How to Know When Your Network Isn’t Cutting It

It’s a simple truth: home networking is the backbone of your smart home system. But your network does more than that in your Tampa, FL property. It allows you to connect to the internet, stream your favorite music and watch all of the best TV content. Needless to say, it’s pretty important. But how do you know when it’s time to upgrade yours? In this blog, we’ll take you through some reasons you may need to upgrade your home network. Read on for the top signs!

Sign 1: Your smart devices often lag or don’t respond to commands

Perhaps the most obvious reason you want to upgrade your network is to enjoy the use of multiple devices at once. If you want to raise the lights and lower the shades with a single command on your control device, you’ll need a network that can handle both devices. And you have to remember that your smart home system probably has more than two devices. That means you’ll have to have a network that can support them all.

Sign 2: You want to stream 4K content and lossless audio

You may love the idea of watching your favorite TV shows, movies and sports in 4K, but you may not realize that 4K content puts a huge strain on unprepared networks. After all, 4K Ultra HD offers four times the resolution of 1080p – so your standard cables and wireless connections will need a much higher bandwidth if you want to support it. If they don’t have the bandwidth, you could suffer less-than-optimal content or even no playback at all.

Add to that the growing popularity of lossless audio files. Lossless files are a lot bigger than your average MP3, and, similarly to 4K content, you’ll need a higher bandwidth to enjoy them.

Sign 3: You want to enjoy your smart system in the backyard or a satellite house

There’s virtually no limit to how big your smart home system can be, but if you want to have the same level of control in your pool house, backyard or above the garage that you enjoy in your main building, you’ll need to upgrade your network.

Sure, you can install a separate, smaller system in these spaces, but that doesn’t satisfy a lot of homeowners. They want to watch the same movies they can enjoy in their home theater via the same server. They want to control the smart locks and more throughout their same property. For these reasons and more, a stronger network may be necessary.

So What’s the Solution?

What do you do if you want to upgrade your network? It may require upgrading the cables, or integrating a wireless mesh network throughout your entire property. In short, it’s a complicated process! Consult a professional AV installer to get the best recommendations for your unique needs for a fully customized solution.

Still have questions? We’re here to help. Contact us today for more information by filling out this short form or by giving us a call at 727-441-9292.