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Whether at work, at home, or both in the case of any office staff working remotely, few words are more chilling than “hey, what’s up with the Wi-Fi?”

In today’s ever-connected world of business, warehouses are no exception to the constant need for internet access. There’s computers that need to track orders, there’s handheld RFID devices that need to scan inventory levels, there’s tablets that need to manage shop floor operations, and it can all come grinding to a halt if there’s a problem with the wi-fi in your warehouse.

And while we’re not exactly IT specialists, we do know the pain that comes with network issues – and we know that warehouses tend to have a few pretty unique causes for Wi-Fi outages.

 

Common Causes of Wi-Fi Outages in Warehouses

 

The typical leading cause of Wi-Fi problems in warehouses is blocked signals from warehouse installations.

 Think about it like this – you’ve probably spent hours arranging things like pallet racks, industrial wire shelves, and other warehouse storage shelving for optimum traffic flow and item retrievability. But then when it came time to set up your Wi-Fi routers throughout the warehouse, you probably just threw them wherever you could find an outlet, right?

 

Don’t worry, we’ve all done it! But if this is starting to sound familiar, then you’ve likely identified a major cause of Wi-Fi blockage. Try to make sure your routers and access points aren’t immediately blocked off by anything – dense walls, heavy pallets, or even containers full of certain products or materials can contribute to difficulties maintaining a good Wi-Fi connection.

This goes for routers inside warehouse offices too – the walls can often be a barrier to Wi-Fi access, and without the right signal boosters spread throughout the warehouse, you can find yourself losing connection when you need it most.

 

Electromagnetic interference can be a huge contributing factor, too. If you have motorized systems placed near your routers, it could be causing electromagnetic interference that disrupts the Wi-Fi and makes your internet connection less reliable. If you need to move products through the warehouse, try to keep your routers closer to the manual equipment like gravity conveyors to avoid this interference.

 

Finally, the devices themselves may be part of the problem. A lot of warehouses these days have adopted a BYOD (bring your own device) culture, allowing for workers to use a device they’re more comfortable with to perform their tasks. These different devices, however, can all have different impacts on Wi-Fi usage, and there might just be too darn many of them at once. Try to limit the amount of devices that can be connected to your network at one time – or, better yet, try creating a separate network to handle the traffic from non-essential devices.

We all know how many different Wi-Fi problems can crop up during the workday, but these steps may at least help reduce them – and if not, it may be time to sit on hold for hours with tech support. (Again.)

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