How to Get Your Home Network Working Properly
A modern home can have a surprising number of devices connected to the internet.
Phones, TVs, streaming boxes, gaming consoles, laptops, security cameras, smart speakers, printers, thermostats and other smart-home devices can all be competing for a reliable connection.
When everything works, you probably don’t think about your home network at all.
But when you start experiencing slow Wi-Fi, dead spots, buffering, devices dropping out or unreliable internet, the problem isn’t always your internet connection.
Quite often, the problem is the home network itself.
Yesterday, we visited a customer in Hope Island who actually thought they needed a faster NBN plan. When we arrived and assessed the layout of the home, we found that the real problem was their Wi-Fi signal. The house was large, and the signal simply wasn’t reaching the key areas where they needed it.
This is something we see regularly. When people have unreliable internet, it’s understandable that they blame the NBN connection. We hear plenty of frustration about the “bloody NBN!” But in many of the larger homes around Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, Sanctuary Cove and surrounding areas, the NBN connection itself isn’t the problem. The challenge is often getting that internet connection distributed reliably throughout the home.
At Internet Magic Gold Coast, we help homeowners set up, troubleshoot and improve home networks throughout the Gold Coast.
For in-home help Ph 0452 525 615
What is a home network?
Your home network is the system that connects your devices to your internet connection.
A typical home network might include:
NBN connection → modem/router → Wi-Fi → your devices
But many homes are more complicated than that.
You might also have:
- A mesh Wi-Fi system
- Ethernet data points
- Network switches
- Smart TVs
- Gaming consoles
- Security cameras
- Wi-Fi printers
- Streaming devices
- Smart-home equipment
- Multiple access points
When these components aren’t configured or positioned properly, you can end up with a network that technically works but performs poorly.
It’s very typical for us to be called out to a home where the customer knows they have a Wi-Fi signal issue and has gone out and bought what the salesman said, a Mesh System, but they have no idea how to install them effectively. An example is a customer we visited in Burleigh Heads recently. They had a bunch of Mesh access points throughout their home and openly announced they had no idea what they were doing. The salesman had essentially told them to “put them down around the house.” As you can imagine, results may vary with that approach. 😂
Do I need a professional home network setup?
Not necessarily.
If you have a small home, a good-quality router and only a handful of devices, plugging everything in and following the manufacturer’s instructions may be all you need.
The problems tend to appear when a home network becomes more complicated.
For example, you might have:
- A large or double-storey house
- Poor Wi-Fi coverage
- Thick walls
- Multiple Wi-Fi access points
- A mesh system that isn’t configured correctly
- Ethernet cabling throughout the house
- A modem located in an inconvenient position
- Lots of connected devices
- A home office
- Multiple people streaming or gaming simultaneously
That’s where a proper home network setup can make a significant difference.
We have a customer in Mudgeeraba Gold Coast and they are running a proper business with admin staff from a home office (it was actually a decked out shed) and were struggling to get the internet to connect to the computers properly as their signal was coming from an internet extender in the main home. In this case, and like many other work shed and home office scenarios we tend to do in regional Gold Coast suburbs like Tallai, Worongary, Currumbin & Tallebudgera the best solution for their home network was to install a point to point, wireless internet bridge from the main home to the shed. Sounds technical, I know. But the important thing is that if you’re trying to send a reliable internet connection from one building to another — sometimes over a few hundred metres — there are proper ways to do it.
Your internet speed isn’t necessarily your Wi-Fi speed
This is one of the biggest misconceptions we see.
You might be paying your internet provider for a very fast NBN connection, but that doesn’t mean every device in your home will receive that speed over Wi-Fi.
For example, you could have a 1000 Mbps internet connection but only get a fraction of that speed in a bedroom at the other end of the house.
The internet connection could be perfectly fine.
The problem could be:
- Wi-Fi signal strength
- Router location
- Interference
- Network congestion
- Poor mesh placement
- An old router
- Incorrect configuration
- A faulty Ethernet cable
- A device connecting to the wrong access point
That’s why simply upgrading your internet plan doesn’t always fix a Wi-Fi problem.
The ultimate solution, if your home structurally allows for it, is for the installation of data cabling from your modem straight to your most important devices. A lot of newer homes like in Pimpama and Ormeau, they’re pre-installing data points because our lives are much more dependent on having a good internet connection than it used to be. With a properly installed Ethernet connection, there is generally very little performance loss over normal residential cable runs, and the connection is much less susceptible to the coverage and interference issues that can affect Wi-Fi.
