Common Wi-Fi Problems in Businesses — and What Causes Them

Wi-Fi complaints in an office almost always come down to the same short list of causes. Recognising which one you have saves a lot of money spent on the wrong equipment.

One access point trying to cover a building

The most common cause by far. A single router at one end of a building cannot cover the other end, however impressive its specification. Wireless coverage is a matter of access point placement, not transmitter power — and the device has to be able to reply, so a strong signal that a laptop cannot answer helps nobody.

Building materials

Concrete, block walls, metal shelving, lift shafts and reflective glass all attenuate wireless signal. A layout that works in an open-plan office fails completely in a partitioned one.

Channel interference

In a busy commercial building, neighbouring networks compete for the same channels. Left on automatic, access points frequently end up stacked on the same crowded channel. Planning channels deliberately often produces an immediate improvement.

Too many devices for the access point

Phones, laptops, printers, cameras and visitors add up quickly. Each access point has a practical client limit, well below the theoretical one.

The problem is not actually wireless

Sometimes the wireless network is fine and the bottleneck is the internet connection, a saturated switch, or a fault in the cabling. It is worth confirming where the problem is before treating the symptom.

The fix

Survey the coverage, place access points from the building layout, cable them properly with PoE, plan the channels, and separate guest traffic from business traffic. That combination resolves the great majority of office Wi-Fi complaints — without a single new router.