Whether you’re streaming on Netflix, working remotely, gaming, or chatting with your family over Zoom, you need a reliable broadband connection. Most of our lives are now digitised, but without a broadband connection, life as you know it screeches to a halt.
You’re likely already paying for high-speed broadband, which is typically in the 25 Mbps range. But most high-speed broadband packages still might not meet your family’s needs, especially if you’re streaming on several devices across multiple rooms at the same time. Since every person in your household is likely using a great deal of bandwidth on their devices, your home broadband connection is under a lot of strain.
Even though you’re paying for quality broadband, in reality, you could still experience slowdowns, lags, and Wi-Fi gaps in your home. Since broadband speed determines what you can do online, you definitely need not only a high-speed plan but the proper infrastructure to stay connected.
Curious about why your Wi-Fi is still so slow? Learn about the 3 most common reasons your internet is slow and how Utility Warehouse’s Whole Home Wi-Fi and Amazon eero 6 setup can give you blazing-fast internet.
3 reasons your Wi-Fi is slow
Yes, a low bandwidth connection can hurt your internet speeds, but chances are, something else is causing slow Wi-Fi in your home. It’s not unusual for a family of four to need a 200 Mbps connection to stay online without downtime, but 3 other issues could be to blame.
1. Dead spots
Did you know that your home environment plays a big role in connectivity? Because you have to set up your router in one area of the home, there’s a good chance that it will be too far away from the more remote corners of your home or apartment. In practice, that means you’ll encounter dead spots throughout your home where you can’t connect to the internet.
You can try fixing dead spots by identifying them and adjusting your router placement. You can find dead spots by walking through your home with your smartphone and monitoring the Wi-Fi signal strength as you go from room to room. From there, try to put the router near the center of your home somewhere high up so you can reach those dead spots. You can always install a router bracket on the wall or ceiling to improve your connectivity.
The downside is that you might still experience dead spots in your home even after you move your router, especially if you live in a large home.
2. Your behavior and usage
Sometimes your setup isn’t to blame at all. If a family of four is streaming two devices per person in three different rooms, it puts a tremendous strain on the network. If you’re pushing the network to its limits this frequently, it’s going to slow everything down. You can try setting bandwidth limits on certain applications (Netflix) or devices (your child’s smartphone) to speed things up.
Keep in mind that your devices can also play a role. If your laptop has an undetected virus that slows down your browser, it might feel like your Wi-Fi is to blame. In reality, removing the virus and locking down your network can speed up your connection.
3. Router issues
Aside from worrying about your router’s location and the dead spots it creates, you should also double-check your router for other issues. That means adjusting features like:
- The channel: Is your router using the correct channel? There are different channels to choose from, so you want to make sure you’re using the fastest channel possible. This is different for every setup, so try to find the proper channel for your router.
- Updates: When was the last time you updated your router? A quick firmware update can both speed up and secure your network. The downside is that, if the router manufacturer no longer provides support for that router, you might need to buy new equipment.
- Bandwidth settings: Adjust your Quality of Service settings on your router to determine how much bandwidth certain applications can use. If your kids are guilty of gobbling up bandwidth by streaming YouTube nonstop, this could help with your internet speeds.
When in doubt, give your router a “budget reboot:” turn it off for 30 seconds and then turn it back on again. This can sometimes remedy issues with connectivity and speed.
How eero 6 works
While there are some fixes for these 3 common Wi-Fi issues, you’ll likely still experience lags in performance. This isn’t because there’s something wrong with your Wi-Fi: it’s because Wi-Fi with a single router wasn’t designed for modern internet usage. That means a single-router system will always be inherently slower.
Fortunately, you can overcome the headaches that come with dead spots, bandwidth, and router issues with a mesh network like eero 6.
eero 6 is different than a typical Wi-FiWi-Fi network because it doesn’t have a central access point, like a router. Instead, eero 6 places 2 – 3 devices around your home. This creates a blanket of coverage across your home. As you add more devices, you can increase the size of the coverage area and the reliability of your connection within that area.
