Make the Most of Your Smart Home With These Internet Upgrades

Signs you need to upgrade your home WiFi

Your current plan may not be enough for your home’s usage requirements if you experience any or all of these signs:

• You get ‘choppy’ on conference calls. Your teammates may have alerted you more than once that they’re losing you whenever you’re in a meeting. Video conferencing apps typically take up more bandwidth when in use, and they rely on your connection’s upload speed to work seamlessly.
• Uploading, syncing, or backing up files takes longer than they’re supposed to. File transfers should pose no problems if you have good Internet speed.
• You experience lag while gaming or streaming. There’s nothing more inconvenient than having your connection bog down while you’re playing your favorite game, or watching the latest K-Drama.
• The Internet users at home, and the devices they’re using, are growing in number. The more people and devices are connected, the more bandwidth they collectively consume. Your speed requirements multiply exponentially when you all do network-heavy tasks all at the same time, such as file transfers, conference calls, video streaming, or gaming.
• Your smart home devices are experiencing hiccups. Upgrading to a smart home requires a robust home WiFi solution to make sure all your devices are working as intended. While not all of them take up a significant amount of bandwidth individually, they can take a hefty load when used all at the same time. This is particularly the case if you use a smart TV or have a home security camera set up because of video streaming functions.
• Your home is interfering with network reception–literally. Certain home structures and building materials can block WiFi signals from being transmitted to the rest of your home. While a short-term solution is changing your router’s position and elevation, you may also want to consider using WiFi mesh units to maximize your connection’s coverage to the rest of your home.

How your home’s structure and building materials contribute to signal interference

Whether you’re a homeowner or a renter, the structure and layout of your home play a role in your WiFi connectivity. It’s generally recommended to place your router in a central location, particularly if you live in a bungalow or a smaller condo. However, it can be trickier for larger homes–especially ones with wider spaces or several floors.

WiFi signals are typically capable of passing through walls and other obstructions easily. However, certain walls may be thicker, or make use of building materials that block out signals.

• Concrete is one of the most commonly used building materials in Filipino homes, along with brick and stone. Because it’s thick and dense, it’s a major WiFi signal blocker–more so if it’s reinforced with metal.
• Metal conducts electricity and absorbs electromagnetic radio waves, which cause interference in WiFi and even mobile phone coverage. It’s why you lose your signal whenever you enter an elevator–layers of concrete and metal come between your device and any wireless reception. Putting this concept closer to home, metal doors, furniture, appliances, and other household items obstructing your router will affect your connection.
• Because glass reflects light, it can also block out WiFi signals. Mirrors and other types of glass also have thin layers of metal to them, further interfering with connectivity.

While we certainly don’t recommend moving houses just to get your WiFi to work, there’s merit to upgrading your home’s WiFi connection to make sure that every area in your home is covered–especially if you’ve been experiencing lag and slowness while subscribed to your current plan.

Your home’s ideal usage requirements

No household is ever the same. Your Internet usage requirements will always differ, depending on the number of users and devices you have at home. Here’s a handy guide from our Mbps 101 series to give you an idea of how much bandwidth you need:

In other words, if more than one adult is working from home and streaming and gaming are part of how they destress from work, upgrading to a 200 Mbps fiber plan may be more sustainable in the long run–especially if they have smart home devices.

Upgrading your Internet speed allows you to do more, watch more, and play more–regardless of how your home is built, or any signal blockers that are in the way. If you and your family live in a large home with multiple stories, we recommend upgrading to PLDT Home’s Fiber Plus Plan 2399, which gives you up to 400 Mbps for big file transfers, seamless HD streaming, and gaming. You’ll also receive three WiFi mesh units, ensuring whole home coverage without compromising on your network’s speed.

Meanwhile, if you’re a power user–someone whose WFH requirements demand a robust Internet solution–Fiber Plus Plan 2999 by PLDT Home is for you. This plan is best suited for larger homes with multiple devices, so you can stream in HD, transfer files without fuss, and play online games to your heart’s content. 

Here are the different ways you can upgrade your current fiber plan:

Make PLDT Home your next upgrade today

Don’t let slow Internet get you down. Find out how you can upgrade your PLDT Home plan for high-speed Internet anywhere at home. Subscribe today to the Philippines’ undisputed fastest Internet for five straight years, and experience the difference!