What makes wifi

Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Well, that's exactly the question we're going to be tackling in today's podcast. What Is Bluetooth? How to Stop a Hacker. Get smart. The downside is there's no support for Wi-Fi 6.

If you have a lot of brand-new devices that support Wi-Fi 6, that might be a deal breaker. We also found that some devices needed to be closer to the Vilo routers than on other systems.

Still, if you're on a tight budget, the Vilo might be the answer. If messing around with your router settings seems too daunting, and you have a few dollars to spare, invest in a Wi-Fi extender or repeater. These devices plug into a spare wall socket, connect to the wireless internet getting beamed out by your router, and then extend it. They're usually simple to set up, easy to use, and can instantly get rid of Wi-Fi dead zones in your house.

The extended or repeated wireless signals won't be as strong as the ones coming straight from your router, so again, positioning is important. Try to use these devices to connect gadgets that don't need a huge amount of bandwidth. Make sure the maximum supported Wi-Fi standard e. An alternative to extenders is a powerline kit.

Digital signals can pass through electrical wiring, and powerline devices are designed to take advantage of this. It works like this: You connect a powerline plug to your router, then put the plug into a wall socket. Add another powerline plug in any other room in your house, and it can provide a wired or wireless connection to that room.

There will be some drop in speed, but it's a simple and effective option. Unless your home is particularly old, it should have electrical wiring that supports this, but it's best to buy your kit from a retailer with a robust return policy just in case. We probably don't have to tell you this, but you need a password on your Wi-Fi network. It's good for keeping hackers away and keeping neighbors from Netflixing off of your bandwidth, which will definitely slow you down.

Make sure you use AES encryption, which is both the most secure and most speed-friendly security option. Having dozens of things tapping into the Wi-Fi at once can be problematic.

Plug anything you can into Ethernet, and unplug anything you have connected but don't need like that "smart" tea kettle you never once got to work. Film TV Games. Fortnite Game of Thrones Books. Comics Music. Wi-Fi 6: is it really that much faster? New, 63 comments.

Linkedin Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. What is Wi-Fi 6? How fast is it? The short but incomplete answer: 9. Next Up In Tech. Sign up for the newsletter Verge Deals Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week. Just one more thing! Please confirm your subscription to Verge Deals via the verification email we just sent you. Email required. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

Loading comments Share this story Twitter Facebook. Those radio waves emanate outwards from the antenna and are received by your wireless router. That wireless router then converts the radio waves back into data and then sends that data to the Internet using a physical connection. At a high level this is how all wireless communication works.

However, WiFi has a few notable differences from other wireless technologies. For example…. These frequencies are much higher than the frequencies uses for cellular transmission. Higher frequency means that signals can carry more data. However, all forms of wireless communication represent a tradeoff between power consumption, range, and bandwidth. But this was with non-standard WiFi equipment and 6 watt amplifiers. And, of course, no physical barriers in the way to stop the signal.

For your average WiFi router, ranges are much, much shorter and depend on a number of factors. Range can depend on the antenna, reflection and refraction, and radio power output. A range of about ft is common, so why can't you get a signal when you're standing in the next room?

It might be a physical barrier. Radio waves pass through most kinds of materials, but can be blocked or absorbed by materials that conduct electricity.

Water conducts electricity, meaning that our bodies can actually interfere with WiFi. But don't be alarmed, radio waves don't cause cellular damage.