Call Us Today 0452 525 615
Where should your modem or router be located?
Router placement can have a surprisingly large impact on Wi-Fi performance.
Ideally, your main router should be positioned:
- Centrally within the home where practical
- In an open area
- Away from large metal objects
- Away from electrical interference where possible
- Elevated rather than hidden inside a cabinet
- In a location that provides reasonable coverage to the areas where you actually use Wi-Fi
Unfortunately, NBN equipment isn’t always installed in the ideal location.
You might have your NBN connection entering the house in a garage, cupboard, hallway or other location that’s nowhere near the centre of the home.
In some situations, relocating the modem/router can dramatically improve coverage.
In others, relocating it isn’t practical and a mesh Wi-Fi system or additional wired access point is a better solution.
Older established homes around the Gold Coast, such as Nerang, Benowa and Southport, can have a range of different NBN connection types. In homes where the NBN connection equipment has been installed in a garage or another less-than-ideal location, one of the first things we look at is whether the modem/router can be relocated somewhere more central to the home. Frequently when asked, our customers don’t even know “what the hell all that internet and nbn junk” is, in their garage and it’s up to us to discover their internet components for them 🙂
Would a mesh Wi-Fi system fix your home network?
A mesh system can be an excellent solution for larger homes or properties with difficult Wi-Fi coverage.
Instead of relying on one router to provide Wi-Fi everywhere, multiple mesh units work together to provide coverage across the property.
However, simply buying a mesh system doesn’t guarantee good Wi-Fi.
Where you put the mesh units matters.
A common mistake is putting a mesh unit in the room where the Wi-Fi is already terrible.
If the signal reaching that mesh unit is poor, it can’t magically create a great connection.
The mesh system needs to be positioned where it can communicate effectively with the rest of the network while still providing coverage to the area you’re trying to improve.
In some homes, the best solution is to connect mesh units using Ethernet cabling rather than relying entirely on wireless connections between them.
Ethernet can make a huge difference
Wi-Fi is convenient, but there are situations where a wired connection is simply better.
For example:
- Home offices
- Gaming PCs
- Smart TVs
- Streaming devices
- Security systems
- Network switches
- Mesh access points
A wired Ethernet connection can provide a more stable and predictable connection than Wi-Fi.
If your home already has data cabling, we can also check whether the existing cabling and network points are actually connected and working correctly.
If it doesn’t have cabling where you need it, installing additional Ethernet data points can be a worthwhile upgrade.
Why is my Wi-Fi slow in only one part of the house?
This is an extremely common problem.
If your internet works perfectly in the lounge room but is terrible in a bedroom, office or upstairs area, that doesn’t necessarily mean your internet provider is at fault.
It may simply be a Wi-Fi coverage problem.
The distance from the router, building materials, walls, floor levels, interference and network layout can all affect Wi-Fi performance.
This is why we don’t just look at the speed test result beside the modem and assume everything is fine.
A good home network setup should consider where you actually need reliable connectivity.
What about devices that keep disconnecting?
If a particular device repeatedly drops off the network, there can be several possible causes.
It could be:
- Poor signal strength
- Interference
- Router configuration
- Mesh roaming issues
- An old device
- DHCP or IP address problems
- Network congestion
- A faulty access point
- A faulty network cable
- Problems with the device itself
The trick is identifying where the problem actually occurs rather than simply restarting the modem every time something goes wrong.
Local Technicians Ph 0452 525 615
We can troubleshoot the network rather than guessing
When a home network isn’t performing properly, there isn’t always one obvious answer.
We can look at the network as a whole and work through the problem.
Depending on the situation, this may include checking:
- Internet connection
- Modem/router configuration
- Wi-Fi coverage
- Wi-Fi signal strength
- Mesh configuration
- Ethernet connections
- Data points
- Network switches
- Connected devices
- Router placement
- Network congestion
- Connection speeds
Sometimes the solution is very simple.
Other times, the network needs a combination of changes to get it working properly.
Professional Home Network Setup on the Gold Coast
If you’re having problems with your home internet or Wi-Fi, you don’t necessarily need a faster internet plan.
The problem could be somewhere inside your home network.
Internet Magic Gold Coast provides home network setup, Wi-Fi troubleshooting, mesh Wi-Fi installation, Ethernet cabling and network support across the Gold Coast.
Whether you’ve just moved into a new home and need everything configured, or you’ve been putting up with unreliable Wi-Fi for years, we can assess what’s happening and recommend the most practical solution.
Need help getting your home network working properly?
Contact Internet Magic Gold Coast to arrange a technician.