We all know that having people over, sharing your password or putting your router in an inaccessible place all impact the speed of our Wi-Fi connections. However, there are a lot of other unusual factors that can seriously weaken your signal.

For example, you may notice a slow down in your internet speeds during the holidays. Interestingly enough, it can be attributed to the multitude of lights people tend to use around Christmas. According to Metro News, “Fairy lights on Christmas trees could impact broadband speeds, regulator Ofcom has warned. The watchdog says wireless internet networks often suffer ‘interference’ from electronic goods including baby monitors and microwave ovens – and even festive fairy lights. As a result connections may become lower and less efficient.”

Lamps, Speakers & Electronics

The same goes for other home appliances like lamps, speakers, cordless phones and other devices. All of these transmit radio waves, which can interfere with the connection from your router to your computer. The radio waves transmitted from your ordinary home devices are similar to the Wi-Fi signal being sent out from your router and can decrease the speed. You should also keep in mind that large, dense objects can be an interference as well.

Home Appliances

 Your fridge and hot water tank are harder for your router to transmit signals though, so you want to keep them as far as possible from your router. Getting a clear signal from your router means making sure you place the router in the best location possible. If you’re not sure where to put yours, check out this article from Huffington Post on where you should place your router to ensure the best connection.

Binging Netflix

Appliances aren’t the only thing slowing your Wi-Fi down. You can also blame your internet habits for slow speeds. Using high bandwidth apps or sites can really impact your connection. Binge watching your favorite show on Netflix, playing videogames online and using cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive can wreak havoc on your signal. If there are others in your home who are bogarting the internet by watching all 14 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, you will be suffering the consequences with impossibly slow speeds. We mentioned Quality of Service in our previous blog post, but you can also learn more about spreading out bandwidth usage via NetworkComputing.

For those of you with a slow home connection, check out our last blog post for a few quick ways to speed up your Wi-Fi connection and download Wi-Fi Map today!