Whatever platform you use, you’ll want to optimize Wi-Fi performance when you work from home, as it’s hard to stay productive when your network crawls.

Never ignore the basics:

Changing your Wi-Fi password will knock all your devices (including those you've forgotten about) off the network; this is a good thing, as you can reintroduce them as and when you need them.

If you notice that network performance degrades when you add a particular item, it may be  generating network interference. Try switching that item off or removing it from your network: If your network performance then visibly improves, it's likely the culprit and should be updated or replaced.

While it is a bit of a drag to change your password as you need to re-enter it on everything, it’s a good way to audit what devices you already have on Wi-Fi. It’s also a good way to kick off anyone unauthorized who may have been secretly using your network. 

The old engineering maxim of “Switch it off and switch it on again” applies to everything in tech. So if your connection drops, you’ll often find you can fix it by simply restarting your router (and disconnecting it from power) for a minute or two.

Another tip that sometimes (but not always) helps is to make your hardware "forget" the network, and then set it all up again. Do take a note of your Wi-Fi password first.

To forget a network on iOS

This isn’t a magic bullet, but in my experience sometimes deliver results.

If you use a Mac, you have a useful but hidden Wireless Diagnostics tool that provides deep insights into wireless performance.

We’re not going to explore everything it doeshere. We’re just going to use it to get a little information that should help optimize your wireless network.

The test will take a few minutes and once it is complete you’ll need to generate a report, which takes a few moments longer. This perseverance will eventually be worthwhile as you will be rewarded with a Summary of recommendations that may help improve your network. Typically these include tips on Wi-Fi best practises and a warning that you are using a crowded Wi-Fi channel. Take  note of the advice. 

We used Wireless Diagnostics to get recommendations for Wi-Fi. You can also use it to inform you about which channels you should use. Launch it as before, and then follow these steps:

The Scan window provides a host of information pertaining to all your local wireless networks. Look to the Summary pane for two useful data points: Best 2.4GHz and Best 5GHz. The numbers refer to the least congested channels you should set your router to use. "Best 2.4GHz" 6 means that’s the best channel to use.

If you’re using AirPort (and many people still do), you’ll open AirPort Utility, navigate to your router and tap the Edit window where you should tap Wireless Options. Now you’ll be able to set your channels for your 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks to those recommended in Wireless Diagnostics.

If you’re using another router, you’ll need to refer to the instructions provided with it, specifically around setting channels.Your router may ship with its own home networking app, such as NETGEAR Genie, TP-Link Tether, or Xfinity xFi which provides similar information and can transact many of these tasks.

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