I have many of the best smart home devices in my apartment

From smart lights to the best security cameras, there are always dozens of gadgets connected to my router Lately, I've been struggling to connect new devices to my Wi-Fi network Meanwhile, the performance of existing setups like smart TVs has also been erratic

After resetting the router and figuring out everything connected to the router, I realized that my gadgets were fighting each other for data and took steps to fix the problem Read on to find out how you can diagnose this problem, understand its root cause, and ultimately improve performance

One of the first signs of a congested network is slow Internet speeds This most often manifests itself as massive buffering in streaming services or noticeable lag in online video games If the network is congested, devices will compete with each other for bandwidth, which can cause interference

The most obvious sign that I had a network problem was that my device would frequently disconnect from Wi-Fi I was disconnected from my Ring Pan-Tilt security camera and Google Smart TV, which I use daily If you don't have the router app, you can enter the IP address into your web browser A web management portal will then open to track the connected devices From here, you can see which devices are consuming the most bandwidth and, if necessary, adjust QoS or prioritize data to specific devices

Too many devices connected to a single access point will overcrowd the network A smart home consists of dozens of gadgets connected to the Internet, constantly consuming bandwidth as they relay information and wait for input This can be as simple as a smart light waiting for a command or as network-intensive as a collection of security cameras Combine this incessant load with other demanding activities such as cloud gaming, streaming 4K video, or downloading large media files, and even the best routers can stumble

If you don't want to spend the money, you can make a few simple changes to improve speed and connectivity

For example, connect an Ethernet cable to a gaming system, computer, streaming box, or other device that supports a wired connection This way you can greatly reduce demand from heavy hitters and free up wireless traffic areas

You can also create a separate network dedicated to smart home devices and segment traffic into a single channel I use the 24 GHz band for this purpose and the 5 GHz band for high-powered streaming and browsing

Realistically, I recommend investing in a mesh Wi-Fi system This will expand the reach of the network and the amount of devices that can be tolerated, as the load is shared between individual routers Your home and yard will be covered with consistent, strong coverage and the possibility of dead zones will be eliminated

Anything older than the Wi-Fi 6 mesh system is not recommended, as this standard is optimized to efficiently manage multiple devices