Get the most out of WiFi at University
We all love WiFi. Without it our world would fall apart. When it’s down, we feel down, and when it’s working, we feel invincible.
With that in mind, we want to make sure that everyone can access the WiFi for study and recreational purposes, so just follow these simple guidelines and we’ll all have the sweet nectar of data flowing through the inter-tubes and into your phone.
Starting on a low note, don’t connect routers or network switches to the University network. It’s prohibited and against the terms and conditions. Also it’ll interfere with the signal and disrupt everyone’s service. Don’t be that guy.
WiFi is a wave, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum (probably…). So it can be disrupted by, amongst other things, distance, walls, and items which emit electromagnetic radiation like microwaves, TVs, your tanning bed, cyborgs. If you want to Snapchat your mates, don’t do it with the microwave between you and the WiFi access point, even if you’re trying to take a picture of your sick microwave meal, or your popcorn balancing on a bowl to improve pop-rate (this really works).
You’ll get better performance with newer equipment. It’s no accident that you’ll get awful speeds if you’re trying to browse on a laptop from the stone-age. Modern smartphones, tablets and laptops utilise different bands of the WiFi spectrum, meaning they can get better speeds over greater distances.
Busy busy busy. The internet tubes are like roads, the more cars on the street, the slower everyone goes, so maybe think again about Skyping or face-timing your dog at peak times, and stick to the less busy times of the day for intensive data activities.
WiFi is for basic internet access. Web browsing, messaging and email are all fine, but if you want to play online games, watch videos or download movies it would be best to use the wired connection if you can using an Ethernet cable, but please don’t download copyright content.
Also, you can’t connect your Xbox or PlayStation to the wireless, they’ll need to go through their RJ45 port, so that the microwave doesn’t block that all important FIFA shot.
Remember: IT may block or drop ports at the firewall to protect systems and applications at any time so, if you’re doing anything prohibited and find that it suddenly won’t work, talk to IT. Any problems with the WiFi, please report it, as they can’t fix it if they don’t know there’s a problem.
