Covid Throttling?

[Anonymous]

Have we talked about these scarce resources?

My ATT is two bars. It's usually better. There is no place I can go in my house for an improvement. Do the satellites have covid?

My wifi is all bars, and I even sat next to the router today. However, during zoom meetings I get messages that my connection is unstable and I have horrible call performance at regular intervals.

There is no other streaming going on.

Am I competing with my fios neighbors?

[Anonymous]

Could be a lot of things. Generally, communications networks in the U.S. are holding up well. In other countries, not so well.

More people are using their smartphones. That means more people are sharing a fixed wireless resource -- the neighborhood base station. Even though phone bars look low sometimes the network will adapt and give you more resources once you start a call.

Wi-Fi at home is two things -- the Wi-Fi connection between the router and your computer and phone, and the broadband connection connected to the router. I guess your Wi-Fi connection is fine and the limitation is the broadband cable or fiber connection to the router. Switch to a higher speed plan and see if that helps. Cable broadband (Xfinity, etc.) has more trouble with this than fiber broadband (Fios, etc.) because of its architecture.

Competing with Wi-Fi neighbors? Wi-Fi uses several different radio channels. They can interfere with each other. Restarting the router may allow it to pick better channels depending on how it is set up. It is possible to look at what channels are in use in your area and pick the best channels manually but that is too much to discuss here.

Here are some tips from the UK communications regulator that should apply to all:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/stay-connected

[Anonymous]

Oh, I see you are using Fios. If all else fails call Verizon. I find their tech support is above average.

[Anonymous]

With most Zoom meetings there is an option to participate by telephone instead of video.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all, for the intel!