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How Can I Test My Broadband Speed?

Are you paying for 70Mbps but only getting 1Mbps? If you’ve checked your router and everything seems in order there, then you might want to be reliably checking your broadband speed as well as your Wi-Fi. 

When you obtain broadband from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), they are responsible for getting their broadband service to your home as far as the router. That’s where their responsibility ends. After that, your Wi-Fi is up to you. 

A speed checker won’t check the speed of your Wi-Fi inside your home, but rather the broadband speed that is delivered to your premises before going through your router. 

It’s worth remembering that you will often be offered broadband speeds of ‘up to’ a certain Mbps – That means that roughly 10% of customers will get that speed, but many more will get lower. 

What is broadband speed affected by? 

There are lots of factors that affect broadband speed. 

  • The distance the property is from the exchange
  • The wiring (quality, number of joints)
  • Router quality
  • Time of day broadband is being used (How many people are vying for bandwidth at the same time)

When you are measuring broadband speed, it can also be affected by the router and the computer being used to test. 

The best way to get an accurate measure of your broadband speed is by connecting a device to the router using an Ethernet cable. Internet connections via Ethernet cable are faster and more reliable than Wi-Fi, so will give you a more reliable measure of broadband speed. 

To test your broadband speed, turn off the Wi-Fi on your device and then plug it directly into the router using an Ethernet cable. 

Remember that your ISP can’t do anything about your internet speed from your router onwards. By measuring the speed through an Ethernet cable, you can see how fast it’s coming in at. You are likely to measure a much lower speed using a device on the Wi-Fi. If the speed you measure via Ethernet cable is close to your Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) speed, then you’re doing alright. But you can’t expect to get the same speeds on a device using the Wi-Fi like your tablet or phone. 

How can I test my own broadband speed?

There are two types of speed tests you can do – Casual and Serious. 

How to Do a Casual Broadband Speed Test

Go to any broadband speed checker on your browser – You can find them on Google. You can run the test directly through your browser. 

How to Do a Serious Broadband Speed Test

This one is a bit more involved. 

  1. Turn off your PC / laptops Wi-Fi connection 
  2. Connect the PC / laptop to the router using an Ethernet cable
  3. Turn off any other devices that are using the internet connection (e.g. TV’s, smartphones etc
  4. Restart your router
  5. Restart your PC / laptop and keep any unnecessary programmes closed down (that includes anti-virus software)
  6. Open a clean browser window and go to your chosen broadband speed tester

What results should I be getting? 

To check if the results seem reliable, you can use different browsers and see if there is a difference, for example, between Edge and Chrome. If you are getting approximately the following speeds on the below connections, then you don’t have any major problems.

ADSL connection – 7Mbps

ADSL2 connection – 12-16Mbps

FTTC connection – 30Mbps

Cable connection – 50Mbps

Mobile broadband connection – 20Mbps 

Remember that the results can vary and can be affected by:

  • The server
  • The local exchange
  • The internet itself
  • And more! 

It may also be worth testing the speed at varying times of day and see what you find. 

How do I know which broadband speed checker to use?

For the best results, you should use a local service with the lowest latency or ‘ping’ rate. 

According to the Guardian, the three best speed checkers were:

I’ve tested my broadband speed and it looks fine – So why am I having issues? 

Maybe you’ve got a Wi-Fi problem rather than a broadband speed problem. 

If your device works better when it’s closer to the router, then perhaps the problem is the signal strength, and getting that signal to where you are wanting to use your device most. 

If your Wi-Fi is just slow in general, it could be that your router is the problem. If your ISP won’t upgrade the one you currently have, then maybe you could replace it with an alternative and upgrade it? 

The problem could even be your device itself! See if a friend or family member has a different / newer device that you could test on your Wi-Fi and see if you encounter the same problems. 

Who can help with broadband speed tests and Wi-Fi issues?

If all of the above feels a bit confusing or if you’ve carried out the test but don’t understand the results then don’t panic! Here at Geekabit, our Wi-Fi experts are currently developing our own best-in-class solution for supporting people who wish to record and verify their internet speeds. Coming soon!

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Law Passed to Give Everyone Right to Fast Internet in Germany 

In April 2021, all German citizens were promised the right to fast internet for the first time ever via a new law passed by the Bundestag. 

Whilst that sounds great in theory, what does that actually mean in practise? Giving everyone the legal right to fast internet sounds like a blanket statement, but in reality it will likely affect people differently rather than a universal thing. 

Does everyone in Germany have fast internet? 

