WiFi users have no idea how much range is lost at home

People in the Netherlands are quite satisfied with the quality of their WiFi, although little is known about the loss of WiFi range at home. More than half of all WiFi users (59%) have no idea how much range is lost at home and especially how they can fix this. This is evident from the WiFi Monitor carried out among WiFi users on behalf of KPN. Four out of five WiFi users perceive WiFi at home as good to very good. Young people are more likely to be dissatisfied with their WiFi range. They have more devices that connect to the internet via WiFi.

With hybrid working increasingly becoming the norm, KPN has launched an information campaign so that you can get the most out of your WiFi. Unfortunately, not everyone succeeds in getting a top-quality connection everywhere in their home. Poor WiFi range in the home causes a slow or instable internet connection. One in five (21%) WiFi users moves around the home to find a location with better WiFi coverage, for instance when they are about to have an important video meeting.

Working from home has highlighted the importance of a good WiFi connection. Seven percent of those who work from home indicate to have rushed back to the office on one occasion because they had better WiFi there. Not only does a poor WiFi connection cause frustration among users, it also leads to annoyance among their colleagues. A quarter of WiFi users (25%) have occasionally addressed someone else about their poor connection.

Better a slow than a failing connection
The WiFi quality issue users are most dissatisfied with is a failing connection (63%). This causes more frustration than a connection that is too slow (42%). The solution most users (49%) seek is switching to mobile internet (4G/5G) and a small group (15%) is able to use wired internet in such cases. Nearly one in three users have adjusted their modem settings themselves to get better WiFi throughout the house, while switching channels often provides a solution.

Since the emergence of wireless internet, the demands on WiFi have increased. This has partly to do with the number of users; one-third normally use the WiFi connection with two or more other people at the same time. At the same time, we have more and more devices in our homes that are connected to the internet via WiFi. Over a third (36%) of young WiFi users indicate that they have more than ten devices connected to WiFi in their home. The average user indicates to have three devices connected to WiFi.

Smaller Christmas tree in exchange for better WiFi
Despite the fact that most households have a good internet connection, many Mbit/s are lost in the home, which is obviously a pity. The living room (55%) and the meter box (34%) are favorite spots to place the router that broadcasts the WiFi signal in the home. This means that the range is perceived as high quality in adjacent rooms but much less so in areas like the attic and the garage. Over a third (37%) solve this by using WiFi amplifiers, especially in larger homes.

Multiple factors can cause the WiFi range in the home to decline. Not only the distance to the modem but also obstacles such as walls, doors, an aquarium and even people can interfere with the WiFi signal. And Christmas trees with their lights can often cause problems with WiFi reception. One in five WiFi users is willing to have a smaller Christmas tree in their home if it means better WiFi. Younger users in particular (38%) prefer to have a smaller tree rather than compromise on their WiFi quality.

Five certainties of good WiFi
KPN will present the results of the KPN WiFi Monitor during the autumn campaign about WiFi in the home. Do you also want to be assured of top-quality WiFi, anytime and anywhere? KPN’s modems have the latest technology for an even more powerful WiFi signal. You can use the online WiFi Manager to check and improve the WiFi quality throughout your home yourself. What’s more, with the KPN Home-app, the WiFi Desk and our professional installers, KPN guarantees successful installation of your modem or SuperWiFi.