Internet, wifi and your home network

Wi-Fi and internet are terms that are often used to mean the same thing, but they’re actually quite different things.

Understanding the difference can make it much easier to work out what has gone wrong when something stops working — and can help explain why the internet works perfectly in one room but terribly in another.

internet and wifi are not the same thing

The internet is the connection between your home and the outside world.

WiFi is one of the ways your devices connect to your home network.

Think of it this way:

Internet → Router → WiFi → Your devices

Your internet connection arrives at your home and connects to your router. The router then creates a local network that your computers, phones, tablets, TVs and other devices can connect to. This is called a LAN.

Most of those devices connect using WiFi, although some may connect directly to the router with an Ethernet cable.

This means it is quite possible to have working WiFi but no internet connection.

Your phone or computer may happily show that it is connected to WiFi, but if your router has lost its connection to your internet provider, you still won't be able to get online.

so what is a router?

Your router is the little box — sometimes several little boxes — responsible for connecting the devices in your home to each other and to the internet.

Depending on your internet connection, you may also have an ONT (Optical Network Terminal), which is the box where a fibre connection enters your house. This is the modern day equivalent of a phone jack and is owned by Chorus. It is physically secured to the wall, and if you move house it stays exactly where it is - ready and waiting for the router that the new occupant supplies.

In many New Zealand homes with fibre, the basic arrangement looks something like this:

Fibre → ONT → Router → Your home network

The router usually provides both WiFi and Ethernet connections.

Some people still use the word modem for their router. Historically, modems were separate devices that connected to older telephone-line internet services. Modern fibre connections work differently, although internet providers still sometimes use terms such as "modem/router" for the equipment they supply.

For most people, router is the useful word to remember.

what is a wifi network?

Your router broadcasts a WiFi network with a name — sometimes called the SSID.

This might be something supplied by your internet provider, such as:

Vodafone-AB1234 or Smart Modem 2 xk32

or it might be something you have named yourself - John and Jim WiFi

The WiFi password allows devices to join that network and is usually on a sticker on the back or bottom of the router.

Once a device has successfully connected, it will usually remember the network and reconnect automatically whenever it is within range.

2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi

Many modern routers provide WiFi using two different frequency bands:

2.4 GHz WiFi travels further and passes through walls and other obstacles more effectively, but is generally slower and more prone to interference.

5 GHz WiFi is generally faster and can provide better performance when you are reasonably close to the router, but it doesn't travel as far or penetrate walls as well.

Modern equipment will often choose between the two automatically, so you may not even see two separate WiFi networks.

And now for an extremely common source of confusion...

5 GHz WiFi is NOT the same thing as 5G on your mobile

Despite the annoyingly similar names, 5 GHz WiFi and 5G mobile service are completely different things.

5 GHz Wi-Fi refers to the radio frequency used by your Wi-Fi network inside your home.

5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile phone network technology provided by companies such as One NZ, Spark and 2degrees.

The G in 5G means "generation".

The GHz in 5 GHz means "gigahertz" and describes a radio frequency.

So:

5 GHz = a type of WiFi

5G = a type of cellular/mobile network

Your phone can use both. When you're at home it might be connected to your router using 5 GHz Wi-Fi. When you leave the house and Wi-Fi disappears, it might connect to the internet using a 5G mobile network instead.

They just happen to have confusingly similar names.

what is mobile data?

Your smartphone doesn't need WiFi to access the internet.

When WiFi isn't available, it can use the mobile network through your SIM or eSIM. This is called mobile data.

Depending on where you are and what your phone and mobile provider support, you might see symbols such as 4G, 5G or LTE.

This is why your phone may still have internet access when your home internet isn't working.

It's also a useful troubleshooting test.

If a website won't load while your phone is connected to your home Wi-Fi, try temporarily turning Wi-Fi off on the phone. If the website suddenly works using mobile data, the problem is probably with your home internet or network rather than the website itself.

Just remember that mobile data counts towards your mobile plan if your plan has a data allowance.

why is my wifi terrible in the bedroom?

WiFi signals don't travel perfectly through buildings.

Distance matters, but so do walls, floors and what they're made from. Concrete, brick, metal and even things such as large appliances can affect WiFi signals.

Where your router is positioned therefore matters enormously.

A router hidden in a cupboard at one end of the house is unlikely to provide wonderful WiFi at the other end.

If you have good internet near the router but poor performance elsewhere in the house, your internet connection may be perfectly fine — you may have a WiFi coverage problem.

That's an important distinction.

Upgrading to a faster internet plan won't necessarily fix poor WiFi coverage.

what is mesh wifi?

A mesh WiFi system uses several WiFi units placed around the house rather than relying on one router to cover everything.

The units work together to provide one WiFi network, and your phone, tablet or computer can move between them as you move around the house. If it is set up well, you won't notice any drop in WiFi signal.

Mesh systems can be particularly useful in:

larger houses
multi-storey houses
houses with thick walls
homes where the internet connection enters the building in an inconvenient location

They're generally a much better solution than simply putting increasingly powerful equipment in one corner of the house and hoping for the best.

what about wifi extenders?

WiFi extenders or repeaters can sometimes help, but they aren't always the best solution.

They receive an existing WiFi signal and retransmit it further into the house. The problem is that they need a decent signal themselves in order to work well.

Putting an extender in a room where the WiFi is already terrible doesn't magically give it a good connection.

For larger homes or persistent coverage problems, a properly positioned mesh system is often a better solution.

ethernet - the boring but excellent option

Not everything needs to use WiFi.

An Ethernet cable provides a direct wired connection between a device and your network.

Where it's practical, Ethernet is usually faster, more reliable and less affected by interference than WiFi. Most new builds and renovations will factor in ethernet cabling (cat6) throughout the home, it is the best way to get a high quality and consistent network experience, so if you home has it, try to use it!

Desktop computers, TVs, network storage devices and other equipment that stays in one place can often benefit from a wired connection.

WiFi is wonderfully convenient. Ethernet is wonderfully boring.

Boring is sometimes exactly what you want from technology.

the wifi isn't working!

Before deciding that everything is broken, it helps to work out which bit isn't working.

Ask:

Is just one device affected, or everything?
Does the device show that it is connected to WiFi?
Do other devices have internet access?
Does the internet work when you're standing close to the router?
Does your phone work if you turn WiFi off and use mobile data?
Are there warning lights (or no lights) on the router or fibre ONT?
Has anything recently been unplugged or moved?

These simple checks can tell you whether you're dealing with:

a device problem, a WiFi problem, a router problem, or an internet connection problem.

Those are four different problems — even though they can all look remarkably similar when all you want to do is read your email. Give me a call and I can help isolate the problem!

one final thing: write your wifi details down

Your WiFi network name and password are worth recording somewhere sensible.

They're needed surprisingly often: new phones, visitors, TVs, printers, smart devices and replacement computers all need them.

And if someone else ever needs to help manage your technology, knowing which router you have, where it is, who provides your internet and what your WiFi details are can save an enormous amount of unnecessary detective work.

Which, not entirely coincidentally, is exactly the sort of information worth including in a good Technology Plan.