How many times have you been asked in the last 24 hours, "Does anyone know the Wi-Fi code?". Wi-Fi and connectivity have become critical to our daily routine and operation; God forbid if the connectivity does not work, just ask any teenager.

Nowadays when we encounter an internet glitch we are instructed to "switch it off and back on again."  Every time I hear this it has the same affect as Quint, making his legendary entrance in Jaws, when he drags his nails down the blackboard. I am glad that those so very clever engineers spent all that time building a box to house an on-off switch...really!

Client Steering, Band Steering, Beam forming, Smart Antenna, Auto-Healing, signal attenuation (loss) and Dual Band are just a few of the extra terms that the on-off captains will have to master. 

What will give you the graters signal loss?

a. Cubicle wall(fabric)

b. Concrete wall 

The answer: they are both the same, 18– 30 dB. Yes the signal attenuation will vary according to the material, thickness and construction of any barrier, as well as the band being used (2.4GHz or 5GHz), but the following provides a rough guide:

Dry wall2 – 4 dB

Brick wall6 – 10 dB

Glass partition8 –12 dB

Cubicle wall (fabric)18 – 30 dB

Concrete wall 18 –30 dB

Floor30 – 40 dB

So what is Dual-Band Wi-Fi?

To provide the highest possible speed wireless connectivity for the widest range of devices, both new and old, Wi-Fi routers and Access Points often transmit and receive radio signals on two separate frequency bands. This capability, which can now be found in most advanced Wi-Fi equipment, is known as dual-band Wi-Fi. The frequencies of these bands are 2.4 and 5 GHz respectively.

2.4GHz vs 5GHz? Which Wi-Fi band should I choose?

If your Wi-Fi access devices and your Wi-Fi access points (or wireless routers) both support dual-band Wi-Fi, but the latter are not equipped with Client Steering technology, you may still be able to improve the performance and reliability of your wireless network by manually selecting the band chosen by each of your access devices. For short distances with relatively few physical obstructions to the signal path (such as walls or ceilings), then the 5GHz band, since it allows for multiple channels to be bonded together, provides a faster connection and thereby offers more bandwidth to the user.

The 5GHz band also has the advantage of being less susceptible to interference from non-Wi-Fi devices such as wireless phones, cameras, or microwave ovens – most of which operate across the 2.4GHz band. At longer distances however, especially where the signal must traverse multiple obstructions, and where interference from other devices is at a minimum, then the 2.4GHz band may ultimately offer a more reliable connection. In such cases, the easiest way to force connection at one band or another is to set the access point’s SSIDs ( this is the name that your device sees when searching for Wi-Fi) to separate identifiers for each band and to then configure each client device’s Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) preferences to first attempt connection to the preferred band.

If you want my advice, and it is free, ask an expert. If you were to go shark hunting you find a Quint. Wi-Fi requirements for you or your business are going to be come more and more important, so invest the time to find the best solution and try to future proof it.

Because just when you are all getting used to the technology, they change it up. Apple is set to add li-fi capability to iPhone, Li-Fi i hear you say! Well at least when it doesn't work they will ask you; "Can you see the light? Yes? Then it's on!".