Germans have been used to slow internet with pages taking a long time to load and unreliable connections. This promise of faster internet for all should have brought a quicker connection to the people of Germany this summer just passed, with the law forcing an improvement in upload speeds, download speeds and latency. 

Prior to this, internet users in Germany were entitled to functional internet access – At a speed of 0.056 mbps. The recent law aimed to significantly increase this minimum speed.

Who will benefit the most from this law change? 

To ascertain how much the speed needed to increase, the average download and upload speeds plus latency were calculated. 

The highest 20% of internet speeds were not included in the calculation as much of the German population already enjoyed faster internet speeds. The lower 80% had slower connections and would benefit more from the law change. 

With this in mind, those who lived in rural areas were more likely to be positively affected by the law change, as many of the more major cities in Germany already had fast internet available to them. 

For people who were struggling with an unreliable, slow connection (particularly those in rural areas who notoriously grapple with bad internet connections), a commission to a new provider with relocated broadband access would be investigated. 

But even with the law change, will the minimum internet speed be enough? 

Faster internet speeds – What about the UK? 

In UK law, it is the legal right for every home and business to request a decent, affordable broadband connection. 

‘Decent’ is defined as meeting the internet needs of an average family. It has been deemed by previous Ofcom research that a speed of 10mbps (download) is enough to meet these needs, enabling multiple family members to be online at the same time. 

Affordability is based on paying no more than £48.50 per month for broadband. Many people pay much less than this for their internet connection per month. 

The UK saw the government ensure that everyone in the UK had access to broadband speeds of at least 10Mbps by 2020. This universal high speed internet is delivered by a regulatory body as a Universal Service Obligation. 

Post pandemic there has been a huge upsurge in working from home, and people needing strong, reliable, fast internet for business operations at their kitchen table. Think Zoom calls, Teams collaborations, Slack messages and data transfers. That’s a lot more internet traffic than our home networks are used to.

It’s also worth mentioning that in 2022, the average internet download speed is 79.1Mbps. That is significantly faster than the 10Mbps deemed fast enough for the average family home. So whilst the legally mandated minimum is 10Mbps here in the UK, the current average internet speed indicates that this probably needs to be much, much higher. Especially as the European Union has plans for universal broadband of 100Mbps by 2025. 

The increase of those working from home also means that the importance of good upload speeds has also increased. Think remote designers needing to download, edit and upload large files, or group video conference calls. 

In essence, the majority of households need a strong, fast and reliable internet connection in order to work and play from their homes. The current USO doesn’t meet the average speed of internet use across the UK. 

The way we use the internet has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, and we need UK law to reflect this. The pandemic showed the volume of data double almost overnight. 

Our home broadband networks need to reflect the increased prevalence of remote working. This need for fast internet on a reliable connection needs to be written in law, and the USO minimum speed increased.

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How Can I Keep My Home Office Wi-Fi Secure?

A couple of years ago, the most you did with your Wi-Fi might have been a Netflix binge, a bit of online shopping and perhaps some gaming. But now, a big percentage of the workforce are working from at least part of the time. 

With the pandemic brought the rise of hybrid working and all of a sudden, people needed strong, reliable Wi-Fi at home so they could continue to work throughout lockdowns. But what about security? 

Just as you wouldn’t want your card details stolen online, your boss probably doesn’t want confidential information at risk on your home network. They won’t want their devices flooded with spyware and malware either! 

So what can you do to keep your home Wi-Fi network secure so you can continue working from home? 

Here are some top tips to help keep those hackers, scammers and cybercriminals at bay, and protect your network and all the devices connected to it. 

How to keep your home Wi-Fi network secure

1. Re-name your home Wi-Fi network

Your wireless router will automatically broadcast your default SSID (service set identifier) in  the list of available wireless networks close by. It is usually listed by the manufacturer or service provider’s name e.g. Sky. This gives hackers a headstart when it comes to breaking into your network, so it’s always a good idea to re-name it. Make sure you choose a name that doesn’t give away any personal info, such as your surname or house number. 

2. Choose a strong, unique password for your wireless network 

Did you know that hackers can make educated guesses when it comes to default passwords, especially if they know the name of the manufacturer of your router? Scary right. Make sure you change the default password to something strong and less easy to guess. You want it to be at least 20 characters long, and include letters, numbers and symbols. The more difficult you make the password, the trickier it is for hackers to get into your network. 

3. Enable network encryption

Most routers come with a feature called encryption, but they tend to come with this turned off. You can help to secure your home WI-Fi network by turning this feature on in settings. You should turn this on as soon as your router has been installed by your broadband provider. The most recent and effective encryption currently available is ‘WPA2’. 

