Wi-Fi router FAQs: Everything you need to know before upgrading your home network

In many ways, Wi-Fi routers are the backbone of our digital lives. We need them to work quietly and tirelessly in the background, delivering speed, reliability, and hassle-free operation 24/7, for our smartphones, laptops and desktops. That might seem like a tall order, but with modern routers and mesh networks, it’s not.

There is, however, a bit of a learning curve before you start, but once you grasp the basics and invest appropriately, a good Wi-Fi router can serve you for years. Here’s what you need to know:

Q. What’s the difference between single-band, dual-band, and tri-band routers?

Wi-Fi routers use radio waves to transmit and receive data. However, a router can’t use all available radio frequencies and instead uses certain groups of radio frequencies in a similar frequency range. These are called bands. The most common bands are 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and some specialised routers might use other bands.

What you need to know about these bands is that lower frequencies have the best range and penetration power – they can pass through more walls – while the opposite is true for higher frequency bands.

ALSO READ: What is a router? 

The 2.4GHz band is thus a slower band that, today, is commonly used for connecting smart devices like smart bulbs, smart switches, printers, and more to your network. The faster 5GHz band is generally used by devices that need a lot of data. This includes smartphones, laptops, TVs, tablets, and more. Your devices can usually connect to either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band, but 5GHz is preferred when you need speed.

Single-band routers tend to cover only the 2.4GHz band. Dual-band routers tend to cover the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band and are the most common and recommended options for home use.

Tri-band routers are generally found in mesh networks. Here the router provides a 2.4GHz and 5GHz band for us to use, but also keeps aside an additional 5GHz band for communicating with other routers.

Q. What is Wi-Fi congestion, and what can I do about it?

The bands a Wi-Fi router uses for communicating with various devices is divided into smaller blocks called channels. Each device communicates on its own channel to avoid interfering with other devices on the same network. There are a finite number of channels available so only a finite number of devices can be served at one time.

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This is normally not a problem as the number of supported devices is large and only one router is managing the communications. However, when multiple routers are involved, these routers can sometimes allocate the same channel to different devices, causing interference by transmitting multiple sets of data on the same channel. This bogs down the network till channels can be properly reallocated. This is network congestion.

Most routers are smart enough to detect network congestion automatically and deal with it, but we’d recommend getting a dual band router, so more channels are available to ease congestion. Think of it as adding more lanes to a highway to improve traffic flow.

Q. What is a mesh router, and do I need one?

A mesh router system is a wireless network where multiple routers work together to act as one, large network rather than as multiple smaller networks. This system is very useful in larger houses or offices where you want Wi-Fi coverage everywhere. Wi-Fi repeaters work in a similar fashion but tend to be less reliable than a mesh network.

When buying a mesh router system, remember that routers are best set up within line-of-sight of each other for maximum coverage. Wireless signals travel through walls but are severely attenuated, reducing speed and signal strength. Additionally, look for a triband mesh system as that will offer you the best speed and bandwidth.

ALSO READ: What’s the difference between a Wi-Fi booster, repeater or an extender 

If you have any more questions about Wi-Fi routers and wireless networking in general, please feel free to reach out to us on social media.