Ghosts, the government, aliens – What do these 3 have in common? Well they’re all some of the weird and wonderful things that people believe are affecting their Wi-Fi.
When your Netflix starts to buffer, do you look to the router or feel goosebumps prickle up your arm and a cold shiver run down your spine?
A new study of 2000 British adults has revealed that the most common culprit for dodgy Wi-Fi is thought to be the weather. Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself this weekend at the hands of Storm Dennis. But wind and rain aren’t the only thing that these respondents blamed for their Wi-Fi running slow – Also on the list were ghosts, heavy road traffic, house pets, aliens, the government, bright lights, thick walls and fish tanks.
1 in 10 adults also believed that Wi-Fi speeds were slowed down by someone else being on their phone nearby.
But although some of these sound a bit far-fetched, some absolutely can affect your Wi-Fi if the placement of your router isn’t well thought out.
One of these is water. On the face of it, Wi-Fi and water don’t sound like they’d mix well together. Only 3% of respondents listed water as a contributing factor to Wi-Fi connectivity problems, but it is a very real threat.
Fish tanks, weather and even human beings (remember we’re mostly made up of water!) can adversely affect Wi-Fi.
Perhaps this is also linked to the fact that the bathroom and kitchen seem to be identified as the rooms with the worst internet connection. The best room for signal was found to be the living room.
10% of people had 10 or more devices connected to their home Wi-Fi at any one time, and 13% didn’t realise that having more devices actively connected at the same time could cause slow connectivity.
We all get slow internet from time to time, whatever the reason may be, and we all know how frustrating it is. Maybe you’re trying to binge watch a series, or attempting to catch up on work emails – But how many of you have tried to fix the issue by hitting your router? 1 in 10 people admitted to doing just this! Not something we would particularly recommend.
The study also found that 14% of people switched their router off before going to bed. We’re not sure what the aim of this would be, but it could certainly cause connection problems when it gets switched back on and another item for the ‘not recommended’ list.
Researchers also asked respondents what they thought the term Wi-Fi actually means. Is it short for something? 40% thought it stood for ‘Wireless Frequency’ or was short for ‘Wireless Fidelity’. What would your answer be?
Geeky fact: Wi-Fi doesn’t actually stand for anything and isn’t a shortened version of other words. Pure and simple – It’s just what the inventors named it. There’s one for the pub quiz! You’re welcome.
So whether you’re someone that suspects the government is to blame for your slow connection, expects a BOO when you’re buffering, or even gives your router a good old whack when your Wi-Fi is making you woeful – Just know you’re not alone.
