3 common causes of WiFi dead zones in your home – and what you can do about them

Tweet

It's probably happened to you many times: one minute you're enjoying fast WiFi while streaming in the living room, only to lose your signal the moment you step into your bedroom. Or when you're video calling seamlessly from your bedroom, but get disconnected the minute you go inside the bathroom? How about having the urge to Google something, but for some reason just can’t connect from your dining room?

You’re probably in a WiFi dead zone. As the name implies, it’s that part of your house where your WiFi connection just doesn’t seem to work. Don’t worry—it’s not as supernatural as it sounds. In fact, WiFi dead zones are common, and you can do something about them if you just know where to look and what to check. If you’re dealing with WiFi dead zones at home, here are factors that may be affecting how fast you can stream, surf, or download:

Distance from the modem. When it comes to your home WiFi, you always have to consider the distance of your main internet modem to the gadget you’re using. If you’re in one room and the modem is in another, the furniture, doors, walls and even floors can interfere with your connection. A typical 2.4GHz Wi-Fi router can efficiently cover an indoor space of up to 46 meters, and when you move further away from the router, the signal gets weaker. If you live in pretty big house, you’ll definitely need to expand your router’s signal.

Signal-blocking devices. Metal objects, such as furniture, decoration, and household appliances can block signal from your router. Concrete walls and dividers, microwave ovens, and LED lights can also cause interference. Even water and moisture—which can come from unexpected places like plant pots, flower vases, air-conditioners, or an open bathroom door— can weaken wireless signals.

Bandwidth hoggers. When you have too many people connecting to your WiFi, of course, your connection will bog down. Downloading heavy torrent files, playing online games or video streaming can use up most of the bandwidth allocation.

So what can you do?

Depending on the service provider and router you have, you can always go online and look for DIY solutions to determine and remove signal barriers in your home. You may also contact your broadband provider for solutions and tips on how to have optimal Wi-Fi performance.

 If you are a PLDT Home subscriber, you have the exclusive privilege of enjoying the Whole Home WiFi service, which uses signal-enhancing devices that connect the entire home to a strong all-in-one broadband and smart WiFi network. This simply means that you won’t have to worry about common WiFi woes because PLDT will customize a tailor-fit a WiFi solution for your home. This means you can enjoy your Netflix shows in the bedroom, watch cooking tutorials in your kitchen, and even stream your favorite songs while in the shower!

Moreover, with Whole Home WiFi service, you have the convenience of consulting your dedicated Home Geek Squad — an expert team whose sole aim is to help you enjoy the best connection in the comfort of your home. You can sit back and relax as they will do a thorough assessment of your place, provide actionable recommendations and implement installations to enhance WiFi performance. You can also call them anytime for after-sales support.

If you have a PLDT Home Fibr or DSL Plan 1899 or below, you can simply upgrade to Plan 3499 to get internet speeds of up to 50 Mbps bundled with the Whole Home WiFi service. If you have a Fibr Plan 2899 subscription, you can simply add P600 to your monthly plan to enjoy the service. Meanwhile, if you are a Fibr Plan 8000 user, all you need to do is extend your subscription from 24 months to 36 months to automatically get Whole Home WiFi on top of your internet speeds of up to 1Gbps.        

With PLDT Whole Home Wifi System, get strong connections everywhere at home. Visit www.pldthome.com/wholehomesystem to find out how you can enjoy the Whole Home WiFi service and make the most of high-speed internet at home.

PLDT HOME bags the best digital innovation award in CIO Asia for data sharing service

Tweet

PLDT HOME and Smart’s data sharing service was recognized as among the most notable digital innovations in the region.

PLDT HOME, the home digital services unit of telecoms leader PLDT, has been recognized for its leadership in digital innovation in Asia for its pioneering data sharing initiative, in partnership with Smart Communications (Smart), in the recent CIO Asia Awards.

PLDT HOME won in the Leadership category and is one of only five outstanding companies in the region included in the Roll of Honour list at the 15th Annual CIO Asia Awards .

“The PLDT HOME DSL data sharing offer is just the beginning of more game-changing converged innovations from PLDT and Smart. This recognition from CIO Asia fuels our inspiration to raise the bar and continuously break new ground in digital and mobile technology,” PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said.

The converged data sharing service from PLDT HOME and Smart is a product of collaboration between the Business and IT teams of the country’s digital and mobile leaders. It is the Philippines’ first data plan that enables subscribers of Home DSL service to share their data allocation with their family’s Smart-powered mobile phones.

It is offered under the Speedster Fam Plan 1299 which gives PLDT HOME DSL subscribers speeds of up to 10 Mbps and a monthly data allocation of 50 gigabytes. By upgrading their Speedster Plan with a Smart Mobile Plan 399 or Plan 600, subscribers can share up to 6 gigabytes of their monthly allocation to their mobile phone lines which they can use even outside the home.

