How do I get wifi in a garden office or outbuilding?
Four options ranked by how well they work, and why the boring one wins.
intermediate2 hr2 min read
Internet & WiFi
Making a home network fast and reliable.
55 guides in Technology
Why is my internet slower than what I pay for?
The difference between advertised, line and wifi speeds, how to measure each, and what you can actually change.
beginner30 min2 min readWhy is my upload speed so much slower than my download?
On most UK connections the asymmetry is designed in, not a fault. What sets your upload figure, when it genuinely matters, and the one symptom that means something is actually wrong.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I factory reset a router, and when should I not?
The pinhole is not a restart. What a reset actually clears, the three situations where it is the right answer, the much larger number where it is not, and what to write down before you do it.
intermediate40 min6 min readHow do I keep working when the broadband goes down?
Getting back online in five minutes using a phone, what to turn off before you do, and the preparation that makes an outage a nuisance rather than a lost day.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I see everything that is connected to my wifi?
Where the device list lives, how to work out what those meaningless names actually are, and the honest answer to whether an unknown entry means someone is using your connection.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I use my phone as a hotspot for a laptop?
Tethering done properly: the three ways to connect, the settings that stop a laptop eating your allowance, and how to get more than a few minutes of use without flattening the phone.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I use powerline adapters?
Sending network over the mains — when they work brilliantly, and the wiring situations where they will not work at all.
beginner30 min2 min readWhat do the lights on my router mean?
The three things a router's lights are telling you, why the internet light is the only one that matters during an outage, and what each colour usually means.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy will the hotel or cafe wifi login page not appear?
Connected, no internet, and the sign-in page never opens. Why it happens — encrypted DNS, a cached page, an old connection remembered — and the four things that reliably force it to appear.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat is the master socket, and how do I use the test socket?
The socket where the line becomes yours, the hidden test socket behind its faceplate, and the ten-minute test that decides whether an engineer visit will be free or chargeable.
intermediate20 min4 min readHow do I restart a router properly?
The correct restart sequence, why the order matters, and the difference between restarting and resetting.
beginner10 min2 min readShould I change my DNS server?
The one free change that can filter adult content for a whole household, block a category of scam sites, and keep working when your provider's own service does not. What it does, what it cannot do, and the honest limits.
intermediate30 min6 min readWhat compensation can I claim when my broadband goes down?
The UK automatic compensation scheme, what it covers, what it does not, and how to claim when a provider quietly fails to pay it.
beginner30 min3 min readWhich ethernet cable do I need — Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a?
For almost every home, the cheapest current category is enough and the expensive one changes nothing. What the categories actually govern, the two situations where the higher grade earns its money, and why the connector on the end matters more than the number.
beginner10 min3 min readWhat is the ONT on my wall, and what do its lights mean?
The small box a full fibre installation leaves on your wall, why it is separate from the router, and which of its lights actually tells you whether the fibre is working.
beginner10 min3 min readWhere should I actually put my mesh wifi nodes?
Why a node placed in the weak spot makes things worse, how wireless backhaul halves the speed at every hop, and the placement rule that makes two nodes beat four.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I stop one device hogging all the broadband?
What quality of service settings actually do, why the modern smart queue version is worth far more than the old per-device kind, and the two changes that fix most households without touching the router at all.
intermediate25 min3 min readWhat do all the sockets and buttons on the back of a router do?
Each socket and control on a home router explained, including the one socket the incoming line must go in and the button that is not a restart no matter how it looks.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat do wifi 5, 6 and 7 actually mean?
What the version numbers and frequency bands really change in a house, and the honest answer to whether a newer router will fix your wifi.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy does my broadband drop at the same time every day?
A drop with a timetable has a cause with a timetable. How to tell a line management reset from electrical interference from a neighbour's equipment, and why repeatedly rebooting the router makes the underlying problem worse.
intermediate30 min4 min readCan I use my old router as a wifi extender?
Yes, and done properly it beats a plug-in extender outright — but only if you run a cable to it. What to change, in what order, and why the wireless version of the same idea is barely worth doing.
advanced45 min4 min readWhat are Matter and Thread, and do they fix smart home compatibility?
Two different things with one goal: a smart home where a device works with whichever app you already use. What each one actually is, what has genuinely improved, and what still does not work.
intermediate30 min6 min readCan I use mobile broadband instead of home broadband?
When a 4G or 5G router genuinely replaces a fixed line, the specific things it is bad at, and how to test before committing.
beginner20 min3 min read
Going deeper: DecisionHQ
Product and option comparisons with explicit criteria, rather than a single recommendation.