The 6 most common WiFi-mistakes

WiFi is a practical thing. However, for it to work properly, you should not fall for these misconceptions.

In our everyday lives, we repeatedly encounter a wide variety of myths about WiFi. This often leads to the fact that even installed WiFi networks are unstable or collapse at a certain number of users. How to avoid these problems and what is behind the 6 most common misconceptions in connection with WiFi we explain in this article.

Here are the 6 most common WiFi misconceptions:

1.) WiFi becomes obsolete due to mobile internet
2.) The transmission range is the most important thing
3.) WiFi can be easily extended by repeater
4.) WiFi-routers are all the same
5.) WiFi can be easily shared with everyone
6.) WiFi for guests is an additional cost factor

1.) WiFi becomes obsolete due to mobile Internet

When the mobile Internet for cell phones with the "UMTS" standard became increasingly popular in 2006, the first doubters started to question whether WiFi was still needed at all. That was more than 10 years ago.

In the meantime, mobile communications and WiFi are two parallel existing standards for wireless Internet access. While cellular is available almost everywhere and allows us to be always online on the go, it also comes with some disadvantages. The speed depends strongly on the region and the number of simultaneous users. This is because you always share the available capacity (bandwidth) with all users connected in parallel. This leads to strong fluctuations and it can be that only very low speeds are reached in certain regions, which are just sufficient for reading emails, but make surfing or streaming almost impossible.

There is also the issue of data volume. Although many providers have recently equipped their rates with additional data volume, the limits are quickly reached by streaming music and movies via Spotify or Netflix. And the data demand will continue to increase strongly since many applications no longer store data directly on the smartphone, but on the Internet. In the past, data requirements have always grown faster than the data volume of mobile services.

You know it from your own everyday life: You use the Internet via mobile communications differently than when you are connected to a WiFi network. In professional WiFi networks, you can reliably achieve high bandwidths and can stream, surf and download without worrying about your own data volume remaining untouched. Especially if you depend on a reliable Internet connection for your job, there is no way around WiFi , because a fluctuating connection quality makes productive work almost impossible.

Conclusion: Mobile communication is great for being online and staying up to date on the go. However, if you want a full-fledged Internet connection to watch movies, Skype, download apps or play games online, you will always prefer a WiFi connection.

2.) The transmission range is the most important thing

When setting up WiFi networks, attention is often paid only to ensuring that the signal is available everywhere. This is one of the most common mistakes that leads to an unstable WiFi afterwards. There is also a much more important point: the capacity of the devices used. A WiFi transmitter can only serve a limited number of users (in the case of devices for private use, there are often only 10 - 20 users). If this limit is exceeded, a stable connection to WiFi is not possible despite an available signal.

This limit will certainly never be reached at home (with the exception of large families of 30). However, if the WiFi is to be offered at events, in hotels or public places, for example, the situation quickly looks different. In this case, it makes sense to deliberately limit the range and set up a second transmitter to allow 50 or more users to surf.

However, this second transmitter should then be connected by cable and not by radio. We will explain why in the next point.

Conclusion: The number of users that a WiFi transmitter can serve is more important than the transmission range. The largest range is of no use if the users are unable to receive the signal but cannot surf due to the lack of computing power of the WiFi transmitter.

3.) WiFi can be easily expanded via repeater

To extend the WiFi network, many manufacturers offer so-called repeaters. These devices promise to amplify the WiFi signal completely wirelessly. At first, this sounds like a very convenient expansion solution, since it does not require the annoying laying of cables.
However, there is one major drawback. The wireless connection between the main device (usually the WiFi router) and the repeater has a limited capacity. If several users connect to the repeater, the data traffic of all users is sent over the radio link between the repeater and the WiFi router, which quickly pushes this link to its limits and makes it unstable. This effect increases with the number of repeaters used.
But there is another disadvantage: WiFi devices generally use different radio channels so as not to interfere with each other. However, the concept with repeaters only works if all devices use the same channel. This inevitably leads to interference.
And as if all this were not enough, the WiFi signal is also susceptible to external influences. If the radio link between the repeater and WiFi router is disturbed by cordless phones, baby monitors, garage openers, remote-controlled cars, etc., for example, its capacity is further reduced, so that the repeater may not be able to establish a sufficiently strong connection to the WiFi router. Particularly confusing: Users see a strong WiFi connection on their devices, but still cannot surf.

