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We've all experienced problems with our internet. If your tenants complain about any of these issues, this guide will show you how to fix it:
Pages loading so slowly they can't do any work
Videos stopping regularly to buffer
Games lagging
In this guide we are going to show you the most common reason for this to happen in HMOs and how to fix it.
Download the WiFi Analyser App
You will need an Android device. If you don't have one, there is a good chance one of your tenants will have one and will be willing to help.
Go to the Google Play store and search for an app called Wifi Analyser.
Open the App Next to the Router
Open the app next to your router. You will be able to see your internet and all of your neighbours internets.
Next to the router, you shouldn't have any other internets overlapping with yours.
Move to Where You Have Internet Issues
Keep the app open, and move to another part of the house where you are having problems with your internet.
If you can now see another internet overlapping with yours, you have this problem.
In the picture below, we have moved upstairs and outside the tenants room that had issues with the internet. Here you can see a Talk Talk internet interfering with ours.
When you start up your router, it looks at all your neighbours routers to see what channels they are using. It chooses the best channel to make sure it's not interfering with any of them.
This is why there were no interfering internets when you used the WiFi Analyser device next to your router.
The problem comes when you move futher away from your router. Sometimes a neighbours router will come into range. Your router can't see it, so it can't make sure it uses a different channel.
Sometimes when these two routers can't see each other they will pick the same channel, and the internet will be really unreliable in some parts of your house.
This issue is really common in large terraced houses like HMOs because there are lots of routers close together on the street that could interfere with each other, and lots of places in the house far away from the main router where these other routers can come into range.
The easiest way to permanently fix this is to install a Powerline device. We use TP-Link WPA4220 WiFi Powerline Adapter Kit AV600 which costs roughly £40.
A small price to pay instead of a tenant moving out to get better internet.
The two devices work together. One plugs into a power socket and connects to the router via an ethernet cable. The other device should be plugged into a socket in the area where there is a signal conflict.
The first device runs the internet from the router, through the wiring in the house, and into the second device. The second device is a Wifi hotspot that you can connect to.
As the second device can see both of the routers that are conflicting with each other, it picks a different channel that doesn't conflict with either of them.
When there is a signal conflict, often you still have good signal.
Boosters are designed to fix issues with low signal. If you use a booster to try and fix a signal conflict, you will make the signal stronger but it will still be conflicting.
Your router still won't be able to see your neighbours router, so it won't be able to make sure it is using a different channel.
If you want a quick fix while you are waiting for the Powerline to arrive, you can manually adjust the channel the router is transmitting on.
Connect To Your Router
Connect your phone, laptop, or computer to your router.
Find Your Router Settings
Check your router for how to log into the settings. Somewhere on your router, it should provide you with a web address, user name and password:
Login To The Settings
Open a web browser and type in the web address. When the page loads, type in the username and password:
Manually Change The Channel
Somewhere in the settings, you will be able to change the channel. Change it from Auto to another channel.
Use the WiFi Analyser app to pick a channel that won't cause a conflict.
For example, to avoid a conflict on the example above, I could change it to channel 9.
Change The Settings Back
When you install your Powerline, make sure you come back into these settings and change them back to Auto