It’s sooooo slooooow! Once again I am back on this very common topic and this time the “it” is Wi-Fi connections, again.
No matter how fast and well-tuned someone’s computer might be, no matter how fast their internet connection is, often the local Wi-Fi in the house is the culprit when I hear the complaint: “It’s so slow.”
Let us start by you clicking on your Wi-Fi icon; in both OS-X and Windows this icon should be found in close proximity to the clock. When you click on this icon you will see a list of available access points. If you see the name of your modem and it has a good strong signal then that is good. If in addition to your name you see others such as Suzie, Infinitum68, Hilton, Rodney, Arris5213, Linksys, HPLaser and so on, that means you have neighbors who have their own Wi-Fi access points. If you have neighbors using their own Wi-Fi then you might have a problem.
The way WiFi works is that it uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) technology that works like an old telephone party line… and about as efficiently. Everybody in your neighborhood using wireless has to share the same radio frequencies; so just like the old party line everyone is listening for a quiet period and when the line is quiet for a second they will try to say something. Often two or more people start talking at the same time and that is called a collision, so everybody stops and they try again. This eventually works out, in most cases, but it can take longer to have a conversation.
The situation with your laptops, your tablets, and your other wireless connected devices is the same. Your devices share the same limited radio resources with your neighbor’s computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. When too many of these devices are connected to the party line there can be thousands of collisions every minute causing your device to stop, wait a few milliseconds for the frequency to clear, and try connecting again. Eventually, one device will rebroadcast before the other, and will get through. When there are a lot of devices using Wi-Fi they all spend much more time waiting their turn so they do not collide with another. The system is not very efficient, but we have no real choice with the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure because there are only a predetermined number of radio frequencies available. That cannot be changed without first replacing every modem, laptop, tablet and smart phone on earth. Obviously that is not an option!
The only practical solutions for fixing this problem are to connect your laptop using a cable where possible, or add more Wi-Fi access points to your home network. Few of us can afford what we Information Technology people call the “Zuckerberg Approach.” Facebook’s billionaire founder spent US$30 million unfriending the owners of four homes surrounding his Palo Alto mansion by purchasing the properties. Now he has more privacy and better Wi-Fi coverage.
Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with more than 20 years IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted through his web site at SMAguru.com.