How to find the best WiFi for working from home
Now many of us are working from home, either a few times a week or permanently, it’s obvious that you need your internet service to work and to work well!
We’re no longer just using our laptops for watching Netflix, we need video calls, home school Zoom sessions, and much more.
So how can you make sure there’s no added stress from getting and staying online? It’s important to find the best internet connection for your home and these are some tips on how to achieve this.
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What’s your current Internet speed?
Firstly, find out what your speed is at the moment, this can be quickly confirmed by using a Speedcheck service.
An average speed is 12 to 25 Mbps however, this depends on how close you are working to your router. Ours regularly moves between 8-11Mbps and it’s not enough for two home workers and homeschooling.
As you can see, choosing WiFi with great speeds for working from home makes a difference and we all have different internet speed requirements.
We are planning to move our service to something more advanced now we know that working from home will be a long-term plan.
Many of the household name providers offer speeds of up to 73Mbps, you obviously pay more for each speed bracket you choose but it could be worth the extra fee to make sure you can always attend that important client video call.
Best wireless router for working from home
If you’re still using the old router given by your internet service provider it might be worth upgrading.
WiFi routers are much more powerful now and the newer models can let you work without interruption or crashing at certain parts of the day where there is heavy usage.
The best router for a home office would a WiFi 6. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s the next stage of WiFi technology and the benefits are clear to see. Stable connections, faster speeds, ability to handle more people using the network at the same time. If you decide to invest in a new router this is the standard to opt for.
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Do you need an Extender or Booster?
An extender or booster are really the same thing. Whether you need one or not depends on where you are working within your home. If you are far from your router, these can be useful. If you get a patchy or slow signal or if you are working on a different floor from the rooter an extender can help.
They work by amplifying the current signal further around your home. They don’t slow down your internet service or make it faster or bigger in any way. It’s your current signal strength just spread across a greater area.
Our rooter is on the ground floor and the office is in the loft! So we have one of these halfway through the house and it works well.
So what is a good WiFi signal booster device? There’s a great guide to finding one here.
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Is it secure?
It’s very easy to get connected for working from home but not check your security settings. Both you and your employer should take this area very seriously.
When you set up your internet and receive your router from your provider, go through the instructions:
Change the name and default WiFi password.
Turn off the ability to broadcast your network name.
Keep the software up to date as this will include any fixes for issues the provider has found.
Make sure you have a firewall and that it’s switched on. Easy to miss!
Use VPN to access your network and don’t accept cookies!
Go through these steps and you should have a calm and connected home working environment! I’m sure this is everyone’s goal after the problematic year we’ve had juggling so much.
It can be a real joy having the balance of working from home so get the tech right and you will find your home office a great alternative to commuting.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.