Heroic Wellesley Wi-Fi

Live in Wellesley, MA and want wonderful Wi-Fi at home? I’ve personally helped over 300 Wellesley residents improve their home Internet, and I am excited to share some handy recommendations if you are a do-it-yourselfer looking for faster Wi-Fi speeds, expanded Wi-Fi range, a more reliable connection, and better value for your money.

Check Verizon FioS and Xfinity (Comcast): They both advertise similar download speeds for comparable prices, but sometimes one provider offers better speeds or offers. Both internet service providers (“ISPs”) frequently run promotions specifically designed to get homeowners to switch to their service, which can offer especially low rates for 1- or 2-year terms. You can often quickly determine what services are available at your specific address by looking at the respective websites for Verizon and Comcast. It’s worth noting that Verizon has fiber optic lines running throughout town, but Comcast's fiber optic coverage is less ubiquitous.

Pro Tip: Even if you are satisfied with your current ISP, it’s worth checking to see if you could save some money while maintaining your existing service! I have found that many Wellesley homeowners have suboptimal contracts due to the evolution of pricing and network speeds over the past few years. Over the past two decades, internet speeds have steadily increased, while prices have decreased simultaneously; the result is that some customers may be engaged in an antiquated contract, reflecting the pricing of years past. Sometimes a phone call is all it takes to increase your speeds at no cost, or to reduce your bill while maintaining your speeds.

Leverage existing wiring: Have cat5 or cat6 (ethernet) cables installed throughout your house? You should use them! Wired connections provide faster and more reliable signals than wireless ones do, so leveraging existing wires is a great way to bolster internet connectivity. Relatedly, if your residence has existing coaxial (coax) cables, these can also be used to bolster your internet system. With cat-to-coaxial MoCa adapters (see this example from Translite), you can use coaxial cables to transmit your ethernet signal with relatively high fidelity.

Install a mesh network: For many houses, buying and setting up a mesh network provides substantially superior coverage and speed than a traditional network repeater (often called a network extender). I’d recommend looking for the latest generation of Wi-Fi – currently Wi-Fi 6 – upon which most internet devices will likely be designed to interface with for at least the next few years. Mesh networks broadcast the same network from multiple source points (called nodes), which means your Wi-Fi connection is maintained as you move from one area of the house to another (this is not the case when you have multiple networks). Plus, most mesh systems cost less over time than renting hardware (routers, modems, gateways) from your internet service provider does. I especially like the Eero mesh network system, but Google, Orbi (Netgear), and others make some neat products in this space as well. 

Use advanced maintenance techniques: Many mesh network systems allow users to prioritize specific devices, which comes in handy when you want to make it clear to your home network that you need an important video call to work well on a specific device.  You can also set up remote access, monitor internet quality, manage parental controls/device restrictions, and proactively troubleshoot issues like buffer bloat. Some mesh systems also support system-wide advertisement blocking/content filtering.

Update your software: Software updates play a critical role in maintaining the reliability and functionality of our internet-connected devices. Whether we are talking about smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, desktop computers, printers, smart TVs, smart speakers, routers, etc, the manufacturers of our internet-enabled devices rely on software updates to update security definitions, address software glitches, and enhance performance. When visiting the homes of clients who hired me to address their Wi-Fi connectivity issues, I frequently encounter situations where the only problem is outdated firmware. Moreover, making sure all of your Wi-Fi enabled devices are running the latest software updates available to them is a critical first step in improving connectivity and troubleshooting poor Wi-Fi performance. 

What Comes Next?

It’s not uncommon that homeowners set up their Wi-Fi networks then leave them untouched for years or sometimes decades! As a result, they experience unoptimized network performance, exorbitant prices, or both. We hope this article has helped you bolster your Wi-Fi network, and you should follow Wellesley Home Hero on Facebook for future articles like how to avoid common homeowner mistakes.

Disclosures

We do things differently at Wellesley Home Hero. This page does not contain any affiliate links and this article does not generate revenue by promoting specific products or providers. Instead, Wellesley Home Hero always puts our homeowner’s best interests first. Accordingly, we earn revenue when busy Wellesley homeowners hire us for our time-saving expertise. If you’re a busy Wellesley homeowner interested in saving time, request an invite to Wellesley Home Hero’s private beta. We would love to help.