Your typical router uses a “hub and spoke” setup, but this just slows down your network. eero 6 communicates between multiple devices to intelligently route traffic to the most efficient pathways, giving everyone in your home the reliable connection they need.
eero 6 uses TrueMesh technology on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands. This means your internet traffic has more paths to flow. Even if there’s interference in your home, there’s a much better chance that the mesh network will give you better performance than a hub and spoke system.
If you’re in a small apartment, just one eero 6 device has the power to cover 140 square metres. If you live in a home that’s 465 square metres or less, the eero 6 three-pack will give you reliable speeds of up to 500 Mbps. Plus, eero 6 is able to support over 75 devices at once, which is perfect for keeping your family online without any hiccups with connectivity.
The benefits of upgrading to eero 6
Most homes use a hub and spoke model for the internet, but in an age where your family is streaming almost constantly, it’s time for something more powerful. Switching to a mesh network like eero 6 with Utility Warehouse will give your family the benefit of a faster, more reliable connection that makes life easier.
1. Unprecedented speed and reliability
Enjoy better Wi-Fi coverage and faster speeds—no matter where you are in your home. Utility Warehouse’s Whole Home Wi-Fi with eero 6 means you don’t have to worry about buffering or dropoffs, even if your entire family is online.
A mesh network is particularly convenient if your home has more than 3 rooms and everyone in your household likes to be online at the same time. With eero 6, you can roam within your home without worrying about dead spots. Thanks to the strong, stable signals from your network, every device in your home can use the best, most reliable broadband connectivity possible.
Plus, a mesh network like eero 6 means you can connect more devices to your network without slowing everyone down.
2. Smart home integration
Are you already using Amazon Alexa-enabled devices? If so, you don’t need to buy an additional smart home hub for your house: eero 6 is an Amazon-owned brand, which means it can act as a hub for any device that connects to Alexa.
eero 6 comes with a built-in Zigbee Smart Home Hub. Whether you’re using smart lighting, speakers, doorbells, locks, cameras, vacuums, or plugs, your eero 6 network provides a reliable, strong connection to all smart devices.
3. Security and control
Cyber attacks put your family’s security at risk. Since attacks are up 27%, it’s never been more important to lock down your network. Fortunately, eero 6 is designed with safety in mind.
Instead of manually updating the system yourself, eero 6 automatically installs all security patches and updates so you can rest assured that you’re always up to date.
eero 6 also provides an additional layer of security by offering advanced parental controls. You have total control over the websites and content your family accesses on the internet, complete with ad blocking.
4. Simple setup
Sick of spending hours setting up your Wi-Fi? A mesh network might sound more complicated, but it’s very simple to set up; in fact, you don’t even need an expert to install your eero 6. It’s no wonder that the system won PC Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award!
Just plug in your eero 6 devices, download the app, and surf the web. Its easy setup means there’s no technical confusion and just about anyone can get online in a few minutes. If you ever do have issues, eero 6 offers free support and a 1-year warranty on its hardware.
Speed up your home Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi performance isn’t always the cause of a bad broadband connection or slow speeds. Double-check your existing network for dead spots, problematic usage patterns, and router problems to speed things up.
But ultimately, outdated routers that rely on one centralized connection point can’t keep up with the demands of modern life. Blend Utility Warehouse’s high-speed broadband packages with the eero 6 mesh network to enjoy the fastest speeds possible. Get your Whole Home Wi-Fi solution now.
About Utility Warehouse
UW is the UK’s only genuine multiservice provider – a FTSE 250 company that goes above and beyond to protect both the environment and its customers. Whether you need energy, broadband, landline and mobile services, home insurance, or boiler care, UW can bring all of the utility services you require into one simple bundle to help you save time and money.
Learn more about UW.
