Everything you need to know about Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi has become an indispensable part of our lives. Before Wi-Fi was invented, wireless connections were conducted via infrared technologies. Users had to carry their devices with them and sit next to each other so that the data could be transferred wirelessly. With Wi-Fi, users can now transfer data wirelessly even if they are a few meters or even a hundred meters away from each other. This “wireless” experience has definitely brought convenience and fun to users worldwide.

The Evolution of Wi-Fi
The application of Wi-Fi was first established by the IEEE, which ratified the CSIRO invented Wi-Fi—802.11 as the industry’s standard Wi-Fi technology in 1999. Since then, all Wi-Fi technologies are based on the 802.11 standards, and the Wi-Fi Alliance has become the key player in promoting and solving issues related to Wi-Fi connection and interoperability. Thanks to the early established standardization, the Wi-Fi technology has advanced significantly in just 20 years and made a huge impact on our lives.

 

 

Figure 2 shows how different standards of Wi-Fi have tried to outrun one another in the past two decades. With the 802.11a standard launched in 1999, users could only send and receive emails. In 2009, with the 802.11n standard, users could start networking home appliance to enjoy better entertainment experiences, and they could also share and use Wi-Fi in public settings such as cafés and airports. In the past years, the 802.11ac (wave 1/2) standard has dominated the market and is up to four times faster than previous Wi-Fi standards. Its fast speed has brought users unprecedented, pleasant experiences. For instance, a 2GB high-definition movie used to take hours to download. But with the 802.11ac standard, huge files like 2GB movies can be downloaded within 3 minutes.

Stable and fast!

“My Wi-Fi is not working!” is a commonly seen scenario that you and I often encounter in our daily lives.

Why is my Wi-Fi not working? Here are some of the possible causes: the routers might be too old or placed in the wrong place. There are just too many classes of routers in the market and it is not easy to pick a good one from so many choices.

Here we offer some tips for you: choose from the latest routers, and make sure that the package is labeled with “802.11n” standard. Since the launch of 802.11g standard, Wi-Fi signals have become ubiquitous and can penetrate through walls. The 11g standard (including its next generations) is best suited to buildings, office settings, or densely populated places. Additionally, the 11g standard has successfully solved problems such as weak penetration and low transmission speed. We’d also recommend you to place your router in the center of your house; either the dining room or living room would be a good choice. Placing routers in the corner of the room will weaken Wi-Fi signals. To solve that, you may want to add a repeater to boost Wi-Fi signals.

As for the transmission speed of the internet, we would recommend you to adopt the 5GHz band. And what is 5GHz? Technically speaking, Wi-Fi adopts the 2.4UHF or the 5G SHF ISM to connect devices to WLAN. To put it simply, let’s imagine 2.4GHz and 5GHz as highway one and two. The 2.4GHz band, or highway number one, is a pretty crowded place. As one of the early launched band, 2.4GHz has been used by so many devices that the band often encounters traffic congestions. When multiple devices simultaneously use this band, the transmission speed of the internet slows down, which greatly affects user’s gaming experiences.

The 5GHz band, or highway number two, is much less congested and allows devices to run smoothly and steadily. However, in spacious settings, the 2.4GHz band has much better coverage and penetration than the 5GHz band. It is important that we take the features of the bands into consideration when setting up Wi-Fi services. A tailor-made setup will provide users with high-speed experiences.

Wi-Fi Certification

The Wi-Fi Alliance was established to provide an international-recognized Wi-Fi certification and authorization.

First of all, vendors have to join the Wi-Fi Alliance. And in order to get their products certified, businesses have to seek Wi-Fi Alliance certified test labs to engage in the product certification process. Allion was granted the authorization to engage in Wi-Fi testing, and we are also the one and only test lab that offers the most complete Wi-Fi testing. The test covers from fundamental testing services such as the product’s connectivity, security, to other peripheral services such as network access, network optimization, and other application tests.

A certified product will be labeled with the Wi-Fi Certification logo to ensure the test’s credibility. Routers, laptops, smart home appliance with Certified Wi-Fi logos will reassure consumers that the products they purchase are safe and will satisfy their needs.

Just imagine the wireless lifestyle you would have with all the certified products. The wireless environment allows you multitask, while you are sitting comfortably in the living room, you turn on your TV via TVbox, talk to your family on the phone, and work on your laptop. Thanks to Wi-Fi, you can do all these things simultaneously as your TV, TVbox, mobile phone, laptop, are all wirelessly connected to a single router. With Wi-Fi technology, these devices can communicate with each other and bring users a real “wireless” lifestyle.

A free, wireless lifestyle
Wi-Fi is a part of our lives, and there’s not a single moment that we can live without it. As IoT is becoming a global trend, the application of Wi-Fi technology has surely become more versatile. To build a smart home, all peripheral devices should be tested and certified to reassure users the quality of the products so they can enjoy a smarter way of living.
For more information on Wi-Fi Certification, please refer to Allion’s official website: service@allion.com