How Many Devices Can Your Home Wi-Fi Handle?
The average family has ten or eleven devices hooked up to the home Wi-Fi, but most devices can hold a lot more than that. Would you believe it's more than two hundred?
We know it's not just phones and laptops that are connecting to home Wi-Fi systems. It's our smart TVs, Kindles, iPads, video game systems, Alexa and Google Home devices, and sometimes, even the refrigerator.
The last time I checked, we had 43 devices connected to our home network. Who knew! I didn't do the math on purpose because sometimes it's better to live in denial, but a home manager app that I installed to help me figure out why my internet was sluggish threw that little tidbit into my face.
I can hear you saying, "Yep, that's about right." Anyone with a family probably isn't surprised how quickly the list of connected devices grows. I've got three daughters and all of us have phones, and they each have a Chromebook and a Kindle, I have three computers that I use for work, and then there are the TVs and Alexas. Oh, and the printer and Nintendo Switch too. It all adds up.
In 2020, the average number of devices connected to a home Wi-Fi device was ten, which seems low, but then there are plenty of singles and apartment-dwellers that might have fewer devices connected and that helps it all balance out. I'm a little jealous of you if you have a router all to yourself. It's like having an entire tub of ice cream with your name on it, only the router is calorie-free. Ahhhhh.
I've read that the typical router right now can handle around 250 devices. Wow! That would be a ton of money tied up in technology. But it is nice to know we've got some wiggle room before we overload the system with our current bandwidth hogs.
I had a big problem with some devices dropping connections so I called my service provider and they suggested adding an extender.
That has boosted the signal in parts of the house where it was weak before, and it seems to have helped. It also came with a handy app that tracks the signal strength around the house and lights up the best places in green. With the extender, most of the house is gone green and I've had fewer issues with devices being dropped.
I know I can't be alone with home Wi-Fi woes, so I thought I would pass it along. There are other helpful tips HERE.
We've been spending more time at home for almost a year now, and routers are dealing with more pressure than ever before. But with a little boost, they can handle it.