5 things impacting your business wifi signal

Whether it’s for everyday office use or on-premises wifi, having a fast and reliable broadband connection is crucial for today’s businesses.

But there are many things that can impact the quality of your wifi signal – and create problems during the workday. Here are some of the most common factors affecting business wifi signals.

Distance and location

One of the key things that can disturb your business’s wifi signal is the distance between your router and the connected devices.

Typically, an office worker or a shopper accessing guest wifi will get a poor-quality connection if they’re too far away from the router. It’s something we’ve all experienced at one time or another!

The bigger the distance between the router and the device, the more likely it is that there will also be physical obstacles preventing your wifi signal from performing its best. (We’ll come back to this in a moment.)

As a rule, the shorter the distance from router to device, the stronger the connection.

Other equipment

Placing your business router on top of an electrical or signal-emitting device like a large speaker can also be a bad idea. Routers should be at least 1-2 meters from such devices, preferably as a standalone mounted on the wall or on a table.

Many devices that emit radio frequency signals have the potential to interfere with your wifi connection. These include:

• Microwaves

• Wireless AV equipment like business projectors and laser pointers

• Cordless phones

• Satellite dishes

• Alarm systems

That’s because they all operate on the same 2.4 GHz radio frequency as the older wifi standard. If you’re relying solely on the 2.4 GHz band for your wifi frequency, then expect signal interference when devices like those above are in close proximity.

How your office or business premises is constructed

Some of the physical obstacles that come between your router and connected devices are easy to remove. Others – like the building materials that make up your office or business premises – are trickier.

Generally, different materials will impact wifi signals to different degrees. Your signal will suffer the most if it has to pass through layers of concrete, glass and metal. So you may want to think about where you place your router in relation to any concrete walls or metal doors – and we’d advise against placing it in a glass or metal cabinet!

How many devices are connected

This is a key one for businesses. We’ve previously talked about how many devices today’s businesses need to have connected to broadband at once. Over wifi, a router deals with one device at a time. The user will usually still experience what feels like a seamless, instant connection. But the more devices that are connected, the more you’ll notice the connection quality suffer.

Most routers automatically select a wireless channel for use when a device connects to it. Having many devices on the same wifi channel will slow down the connection, regardless of which router those devices are connected to.

If there are many devices in one building, interference can slow down the wifi as multiple networks and routers compete for use of a single channel. Let’s say your office shares its building with a number of other organisations, or your small retail business is located in a shopping centre. In these instances, you’re likely to experience more interference with a standard wifi router. That means lags and delays that can slow down your processes ­– or frustrate your customers.

Connecting customers and employees on your business premises

Nowadays, many businesses want to stand out by offering fast, free wifi to their customers or visitors. But, as we’ve shown above, traditional wifi router rules dictate that the more devices that are connected, the greater the chance of interference.

To combat any issues, you will want to make sure your business devices and customer devices are not all competing to connect to the same channel – and that connections are managed in a way that eases congestion. This is where having an effective business-grade router becomes really important.

Nokia Hyperhub: the best router for business

Now the good news. Businesses can prevent or greatly reduce most of these factors with the right business router. (That is, as long as you don’t stick it behind the microwave!)

In offices or businesses that offer on-premise wifi to customers (like retail, hospitality, and hair and beauty), it’s crucial that the connection to devices is intelligently managed over the right channel and band. That’s where the new Nokia Hyperhub, exclusive to Hyperoptic in the UK, really delivers.

Band steering for less interference

The Nokia Hyperhub offers two wireless frequencies (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and automatically selects the best option from them whenever a device connects to your wifi. This reduces congestion on the 2.4 GHz channel and encourages use of the less crowded 5 GHz channel. The results are far less interference from other sources, including other signal-emitting equipment in the 2.4 GHz band.

MU-MIMO to keep devices connected

For businesses that have a number of devices connected to broadband at once, The Nokia Hyperhub router also offers MU-MIMO support on its 5 GHz band.

What’s MU-MIMO, you ask? Consider it a wifi go-between. It divides the available bandwidth on your network into streams that all share the connection equally.

The MU-MIMO support on the Nokia Hyperhub means you can have up to 4 simultaneous bandwidth streams running in your business. This enables traffic to be handled seamlessly. Everyone with a MU-MIMO compatible device can access a fast, reliable connection – no matter how many people and devices are connected at once.

Dedicated support from our team

We know all this talk of bands and streams can get a little technical. Our dedicated support team is on hand to help business customers from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week, so you’ll never have to feel overwhelmed.

Installation that works for your business

Some of our competitor ISPs, such as BT, deliver many of their connections on a pre-installed network – meaning you have no say in where your router is positioned. At Hyperoptic, we can work with you to make sure your wifi network socket is installed in a location that suits your business. Your Nokia Hyperhub router will be in the right spot for a reliably strong wifi signal.

The Nokia Hyperhub comes free of charge with all business packages. To learn more about how this router can support your business, discover our business-grade Hyperhub.