4. Don’t broadcast your network name – Turn this feature off 

We touched on this above when we talked about changing the default name. You can go a step further and not broadcast your wireless network publicly at all. When a person looks up available local networks on their device, your network won’t be visible if you disable name broadcasting. This means that your Wi-Fi is invisible to anyone who doesn’t know how to go looking for it. There’s not many reasons why you would need to publicly display your home wireless network, unless you want to be sharing it with your friends and neighbours! 

5. Keep up with the latest software updates

As with any firmware, software can have vulnerabilities. Thankfully, these are usually swiftly rectified and shared via updates by the manufacturer. By staying up to date with software for your router you can make sure that it has the highest level of security. Hence helping to prevent hackers getting access to your home Wi-Fi network. 

6. How good is your firewall?

If you want to protect your computer or other device from malware, viruses and other cyber attacks then you need a firewall. You’ll find that most wireless routers come with a firewall built in – But do make sure that this function isn’t turned off. No firewall on your router? You’ll want to make sure that you download a decent firewall onto your system to act as a guard to anyone attempting to access your wireless network with ill intent. 

7. Use VPNs to access your network

A virtual private network is a really effective way of keeping your online communications private and secure. You can use your devices on your home Wi-Fi network and connect to a VPN which then checks your credentials and links with another server. Once both sides are authenticated, all your internet communication becomes encrypted – Which means no outside prying eyes can see or access what you’re up to. 

How secure is your home Wi-Fi network? 

It is so important to keep your home wireless network secure – Perhaps now more than every before with the amount of employees working from home. 

You should know exactly how secure your home Wi-Fi network is, and the steps you can take to ensure it is as secure as you can possibly make it. 

You should be aware of all the devices that connect to your home network and ensure that they all have reliable security software installed. That way all of the devices across your home Wi-Fi network will be protected from viruses and spyware, and thus protecting any sensitive information you may be sharing for work. 

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Can I Check The Internet Speed Before Moving Home?

Once upon a time, we would walk into a prospective new home and tick the fundamentals off our list. Water pressure? Cracks in walls? Water marks or mould? Double Glazing? Overall presentation?

But now, topping the list of importance, is how good is the broadband? The lack of a decent internet connection is now just as much of a deal breaker as a huge crack in the wall. 1 in 7 people would forfeit a bath in favour of good broadband, and 15% would prefer reliable internet to a garden, 

Not only would people refuse to buy a home with unreliable internet, but people would even be willing to pay more for a house that does have fast internet! 

It’s unsurprising that home-buyers see internet connection as so vital. With the prevalence of home-working and video calls, plus online streaming and shopping from multiple devices it’s obvious why strong, fast internet is top of the list for prospective house buyers. 

How can you make sure you’re getting the best internet connection when buying a new house?

If you’re buying a new build, then you’re in luck. Most new property developers are now making sure that their properties are connected to ultrafast broadband. 

Some will even let you choose between the major fibre suppliers with connections ready to go. 

But what if you’re not buying a new build? 

Most Estate Agents now include an estimate of broadband speed alongside their listings. Geekabit actually have their own service which we offer to Estate Agents which provide just this – An accurate reading of the internet speeds available at a specific property. It’s called SpeedScore – You can read more about it here. 

As a homeowner – Or prospective home owner! – It’s important that you’re getting the most accurate information possible when it comes to the reliability of the Wi-Fi at your potential property. 

How to secure seamless internet when moving house

Once you’ve chosen your property and are ready to move in – Hopefully having previously checked how reliable the internet connection is – There are a couple of things you can do to make sure you are connected and ready as soon as possible.

  • Decide whether or not you are taking your current supplier with you
  • Give your current or new supplier as much notice as possible – They usually need at least 2 weeks if you want things ready on your moving date

How are house prices affected by bad internet?

If you are looking at buying a new property, chances are you’re also selling yours! But is your home one of the estimated 466,000 properties that experience bad broadband here in the UK?

If you’re selling a property, it should be obvious that your current internet speeds are going to be just as scrutinised as the potential properties that you’re considering buying.

If you have fast speeds and minimal interruption then your house price is likely to be unaffected by the internet. If, however, your broadband speeds are slow then you could be seeing a horrendous 24% decrease in your property value. With the average property value in the UK being £278,000, that’s a decrease of nearly £67K – Just because of bad broadband. 

