Slow Wi-Fi at the office: the real causes (and is Wi-Fi 7 worth it?)

By Ricardo Da Silva, RSCOM · 10 October 2026

“The Internet is slow” is one of the most frequent complaints at the office. In most cases it is neither the provider’s fault nor the computers’, but the Wi-Fi’s. And replacing the access point with the latest standard does not always solve it. Here is how to find the real cause.

Step 1: Internet or Wi-Fi?

Plug a laptop with a cable directly into the router or switch, then run a speed test. Repeat the test over Wi-Fi, at the same spot and then at a distant workstation.

• Slow even with a cable: the problem is the Internet connection or the router.
• Fast with a cable, slow on Wi-Fi: it really is the Wi-Fi.

The most frequent causes

• A single access point for the whole floor, often the provider router’s Wi-Fi, placed in a cabinet or behind a load-bearing wall. Reinforced concrete, laminated glass and metal cabinets block the signal.
• Wi-Fi repeaters: handy at home, they often halve throughput and add instability. At the office, access points connected by cable are preferred.
• Too many devices on one access point: computers, phones, printers, meeting-room screens, connected devices.
• An old device slowing the others down on the same access point.
• The neighbours: in a building, dozens of networks share the same 2.4 GHz channels.
• One big network for staff, guests and devices: less secure and harder to control.

Good practice for professional Wi-Fi

1. Several cabled ceiling access points, managed together (for example Ubiquiti UniFi or Ruckus), placed according to an on-site survey.
2. The same network name everywhere, to move from room to room without dropping.
3. A separate network for guests, and another one (VLAN) for printers and connected devices.
4. 5 GHz (and 6 GHz if available) for computers; 2.4 GHz only for the devices that need it.
5. A switch that powers the access points through the cable (PoE): one less socket on the ceiling.

Wi-Fi 6, 6E or 7: should you upgrade?

Wi-Fi 7 promises very high speeds, but they are only reached with compatible computers and access points, at short range, and with an Internet connection and cabling able to keep up. In most SMEs, a well-designed Wi-Fi 6 or 6E (enough access points, well placed, cabled) brings more than a badly installed Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 7 becomes interesting during a complete renewal, in very dense premises or for specific needs (meeting rooms, large file transfers).

In short: design matters more than the standard. An on-site survey (coverage study) avoids buying access points at random.

Read also

• Two-factor authentication is no longer enough: 5 blind spots to know
• Personal computers and external providers: how to protect company data
• Browser extensions: the quiet danger (and how to clean up)

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