Conclusion: Yes, laying cables is an additional expense that can be avoided. However, if you want a stable WiFi network in the long term, you should make the effort and connect additional WiFi transmitters (access points) with a network cable. The reward is a high-performance WiFi that offers consistent signal quality.

4.) WiFi-routers are all the same

WiFi-routers can be found in every household today. A small box that is connected to the telephone socket and provides WiFi via a built-in antenna. Electronics stores often offer WiFi routers for less than 30 euros. However, as everywhere else, there are major differences in quality. On the one hand, there are differences in the technology used to transmit the WiFi signal, which directly affects the stability of the signal. Secondly, every WiFi router contains a small computer, and its processing power determines how many simultaneous users it can serve.
Simple devices for home use are often very weak because they only have to serve very few users.
However, if devices of this type are used to supply larger groups of users, e.g. at events, the performance limit is quickly reached and connections are interrupted because the devices are simply not designed for this purpose.

For use in the public or commercial sector, there is therefore special, powerful hardware that has sufficient performance to supply even hundreds or thousands of users with WiFi .

Conclusion: there are big differences between WiFi routers and also expansion devices. For home use, devices from the electronics store can be sufficient, depending on expectations. For professional operation in companies or for offering a guest or event WLAN in public places, powerful industrial hardware should be used to ensure the stability of the WiFi network even with a larger number of users.

5.) WiFi you can simply release for all

When the German Telemedia Act was amended in June 2017, many media outlets suddenly wrote about the abolition of "liability for WiFi networks" - in other words, so-called "Stoererhaftung" (Breach of Duty of Care). The tenor was: anyone can openly offer their WiFi without having to be liable if other users do something illegal over it. It sounds as if WiFi is now a legal vacuum where anyone can do anything without fear of prosecution. Of course, it's hard to imagine that the legislature has decided something like this - and in fact it's not.

So what actually happened? Until June 2017, it was possible for lawyers to send warnings with costs if, for example, the upload of copyrighted material such as music or films could be proven via a connection. As a provider of open WiFi , one was thus immediately confronted with costs, often in the four-digit range. Fortunately, the legislator has put a stop to this practice. However, this does not mean that one is generally no longer liable if something illegal happens via one's own connection. The law firm in question now merely has to take the regular route, which usually amounts to legal proceedings. Several courts have ruled: The mere reference to an open WiFi does not release from liability.
Even in the case of serious crimes, the connection owner, as the only person who can be identified, is of course the first point of contact for the police and public prosecutor's office.
In addition, the right to so-called network blocks was introduced as part of this amendment to the law. This means that a subscriber can be obliged to block certain websites in order to prevent misuse by third parties.

Conclusion: Contrary to the confusing reports in many media, the liability of the operator of open WiFi has not been lifted. Only the first warning is no longer subject to charges. WiFi is still not a legal vacuum.

6.) WiFi for guests is an additional cost factor

Of course, a professional WiFi infrastructure initially incurs costs for one-time setup and operation. However, WiFi hotspots are now not only a service for guests and customers, but also an increasingly important advertising tool for companies. During the login process, for example, companies can place their own offers directly on users' displays, which attracts much more attention than flyers or posters. In addition, social media profiles can be integrated to gain new fans, users can be asked for feedback and new subscribers can be gained for the in-house newsletter. This is just a small selection of the possibilities to support your own event or brand with the guestWiFi . It is important that the WiFi works stable (otherwise the users are frustrated) and the advertising content fits to the event. This can be done by an employee, the advertising partner or the eventnet. For more information, see our special article on "WiFi-marketing at events ".

Conclusion: Although professional guest services atWiFi incur costs, they can also be used as a clever advertising tool to support brands and events, retain guests in the long term and increase sales.