Generally speaking, it’s more rural properties that are affected by unreliable broadband and slow internet speeds. House prices can tend to be lower in more rural areas too, but will fall even lower if the Wi-Fi offering isn’t up to scratch. 

What can you do about it? 

Fix the internet problems before you try to sell! If you’re thinking that you can get away with no potential buyers noticing then think again.

Whether you’re in a rural home or not, our Wi-Fi experts here at Geekabit can help make your Wi-Fi woes a thing of the past. There are plenty of options to boost your internet connectivity – From extra devices to mobile 4G/5G broadband. Give us a call to discuss – Our Wi-Fi engineers work out of Hampshire, London and Cardiff and are on hand to get you better connected. 

With the recent working-from-home revolution, there has never before been a need as big for fast, affordable, available broadband. 

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Is Bluetooth Interfering with my Wi-Fi?

Do you use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi at the same time? Whether you’re at work, home – Or working from home! – you might find that you’re connected to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth via various devices. 

And if this is the case, it’s probably common for these connections to fight with each other and cause you to run into connectivity issues. Why, we hear you ask? Surely they are completely different from each other? Actually, they’re not. They have a lot more similarities that you might have thought. 

There are instances where Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can use the same radio frequency range for data transfer, meaning that Bluetooth could interfere with your Wi-Fi. 

If you’re experiencing wobbly Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth connection that keeps dropping out then we feel your pain – There is nothing more frustrating. Not only that, but it isn’t very productive, is it? If you’re having to continually reconnect your Bluetooth device to make it work then you could indeed be struggling with interference between that connection and the Wi-Fi. 

Why can Bluetooth interfere with my Wi-Fi?

When it comes to understanding how Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can transmit data and interact with each other, you need to know a bit about frequency bands. 

Telecommunication and other applications depend on a series of electromagnetic frequencies in the Radio Spectrum. Each range of frequencies, or bands, are used for specific purposes. Some of the main frequency bands that you may have heard of are:

  • Marine Band which is used for ships communicating outside of the range of the shore. 
  • Citizen’s Band which is public radio frequency, known as CB and most commonly used by truckers. 
  • Broadcasting Band like AM and FM, multiple bands that are used to broadbcast radio signals 

So which do Bluetooth and Wi-Fi come under? Well, they are on Industrial Scientific Medical bands, or ISM. The home of radio telecommunications. One of these, which you will likely have heard of, is the 2.4GHz frequency band and is commonly used for network connectivity.  

This spectrum is occupied by both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, which means that things on this band can get a bit over-crowded and thus cause electromagnetic interference. How do you know when this happens? Well, you might notice some of the following things on your connected devices:

  • Audio connections via Bluetooth cutting in and out
  • Pages that are slow to load, or don’t load at all
  • Your device telling you that there is an issue on your network

A connection as unreliable as this causes nothing but frustration – What you need is for your device to be able to communicate properly with the network. Unfortunately, these problems can be common when a frequency band is over-crowded and causing interference between devices and networks.

This is why we use ISM bands for telecommunication – The traditional radio frequencies were too populated. What you might not know, however, is that ISM bands were originally to transfer heat, not data! Hence why your microwave can cause interference issues with your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They use the same technology, but radio waves at a different frequency. That’s why you are always told to not put your router or devices anywhere near your microwave! In fact, any device that gives off electromagnetic frequency could cause interference with your home network and lead to Wi-Fi issues. 

If you’re struggling with slow signal strength, an unreliable signal that cuts in and out, Bluetooth audio problems or a lag between Bluetooth devices (e.g. keyboards or mouse) then you could be experiencing interference issues. 

But is there anything you can do about the interference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi?

Ways to Reduce Interference Between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

If you think that your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth problems are down to interference then you’ll be pleased to know that there are a few straightforward things you can do to try and resolve the issues. One simple tweak could make a big difference! 

  1. Try connecting to a Lower Traffic Router Network

    If you have a modern router, then it should have the option to operate on different channels, for example 2.4GHx and 5GHz. If you have this option, then try changing the channel on the router that you’re connected to. This should hopefully help to relieve any network congestion.

    There’s unfortunately not an awful lot you can do if the interference is coming from outside your home, which is more common in densely populated areas like blocks of flats. You can see how dense your area is by looking at how many networks there are in the list when you try to connect.

    Thankfully, as we said above, modern routers are trying to combat this problem by having the option to use a higher frequency band. Dual band routers are particularly useful for this.
  2. Keep up-to-date with software updates

    Modern devices compatible with Bluetooth will mostly have the ability to hop along the channels in the 2.4GHz bands, known as frequency hopping. This helps to alleviate any issues caused by interference. In order for your Bluetooth device to be able to do this, you need to make sure you have stayed up to date with software updates.


