At home we have PlusNet broadband that should provide up to 36Mbps download speed but in reality ever gives about 25Mbps, which is largely sufficient for our needs (family of four with various laptops, iPhones and other internet-connected devices such as smart plugs, speakers and Fire TV Stick). We have the PlusNet Hub One in a cupboard under the stairs.
However, we are sometimes driven nuts by the iPhones in particular grinding to a halt on WiFi. This seems to happen anywhere in the house and I haven't managed to discern a pattern. In contrast the Fire TV Stick and my work laptop vary rarely seem to suffer from dodgy WiFi.
In looking into this in more detail, I've noted that speeds drop off as I move away from the hub, and in the corners of the house WiFi may even disappear. What has really puzzled me though is that the hub supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz using 802.11ac, but all devices are connected to 2.4GHz, which I guess may be becoming congested. Even when I got my iPhone to connect to 5GHz by resetting the network settings, the next time I checked it had reverted to 2.4GHz. I know this has a longer range, so is it simply that all the devices are ignoring the faster band because the signal is too weak?
So I'm looking for the panel to advise what I can do to improve the situation. I'm considering a WiFi extender upstairs, plugging a new wireless access point into the existing hub, or simply replacing the whole thing (the same device would probably do either of the latter options). Any ideas?
However, we are sometimes driven nuts by the iPhones in particular grinding to a halt on WiFi. This seems to happen anywhere in the house and I haven't managed to discern a pattern. In contrast the Fire TV Stick and my work laptop vary rarely seem to suffer from dodgy WiFi.
In looking into this in more detail, I've noted that speeds drop off as I move away from the hub, and in the corners of the house WiFi may even disappear. What has really puzzled me though is that the hub supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz using 802.11ac, but all devices are connected to 2.4GHz, which I guess may be becoming congested. Even when I got my iPhone to connect to 5GHz by resetting the network settings, the next time I checked it had reverted to 2.4GHz. I know this has a longer range, so is it simply that all the devices are ignoring the faster band because the signal is too weak?
So I'm looking for the panel to advise what I can do to improve the situation. I'm considering a WiFi extender upstairs, plugging a new wireless access point into the existing hub, or simply replacing the whole thing (the same device would probably do either of the latter options). Any ideas?