We all want to have a good Internet speed to be able to navigate correctly, download files or watch streaming videos without cuts. However, this is not always possible. Sometimes we can have problems and that happens especially when we connect via WiFi. Why is there less speed through WiFi than the one contracted? That can be due to different factors. We are going to explain what the main ones are and so you can see if you can improve it to have greater speed.
Reasons for less WiFi to arrive than what was contracted
Today we have fiber optic rates that even reach 1 Gbps. It is very common to have at least 300 symmetrical Mbps, but whatever the contracted speed, it is very likely that when connecting via WiFi, less will arrive. Sometimes the difference is small, but in others we can receive even less than half. There are several reasons.
Theoretical Maximum Router Speed
The first reason is that the maximum speed advertised by the router is theoretical. In other words, under optimal circumstances, it would be the most that the router will be able to offer to the devices that connect. They are tests carried out in the laboratory, with everything correctly configured and in the best possible conditions.
For example, you may have a router that indicates that the theoretical maximum speed is 1200 Mbps. However, you receive much less through WiFi and that is because the real speed, once all the factors surrounding the connection are taken into account, is lower than the one marked as theoretical.
In addition, the theoretical maximum speed is going to unite the two bands, both the 2.4 and the 5 GHz bands. The device that we connect is going to connect to one or the other, so it will not obtain the sum of both. It will not reach that theoretical maximum speed, but it will be lower.
Theoretical device speed
Another similar reason is the theoretical maximum speed of the devices that we connect. A mobile or a computer may indicate that they can reach a theoretical maximum speed over WiFi, but then in practice that is much lower . You are not going to be able to really reach the maximum that comes in the specifications.
This is going to mean that if you perform a speed test connecting a computer via Gigabit Ethernet cable, you can have much more speed than if you do it through the WiFi network. You’re going to be more limited to the actual speed that device can support, which is usually going to be less than cable.
Limited devices
Beyond the real and theoretical speed, which will cause limitations when using WiFi , we must also take into account the limitations of the devices we use. For example, a computer may not have enough hardware to be able to function at a certain Internet speed.
Normally this will be marked by the network card that we use. It may not have a great capacity and that makes it impossible to reach the maximum speed that we have contracted. A bottleneck would occur and we would always receive something less.
Bad Wi-Fi configuration
But you may also get less WiFi than what you contracted in fiber due to a bad configuration. Here it is very important to point out that it is essential to correctly use the WiFi band that will work best in each situation. There are two options and they are not the same to achieve the same stability or speed. You can always do a WiFi speed test correctly.
If you want the maximum speed, the ideal is that you connect to the 5 GHz band. In optimal circumstances, in case you are next to the router, it will be the one that will allow you to reach the maximum speed and get as close as possible to what is that you really have contracted in your Internet rate.