On the 2.4Ghz band, some routers can transmit on multiple channels. Couple this with the ability for newer Bluetooth devices to frequency hop and you’re unlikely to struggle with interference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Any interference issues could then be down to physical barriers rather than frequency interference.

  1. Can you remove any physical barriers?

    You may or may not be aware that different materials can affect your signal differently; some will completely block it. If you have lots of glass, concrete, brick or walls in general then this can cause the signal to get weaker, thus affecting your connectivity. Keep this in mind when you place your router somewhere – Behind a concrete wall or in a solid wooden cabinet are not ideal places! You’ll be surprised where our Wi-Fi experts have found routers…

    If you are using the 5GHz frequency band, then you need to be as close to your router as possible, with little physical barriers. Operating on a higher frequency means you are more susceptible to material interference.
  2. Can you get closer to the router?

    If certain materials are weakening your connection and you can’t easily remove that barriers, perhaps you can move either your router so it’s better located, or you and your device so you are closer to the router.
  3. Forget all your networks

    If the above solutions haven’t worked, then you might need to try forgetting all your networks on all your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, unpair everything and then re-connect and re-pair. Yes, it’s a bit of a faff, but it can help remove old connections that are no longer needed that are crowding the network and causing interference problems. 

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Still having problems? Call the Experts

If you’ve tried the above ideas and you’re still struggling with an unreliable connection, dodgy audio and/or slow internet then it could be time to call in the experts and get the fault diagnosed. 

Our Wi-Fi experts work out of Hampshire, London and Cardiff and can help solve your Wi-Fi woes and get you a more reliable connection. You can contact us here. You don’t have to put up with rubbish Wi-Fi! 

You can also read more about Wi-Fi interference on our previous blogs.  

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Broadband Top of Wish List for House Buyers 

In a recent survey carried out on house buyers, it was revealed that 20% would not buy a property if it had slow internet speeds. 

Likewise, a house having super-fast internet is often a deal-breaker when it comes to house hunting with many prospective buyers viewing the Wi-Fi connection more important than the number of bedrooms. 

Whilst the size of a property is still the most important thing to most house buyers, for many house hunters that is the only thing that the quality and speed of the internet comes second best to. And, according to estate agents in Scotland and the Southwest, some prospective house buyers value the availability of high-quality broadband above everything else. Even house size. 

Nearly a third of estate agents surveyed said their clients were least likely to compromise on high-quality broadband. This feature was deemed more important than local amenities or above space! 

According to Ofcom, by the end of 2021 full-fibre broadband was available to 8.2 million homes (28%). This was 3 million more premises (10 percentage points) than a year ago, and represents the highest year-on-year increase since full fibre started being rolled out in the UK.

Does availability of Wi-Fi affect house prices? 

The rollout of this internet upgrade seems to be affecting the price of property. When comparing exactly the same house but one with a broadband connection of 300 Mbps and one without, the one without broadband would be worth around £5K less. 

Unsurprisingly, COVID also seems to have had an effect on this. Suddenly the UK population was plunged into home-working, with so many more households relying on a strong, reliable Wi-Fi connection for work and home-learning. 

Nearly three quarters of agents surveyed said they saw an increase in questions specifically regarding the quality and speed of the broadband connection when considering a property since the pandemic. 

SpeedScore from Geekabit Wi-Fi Experts

With a decade of providing connectivity solutions to UK markets, Geekabit saw how house buyers, tenants and hospitality customers are getting more tech savvy and starting to ask questions about internet speeds and reliability.

Thus, back in October last year, we launched our innovative Internet Connectivity Measurement Platform – Geekabit SpeedScore. 

This gives you a variety of tools to help provide an independent certification of your internet speeds and connectivity. Ideal if you’re an estate agent trying to prove the speed and connectivity of a property’s internet! 

You can read more about SpeedScore here. 

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Average Internet Speeds Double in 4 Years for Home Networks  

Recently released figures show that home broadband has evolved rapidly over the last 4 years. Between 2018 and 2021 home networking speeds increased by 108%, with the number of connected devices within the home also jumping 137% between 2015 and 2021. 

What devices consume the most data per month within the home? 

With the increase in the number of connected devices in our homes increasing so much over the past few years, let’s take a look at which ones consume the most data. 

