wireless networking may or may not be your best choice. Wi-Fi may work great in one location and may not even be feasible in another. My recommendation: Do your research beforehand, consult with a professional, knock on wood, rub your rabbit’s foot and keep your fingers crossed.