Wifi issues can cause serious damage to businesses, especially when they are too small to withstand the (significant) financial cost that such issues entail. It’s been estimated that businesses can lose £4025 per minute or £215,000 per hour on average during wifi downtime, costs which can be fatal for the organisation affected. To avoid the significant costs caused by downtime, here are our 10 top tips to prevent Wifi issues:
- Control which devices use Wifi
The number of devices connected to your Wifi can decrease speed and efficiency, causing your business to run at a slower rate. To avoid this, consider connecting desk phones and computers directly via Ethernet cable so that the load on your Wifi is less.
- Increase bandwidth
Increasing your network bandwidth is a quick solution to Wifi speed and efficiency. If you consider your bandwidth to be like a single-lane motorway, increasing the number of lanes will allow for traffic to flow faster and with more ease. The same goes for your bandwidth! If your business has multiple devices connected to your Wifi, then increasing your bandwidth is a key step in increasing your speed.
- Secure your network
You may not realise, but having a secure network often goes hand in hand with a faster, more reliable one. Networks that are secured with password protection, for example, are less likely to be slowed down by individuals looking to exploit network security flaws or, more obviously, are able to limit the amount of users on their network at any one time.
- Separate employee and customer shared access points
Sharing Wifi between customers and employees puts your data at risk and can pose larger risks to your company as a whole. Ideally, a business’s network should have two separate access points; one ultra-secure access point for employees, and another (still secure!) access points for guests.
- Upgrade to a better Wifi system/newer hardware
Sometimes, it can simply be the case that your Wifi solutions are no longer suitable for the needs of your business. Either due to the age of your hardware/software or to the changing needs of your organisation (especially when it comes to SMEs), checking whether your current network solutions meet your needs can be an easy fix to your Wifi issues.
- Check that your access points don’t interfere with each other
One of the largest problems that networks can experience are often caused by the networks themselves. If a network is configured incorrectly AP (Access Point) signals can interfere with each other, while if configuration leaves insufficient overlaps between AP cells, you’ll experience blind spots in your network coverage. Often, labelling the location of your access points can prevent having to try and find where they are located if you ever need to move or adjust them, and are useful if only one person is aware of where they are located.
- Avoid areas of interference
In addition to network interferences other, physical sources of interference can affect your connectivity. Items from building materials to other electronical devices can cause interference, so it’s worth surveying what could be causing your problems.
- Invest in backup connections
The most reliable (and arguably most important) way of protecting your business from an internet outage is to invest in an automatic backup connection in the case of network failure. Having backup connections – and even backups for your backups – can be the difference between a scare or a disaster, so it’s very worth investing in.
- Analyse your Wifi coverage with a Wifi survey
A wireless survey plans and designs the wireless network for a specific are i.e., a business, and aims to provide a solution which increased coverage, data rates, roaming capabilities, and service quality. Surveys allow you to consider all possible areas of interference, optimal AP placements, power considerations and wiring necessities you may require.
- Consider a mobile-ready voice solution
Reliable communication is a crucial aspect for any business, and so having a mobile-ready solution will help you maintain dialogue with your employees and customers, even when the internet and desk phones are unavailable. While personal phones can provide this stop gap, in the interest of data security, it’s worth considering standardised company procedure and alternative in this situation.
If this has raised any questions as to your network connection and how you might improve it, you can speak to a member of our team and contact us here. If you’re still not sure? Why not read more advice, tips, and tricks on the Corona IT blog.