Whilst at home, the device that consumes the most data is our Smartphones at 96.3 GB per month. Next were Streaming TV’s and Set-top boxes (like Apple TV or Fire) at 78.3 GB and 63.3 GB per month respectively. Games consoles and laptops were also in the top 5, consuming 35.7 GB and 30.3 GB per month. 

Growth of Home Networks

The figures released indicated that there was an increase in traffic as well as the number of connected devices. A span of 35 million homes saw connections of 1.3 billion Wi-Fi devices.

The speed of home broadband has also increased from an average of 152 Mbps to 317 Mbps – That’s an increase of 108% between 2018 and the end of last year. 

IoT devices has more than tripled alongside the doubling of the number of overall connected devices. Between 2015 and 2021, these devices increased by 137%. 

Unsurprisingly, it’s smartphones that consume the most data within our homes, followed by streaming TV’s and set-top boxes.  

Faster, Smarter Home Networks

Everything in the Wi-Fi industry moves fast. Only last week we were talking about Wi-Fi 7, and we’ve barely got our hands on Wi-Fi 6 yet! 

There’s been rapid growth in Smart Home devices, which makes the increase in connected devices unsurprising. Manufacturers are always looking to make their devices faster and smarter in the way that they work. 

Consumers are expecting a home network that serves their need for immediate, secure and reliable connectivity – with the devices to match.  

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How do I get reliable Wi-Fi in my garden? 

Hello Spring heatwave! Hampshire, as well as other parts of the UK, have been treated to a bit of a March heatwave this week with sunny days that are feeling really warm. Finally! And now that many more of us find ourselves working from home more often, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re trying to figure out a way to get all your gear out into the garden and Wi-Fi working well. 

 

Whether you’re soaking up the sun during Zoom meetings or attempting to escape the same 4 walls with some fresh air whilst answering emails – You’re going to need a strong, reliable Wi-Fi connection in your sun-soaked Hampshire garden. 

 

And no, it’s not okay to steal your neighbour’s Wi-Fi – Even if you know their password!

 

So, if you’re trying to make the most of the sunshine that Hampshire currently has on offer, then here are our top tips for getting strong, reliable Wi-Fi in your garden. 

 

Use an Access Point


Our first recommendation would be to run an ethernet cable out to the garden area and install a new access point. 

 

Many of our Hampshire based clients have homes where this option has worked really effectively. There are other options (see below) but this would always be our preference and recommendation when being asked how to get Wi-Fi in your garden. 


Where is your router? 

 

Is your router in the best place? You could try moving your existing router to see if a change of location improves the signal you get in your garden. 

 

We’ve visited many Hampshire homes where the router has been situated at the front of the house, most commonly in the front room next to the smart TV or telephone. This location makes it unlikely for the signal to be able to reach your back garden. 

 

Consider where you access the internet the most, and whether you could move your router to a different location that would work for both the house and the garden.

 

Extend your Wi-Fi range with a repeater 

 

If the range of your router won’t reach the garden from a suitable location inside the house, then there are ways you can extend it. A repeater is one possible solution, and works particularly well in larger homes. Some of our Hampshire based clients have found that a repeater has solved their Wi-Fi woes when it comes to getting a reliable signal in the garden. 

 

The pros – By placing a repeater in range of the garden, you can make your Wi-Fi go further. It’s cost effective and easy to configure. 

 

The cons – It works by mimicking your existing network and creating a new one. You would have to manually change the connection on your device when you move between the garden and the house. This option can also half your bandwidth, resulting in slower internet speeds.

 

Extend your Wi-Fi range with an extender

 

By using an extender, you can extend the range of your router by plugging it in at a position where it will provide coverage to your garden. 

 

An extender is cabled and takes internet signal directly from the router and emits it from a better location. Despite being slightly more expensive and a bit more complicated to configure than the repeater, our resident Wi-Fi expert says, 

 

“One of the biggest benefits of an extender is that it is connected using a wired connection, so there is no need for a wireless signal to operate it. This also means that the bandwidth stays at its full potential.”

 

We’d recommend that you consider calling in the experts if you’re considering this option – And we reckon our clients that are currently enjoying Geekabit installed Wi-Fi extenders in their sunny Hampshire hotspot would say the same! 

 

Mobile Tethering

If your smartphone has good reception outside, then you can use its Wi-Fi hotspot and tether that to your laptop or other device to use its connection. 

 

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the data you use will come off your monthly allowance, and if you go over it can be rather a costly mistake.

 

This option is probably more suited to those ‘one-off’ moments – Perhaps to tide you over while you wait for one of Geekabit’s Wi-Fi experts to come and sort out a more long-term Wi-Fi connection in your garden. 

