The ultimate secret to speeding up WiFi is here!

The previous two WeChat articles "Your office WiFi is too slow, it may be interfered by it!" and "What security risks will cause the network speed to suddenly slow down?" shared how to solve WiFi interference, congestion and security issues. Today, we will continue to share practical tips:

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Reasonable configuration of channel width

As mentioned in the previous two WeChat posts, WiFi can use different channel widths. Generally, the larger the channel width, the more data can be sent at a time, and the less signal propagation time is consumed. The 802.11b/g standard only supports the traditional 20MHz channel width, 802.11n adds support for 40MHz, and 802.11ac and 802.11ax add support for 80MHz and 160MHz channel widths.

Given that the 2.4GHz band is narrow, you should retain the traditional 20MHz channel width in that band to support 802.11g. For 5GHz, consider using the automatic channel width setting. While forcing 80MHz or 160MHz channels allows 802.11ac and 802.11ax devices to enjoy faster data rates, this is not a good approach for most networks because it prevents dual-band 802.11n devices from connecting on that band.

Reduce packet size and transmission time

Packet size and transmission time can be reduced for certain traffic, which can help increase speed and reduce the time it takes for signals to propagate. These values ​​can be changed in the advanced wireless/radio settings if they are set up on your AP. While each individual adjustment may only result in a slight improvement in performance, when combined, a significant performance difference can be made.

• If you don't have any 802.11b clients, you can enable Short Preamble Length to shorten the header information of the packet.
• Enabling Short Slot Time can shorten the duration of any retransmissions.
• Short Guard Interval reduces the time required for data packet transmission, which can increase data transmission rates.
• Frame Aggregation allows sending multiple frames in a single transmission, but must be used with caution: it may cause incompatibility issues with Apple products.

Upgrade to WiFi 6 (802.11ax)

Disabling support for older wireless standards can help increase the speed of management traffic and help enable slow devices to connect to better APs. But using older standards can also slow down data rates for all traffic, even for devices using newer standards.

If you have any devices on your network that only support the 802.11b, g, or n (WiFi 4) standards, you may want to consider upgrading to at least dual-band WiFi 5 (802.11ac) or preferably WiFi 6. While it is usually possible to upgrade the internal WiFi of your laptop or desktop, a faster and easier way is to add a USB wireless adapter.

If your AP is older than WiFi 5 and you follow the advice but are still struggling with speed, you may want to upgrade your AP. If you are considering WiFi 6 APs, which may require changes to network components, you should verify the specifications of other network equipment, such as routers, switches, and Power over Ethernet (PoE) infrastructure.

Always remember that signal propagation time is a critical factor on wireless networks. While you may not necessarily want blazingly fast WiFi, you may need shorter signal propagation times and higher speeds to support heavily used networks.

If your network coverage is acceptable, try the methods discussed in this article before adding or changing the location of APs. There may be reasons for unsatisfactory performance that should be addressed, or other ways to improve performance with simple settings changes.

Because of the many variables involved with WiFi, it’s sometimes easy to blame general network issues when they’re actually problems. For example, if wireless speeds are slow, the real problem could be with your Internet connection, or even a misconfiguration like low bandwidth limitations on your AP.

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