Whole house Wi Fi: a pain point that no one can solve?

author | Booth
edit | Xiaomu
Produce | Where is Chi zhinaer.cn

I believe many readers have similar experiences ： The Internet is fast and slow 、 Close the door and open the door at two speeds 、 The router doesn't know where the signal is best …… These problems , In the final analysis, there is no clear whole house Wi-Fi Concept .

Today, smart home is popular , Internet experience is still not a good guarantee . When we focus on how to realize home automation , Whether it deliberately ignores the most basic life guarantee of users ——Wi-Fi.

1
Reunderstanding Wi-Fi

First , This tool we use to surf the Internet everyday , be called Wi-Fi, instead of WiFi or Wifi.Wi-Fi My full name is WirelessFidelity, Wireless fidelity . It is mainly a trademark , But it also represents a technology . But because Wi-Fi Is based on IEEE802.11 Standard development , therefore Wi-Fi Basically equivalent to the former .

In essence ,Wi-Fi Surfing the Internet is actually born to get rid of the extended short board of the limited network . In my memory , In the University era, operators often promoted a kind of service called WLAN Wireless networks for , and Wi-Fi Namely WLAN A sub brand of , Or a technology .

Now , We have to WLAN No stranger , And it refers to wireless LAN .Wi-Fi Only rely on RF Technology WLAN One method of access . But because of Wi-Fi The strong inclusiveness of the alliance , Today, we think that wireless Internet is equal to Wi-Fi.

You can think of it roughly this way ： The network cable is laid to the user's home , In order to realize the scenario of accessing the network everywhere , We created WLAN, The router is WLAN The transmitting terminal , It is responsible for converting wired signals into wireless signals , And the wireless signal is through RF Technology （ The essence is radio waves ） Sending data to surrounding electronic devices , The network card on the device can accept this data , Between the two through a called IEEE802.11 The standards of realize mutual recognition .

1997 Date of birth ,Wi-Fi Has entered into Wi-Fi7 edition , The highest support 30Gbps Rate . stay Wi-Fi under , It's using 2.4GHz and 5GHz These two bands , new Wi-Fi7 Joined the 6GHz Frequency band .

It is worth noting that ,Wi-Fi Patent holder , It used to be the Australian government . This is because Wi-Fi The technology behind it was originally developed by a research team under the Australian government , And when international Wi-Fi When the alliance requests it to open the patent right , Was rejected . The Australian government was in 2009 Year won 14 Infringement compensation of technology companies , The amount is up to 10 Billion dollars .

and Wi-Fi It was also rated as the greatest invention in Australian history by Australian media . Fortunately, , As early as 2013 year , These patents held by the Australian government have expired . at that time , There are already about 50 Billion devices passed Wi-Fi Connect .

2
Why are we always Wi-Fi troubled ？

In the past two years , Many people start to work at home , and Wi-Fi The signal may not be as awesome as their office in the company . Why is that ？

First , It depends on the maximum bandwidth of your router ？ If the bandwidth of wired network is 300M, But the router bandwidth is 150M, Then it is obvious that the router limits the network speed . At the same time , Even if the router meets the requirements , There are too many Internet users in the community during peak hours , It will also rob certain bandwidth resources . After all, the total bandwidth of an operator accessing a cell is limited . So the so-called gigabit optical fiber you installed , Just a theoretical peak .

secondly , There is also a very important point ： Your router layout is unreasonable . Nowadays, many families put routers in the living room , Recognize that this can radiate the whole house . Actually , What many people don't know ——Wi-Fi The signal can't go through the wall at all ！

In China, , The highest transmission power of the router is 100mW, This power is difficult to penetrate the concrete wall . The reason why it is limited to 100mW, Out of consideration for human health . So why can we surf the Internet in the bedroom ？ This is because the antenna of the router is pointing 360 Degree emitting signal , The signal （ That is, electromagnetic waves ） Will experience direct sunlight 、 Reflection, diffraction and other processes , Eventually, some signals will enter the room .