 

Get in touch

 

So there you go, some of our top tips on how to get Wi-Fi in your garden so you can enjoy the Spring sunshine whilst working from home!

 

If you’ve tried the options above and still no joy, don’t be afraid to call in the experts! Our Wi-Fi experts are on the other end of a phone call or email and are happy to help get your Wi-Fi working as it should. 

 

We work out of Hampshire, London and Cardiff and are really passionate about getting people the Wi-Fi connection they deserve. 

 

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5G Survey London

With the increasing prevalence of 5G availability across London, you might be needing a 5G survey. Perhaps your London business is moving premises – Or maybe you’re looking to buy or rent a property in London? Either way you need to know that wherever you’re living or working in London will have decent cellular and data coverage. 

Mobile coverage is a huge part of buying or renting a new property – Whether for a business or somewhere to live. 5G mobile phone coverage could be a massive deal breaker if it’s not at the level people have come to expect. 

Thankfully, here at Geekabit we offer a 5G survey in London and the surrounding areas – We know our stuff when it comes to all things wireless. We understand how vital it is to maintain strong connections, whether it’s in the office or at home. 

 

Geekabit’s 5G Survey London

Geekabit offer both internal and external 5G surveys, looking at mobile phone coverage both inside and outside your property. 

You might be wondering – Why would I need a 5G survey? 

For our clients that are wanting to map out the availability of 5G cellular and data coverage in a London office or building, the 5G survey would be a great tool. It’s extremely useful if your organisation is considering moving premises. It is so important nowadays to make sure that you have good 5G mobile phone signal coverage before signing on the dotted line. You don’t want any nasty surprises when it comes to coverage once you’ve moved in! 

Our landlord and estate agent clients also find it a very beneficial tool when it comes to selling or renting out business or residential properties in London. Tenants and house buyers aren’t just looking at the water pressure of the taps or the state of the windows – They’re now asking questions about the strength of cellular reception. Our 5G Survey gives you all the information you need to know. 

People want to make sure that where they live and work in London will have strong 5G mobile coverage. Geekabit’s 5G survey is the perfect way to prove your property has just this and on what networks. 

5G Hybrid Broadband

And where there’s a strong 5G connection, you know you’re covered if the internet goes down. Hybrid broadband is giving customers confidence that even if their standard internet connection fails, they will still have 5G mobile broadband to fall back on.

But this is only as foolproof as your 5G coverage. So before going ahead and investing in hybrid broadband, why not carry out a 5G survey first to make sure that your London property has the coverage you need to fall back on. 

 

Office and homes aren’t the only places where you need a strong, reliable 5G cellular connection

There are many external areas that would hugely benefit from an external 5G survey. Geekabit can also carry out a 5G survey along London roads, parts of the capital’s transport network and throughout leisure facilities in London and the surrounding areas. 

In today’s world, we don’t just stay in one place – Even while we’re working. We take our need for connection wherever we go – And it needs to be strong and reliable. 

Gone are the days where we are tethered to a desk – We need the 5G mobile coverage to be available on the go. Whether we are using a smartphone, tablet or other internet enabled device, we need to stay connected – And we need to know that the signal will be strong and reliable. 

Geekabit’s 5G survey can tell you how strong the cellular coverage is in certain areas of London, and which networks would work best for those locations. This information is invaluable.

 

How do we report the results of our 5G survey?

We can provide results, heatmaps and detailed reports measuring the details of phone coverage for 5G (as well as 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE). 

For any given London location, we can measure: 

  • The cellular connectivity
  • Data upload and download speeds 
  • The occurrence of dropped and failed calls for all the main mobile network operators

Over the last 2 years, companies have realised how vital cellular coverage is – For business operations as well as staying connected with loved ones. This was true before the pandemic, but Covid has certainly increased the need for strong, reliable mobile coverage. 

 

It’s time to invest in mobile enterprise

If you value the importance of the Quality of Service and Quality of Experience of your employees cellular coverage whilst they are at work, then it’s time to invest in mobile enterprise. 

Here at Geekabit, we’ve long been able to provide mobile phone coverage survey results for a fixed point – For example, a particular property in London. 

We can now provide this matched to geolocation data over a moving area, as well as on building plans and maps. When it comes to 5G surveys, this information is really important. 

If your London business has been thinking about investing in further mobile technologies, then our 5G survey is ideal for providing graphical and interactive information, allowing you to really drill down into the data and support and inform your worthwhile investment.

