Fast internet speeds have been liberating in so many ways, enabling us to work from our home offices. It just makes sense to work from home rather than fight a twice-daily commute and put wear and tear on our vehicles. Working from the home office can also add some welcome certainty to our work days; we know when we’ll be home for dinner! Many of us also find we’re more productive at home than we ever could be at the company office.
Wi-Fi, as well, has been liberating, cutting that cord and getting fast internet service anywhere in your home. Everyone in the house can move around and do homework, play games, stream movies, and work.
But for many of us it’s not that simple. Wi-Fi has inherent drawbacks that we may not realize. Sketchy videoconferencing performance, overload from multiple devices, decreased security, and latency are some of the more common issues. There’s a solution, though: a hard-wired internet connection.
A hard-wired connection doesn’t offer more raw speed; that’s determined by the internet service running into your home. Consistency and reliability are the true benefits of going hard wired. Let’s look at four benefits of a hard-wired connection.
Reliable Video Conferencing
A staple of the home office, video conferencing can max out your Wi-Fi router periodically, especially if multiple users are accessing the network at the same time. This means that you can’t count on it when you really need it. If a slowdown happens when you’re shopping online, it’s usually no big deal. But during a meeting with your boss, or with clients or potential customers, slow Wi-Fi can be frustrating! A hard-wired connection will nearly always solve the problem.
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Reduced Latency
Latency is the annoying lag that results in pages, images and video taking longer to load and play. This can be especially frustrating when you are trying to get work done, or send information to colleagues. This slow down and processing of data can impact the whole family, like when the kids are gaming, or trying to stream movies. It can really put a damper on your entertainment experience. A hard-wired connection can help improve data transmission, consistency and reduce latency, making the user experience much more enjoyable.
Secure Data
Wi-Fi signals are constantly being transmitted around the house and are susceptible to interception from outside sources. It’s hard to say if this would ever be an issue for you. However, it is does present an opportunity for identity theft to occur. A skilled hacker could access your router and compromise your personal network by disrupting your computers and accessing your email, passwords and personal information—all through your Wi-Fi network.
Improves Wi-Fi
As the number of internet-connected devices has exploded in recent years, so has the number connected to home Wi-Fi. Just think of your own home: everyone has multiple devices, and now standard appliances are connected, as well. It’s like a freeway with too much traffic: it gets bogged down for everyone.
Wi-Fi is the perfect tech for devices that can be moved around and used anywhere. Your home printer, though, probably stays in the same spot all the time. Putting devices like that on a hard-wired connection frees bandwidth, lessening slowdowns.
Hard-wiring your home’s internet connection may cause you to imagine unsightly cables running in plain sight, or dangling wires sticking out of wall outlets. It doesn’t have to be that way! Contact the experts at Mr. Electric and schedule an appointment to see what’s right for your home and family.
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