The bedroom door is usually made of wood , It will attenuate the signal , But it will not completely block . in fact ,Wi-Fi Signals are not absolutely impermissible , But it will decay to one thousandth of the original or even lower , It can be ignored . Therefore , It is very wrong to put the router in the weak current box for the sake of aesthetics , Because metal obstacles have certain dielectric and dielectric properties , Will absorb some electromagnetic waves .

And a little bit more , Our router can choose 2.4GHz and 5GHz Frequency band . Many people mistakenly think 5GHz More penetrating , Absolutely wrong , Actually 5GHz The penetration ability of is even worse . Because the higher the frequency , Shorter wavelength , The closer the peaks and troughs are , The greater the difference of electric field at a certain point when the electromagnetic wave propagates in the medium , Thereby increasing losses .

therefore , When used correctly , Choose... As much as you can 2.4GHz, And the antenna is arranged vertically , Don't scatter （ This does not increase the coverage of the signal ）. Of course , If 2.4GHz Take up a lot （ For example, smart home devices ）, The choice of the 5GHz.5GHz Its advantage is that it has a wide frequency band , Less interference , It can support higher wireless rate .

So how do we make the whole house Wi-Fi Well ？

Basically, there are three schemes ：
One is to pass. Mesh networking , Multiple routers bridge for more dense signal coverage ;
The second is to lay network cables in each room that needs Internet access in advance , That's what they say AC+AP programme ;
Third, with support PLC The router , Realize a network cable to connect the main route , Other sub routes are networks that transmit signals by wires .

relatively speaking , The third scheme is more general , But we need to choose products with real technical strength . Of course , The cost is also more expensive .

3
Whole house Wi-Fi Inspiration

in fact , With the rise of the whole house intelligence concept , Whole house Wi-Fi Was gradually mentioned by more people . Because many smart homes based on wireless solutions support Wi-Fi agreement . But the whole house can really be sold in the market Wi-Fi Do a deep 、 There are relatively few well-established brands .

Before promoting smart home , Excellent online experience is the first link . This is like Decoration Engineering , The water and electricity team that entered the site at the first time , We should first do a good job in the hidden infrastructure , Then consider the next thing .

Especially for the large flat and villa , Whole house Wi-Fi Reasonable planning is more important . This is not only related to the online experience , It is also related to the subsequent landing of the whole house intelligence . relatively speaking , Large houses are not suitable for routers Mesh networking , That is, bridged signal forwarding , Although it can improve the coverage of a single router , But there will still be a certain degree of attenuation .

And the second 、 Three options , In fact, they all need reasonable planning in the early stage . Naturally, the network cable needs to be set separately , And based on PLC The scheme ,PLC Technology on the choice of wires 、 Wiring paths and electrical parts such as transformers also have certain requirements . Basically, these things should be implemented in the hydropower sector .

This requires that , Brand or channel provider of whole house intelligence , We need to put the most basic Wi-Fi Guarantee front . In the process of promotion , You can also put the whole house Wi-Fi As a cutting entrance , To guide users to gradually accept higher-level home automation transformation .

In previous articles ,《 Where is Chi 》 Once introduced designers 、 Decoration companies play a role in guiding the purchase of smart home . And no matter what kind of role , The pre link of shopping guide is to guide users to the whole house Wi-Fi Have a deep understanding . With the increase of mobile devices in a single home , And smart TV 、 camera 、 The popularity of video locks and other products that require high bandwidth ,Wi-Fi Security has increasingly become a major pain point .

At present , Most users are right Wi-Fi The cognitive , Still stay in choosing one “ Powerful ” The level of router , Think more antennas 、 The faster the speed is, the better the online experience will be , And ignore the whole house Wi-Fi The construction of . Due to the natural shielding of the concrete house to the signal , No matter how powerful the router is , It is impossible to solve the Internet problem perfectly .

that , For smart home channel providers , With the whole house Wi-Fi To pry customers , It may be more practical than selling whole house intelligence directly .