Problem with others connecting to our wifi

These days most people on holiday want to be able to send emails, share photos taken on mobiles and make video calls.

With guests keen to share their time with you with their friends and family at home they will most likely want to connect their laptops and mobiles to your wifi. And when things are quiet they may want to use their iPads and Kindles, so connecting them with the minimum of fuss is important.

Try to get them set up on your wifi as soon as possible as if you wait until Christmas Day and they have problems your support service may not be available.

If you are giving a present that needs connecting to wifi it is preferable (to avoid the modern equivalent of receiving a gift but not the batteries it needs...) to take a few minutes to open it and connect it to your wifi and then wrap it, so ensuring they can use it immediately. This way if you have any difficulties setting it up you can reach your supplier’s technical support line rather than wait until their office reopens after the holiday.

Remember though that with most homes having six internet connected devices already the number might increase dramatically with a house full of visitors.

The two most important things to remember are firstly that even if a device is not being used if left connected to the wifi it will slightly slow down everything else that is connected, so switch off when not in use. Secondly, devices using a wifi connection will always be slower than those connected using an ethernet cable.

If your guests may be staying in rooms further away than those you normally use the wifi signal to those rooms may be weak or non-existent. You can solve this if necessary with a wifi extender. Try the connectivity before guests arrive and if necessary buy extenders. They are widely available from electrical retailers and online.

Question answered by Bob Elliott from the telephone and broadband provider, UK Telecom. See uktelecom.net for more information on their services in France

If you have a query on this topic send it to news@connexionfrance.com