 

A word from our Founder

Steve Cross, Founder of Geekabit, comments:

“Mobile phone coverage has continued to increase in importance, with a massive investment throughout the pandemic in mobile working technology. With the great shift in office working already happening, organisations are looking to ensure that 5G mobile phone coverage in potential London office locations will be suitable for their workforce. Our internal cellular 5G survey tool gives clients the opportunity to make sure there will be no issues with mobile phones and tablets when moving buildings or downsizing.”

Want to know more about our 5G surveys?

For further details about the data which can be captured, or to discuss a potential project, please email our Wi-Fi experts at [email protected] and someone will be in touch as soon as possible.

 

Our 5G surveys are available across London and the surrounding areas. If you are interested in this service in a different location, please do get in touch. 

 

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Our Top Wi-Fi Blogs of 2021

A new year has begun, and no doubt it will bring new technology and wireless improvements with it!

Here at Geekabit, we covered a lot of different Wi-Fi topics last year here on the blog, many of which were steered by the enquiries we were receiving to our Wi-Fi Experts across Winchester, London and Cardiff. We saw a big increase in demand for 4G broadband, particularly for homes in rural areas. Hybrid broadband has also soared in popularity!

We’ve also talked a lot about 5G and Wi-Fi 6 and a few of the products already available on the market. With there still being a heavy focus on working from home throughout 2021, it’s no surprise that reliable broadband and internet speeds at home were still crucial. We even launched our own product – SpeedScore – A great way for estate agents and landlords to accurately identify their broadband speeds.

With all of this in mind, we thought we would take a look back on the last year and see what blogs were most popular with you – Our readers!

#10 – Just making the top 10 reads from 2021 is a blog on the 4G Broadband Teltonika RUT950 router. This device was out top product for 4G broadband installations during 2021 – Click the blog to find out why.

4G Broadband and the Teltonika RUT950 Industrial Cellular Router

#9 – Continuing on the 4G broadband theme, in at number 9 is why 4G broadband could be the answer for all your rural Wi-Fi woes. 2021 brought us many clients desperate for a quicker Wi-Fi service in rural areas, particularly those who had moved out of London but expected the same internet connectivity. If you’re sticking with more working-from-home as we move into 2022, then have a read of this blog to see if 4G broadband could bring you a better connection.

4G Broadband – The Answer to Your Rural Wi-Fi Woes?

#8 – Last year we saw a big buzz around 5G. This blog was all about the Robustel R5020 router – An exciting product offering 5G connectivity at a competitive price.

The Robustel R5020 5G Router

#7 – We can’t talk about 4G broadband without talking about data plans. Joining in on the blog popularity of 4G/5G broadband and pieces of kit was this blog on Unlimited 4G broadband data plans. well worth a read if you’re going down the 4G broadband route.

The Best Unlimited 4G Data Plans for Broadband

#6 – Which brings us nicely to hybrid broadband. This has seen a soar in popularity, and we’re expecting to see a lot more of this in client enquiries over this coming year. But what is hybrid broadband? If you’re wanted unbreakable Wi-Fi for your home or business then this could well be the solution you’ve been searching for.

 

What is Hybrid Broadband?

#5 – 2021 saw Facebook launch it’s own Wi-Fi – But what is it? Hundreds of thousands of businesses are already using it, but if you’re not yet one of them then click the blog below to see what you need to know.

What is Facebook Wi-Fi?

#4 – Anything to do with Ubiquiti always proves a popular blog topic. And with good reason – These devices are one of the staple pieces of kit here at Geekabit. The Ubiquiti UniFi range of access points are always easy to match to our clients needs.

How Do I Choose The Right Ubiquiti UniFi Access Point?

#3 – Wi-Fi 6 was another topic on everyone’s lips last year. This blog on the Amplifi Alien Wi-Fi 6 router was a big favourite of our readers – Could that be because of the ongoing need to work and learn from home?

Amplifi Alien – The New Wi-Fi 6 Router from Ubiquiti

#2 – How do you choose the right wireless product for your home or business? It’s a question often asked so no wonder this blog looking at 3 top wireless products almost made the top spot. If you want to compare UniFi, Meraki and Aruba bits of wireless kit then this is the blog for you.

UniFi vs Meraki vs Aruba

#1 – And here we are at number one. The most popular blog last year was this one on Starlink and what it meant for broadband here in the UK. another interesting read, particularly those living and working in more rural areas, struggling with connectivity.

What is Starlink and what does it mean for UK broadband?

So there you go – Our top ten Wi-Fi blogs of 2021. We’re excited to see what 2022 will bring!

 

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