In its citation, CIO Asia Awards said that PLDT HOME and Smart’s data sharing service is “particularly relevant in the Philippines where large, closely-linked family units are common.”

Also in the Honour Roll in this year's awards are Singapore's National Library Board for the Innovation category, Philippines' Manila Water for Transformation, US’ Avnet Inc. for Growth, and Malaysia’s Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad for Performance.

The CIO Asia Awards is a “prestigious annual listing of the top Asian companies that have deployed information and communications technology to derive the highest strategic value and to yield the greatest returns for their key operations and businesses." It was organized by CIO Asia, a leading resource for IT and digital developments in the region.

To know more about the PLDT HOME Speedster Fam Plan 1299, log on to pldthome.com

Celebrity parents Oyo and Kristine Sotto embrace the digital age to nurture their growing family

Tweet

The Internet strengthens the family bond of the Sotto family. It is now easy to share the connection of their HOME DSL to their mobile phones—whether it’s to get updates on their kid’s most recent commercial shoot, plan their next travel getaway or simply share different experiences to make those experiences more meaningful.

The Sottos paint the picture of a happy and connected family with loving parents raising three growing kids. With celebrity power couple Oyo Boy Sotto and Kristine Hermosa driving the foundation of young Kiel (age 7), Ondrea (age 4) and Kaleb (age 1), it is important for them to find ways to maintain strong connections with their kids.

“Our days are full of errands that usually revolve around our kids’ schedules, especially now that Kiel and Ondrea have school,” Tin shared. “We all wake up early and have breakfast together, and then Oyo and I separate to take them to their schools if there’s no driver. While the kids are in school, we do our errands and work out. Then after school, we make sure that they get their homework done before we have our family bonding time.”

Just like any other family, their best days are spent watching movies and eating. Other than the annual trips abroad and sporadic trips to the cinema, the Sottos love to stay at home, where they say find everything they need. “Aside from streaming movies from iflix and Fox, we also watch a lot of cartoons as preferred by the kids,” Oyo said. “We’re so happy to have easy access to our favorite movies and shows whenever we want, on top of strong Internet and the PLDT TVolution Stick that lets us enjoy them in the big screen.”

Backed by the discipline and moderation imposed by the parents, the Internet plays a huge role in the Sottos’ lives. Aside from entertainment and connectivity, the Internet lets Oyo and Tin look up recipes and read the news. “Ondrea loves it when we read stories to her, while Kiel, being more visual, prefers to watch TV to be educated,” Tin added. “It’s really all in the Internet.”

The Internet now strengthens family connections even beyond the home. Thanks to the country’s first data sharing feature by the newest PLDT HOME DSL broadband plan, the Sottos stay in touch even outside the house. It is now easyshare the connection of their HOME DSL to their mobile phones—whether it’s to get updates on Kiel’s most recent commercial shoot, plan their next travel getaway or simply share different experiences to make those experiences more meaningful.

The PLDT HOME DSL Speedster Fam Plan 1299 offers speeds of up to 10 Mbps and a monthly data allocation of 50 GB. Families who upgrade their Speedster Plan with a Smart Mobile Plan 399 or Plan 600 can share 6 GB of the 50 GB monthly data allocation to their smart phones. They may get up to four Smart mobile phone lines bundled with their Speedster Fam Plan, all conveniently billed under one subscription.

“As we always say, Internet today is not just about high-speed connectivity,” PLDT VP and Marketing Director Gary Dujali said. “It is about the Internet helping build strong connections among family members within and beyond the home. We are more than happy to hear that families like the Sottos make the most out of technology in nurturing their bonds with each other wherever they may be. ”

Powered by the PLDT Group’s robust and resilient fixed and wireless networks, the Speedster Fam Plan will also allow families to access and enjoy exclusive offers from PLDT HOME and Smart’s other digital lifestyle partners such as Zalora, foodpanda and Airbnb, whether at home or on mobile.

For more information, log on to pldthome.com.

PLDT introduces game-changing broadband plan with mobile data sharing

Tweet

Leading telecom and digital services provider PLDT has introduced the country’s first broadband plan that cuts across home and mobile broadband subscriptions with the launch of PLDT HOME DSL Speedster Fam Plan 1299.

The country's first data sharing feature by the PLDT HOME DSL Speedster Fam Plan strengthens family connections even further as it lets them share their most meaningful experiences even beyond the home.

Offering five times faster speeds of up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps), the Speedster Fam Plan has shareable monthly data allowance of 50 gigabytes (GB).

“To enjoy the Speedster Fam Plan’s data sharing feature, subscribers can get a Smart mobile line that comes with a free smart phone for an additional P299 per month or with a free iPhone for P799 per month,” said PLDT VP and HOME Marketing Director Gary Dujali.  

“Subscribers can share 6 GB of the 50 GB monthly data allocation to up to four mobile phone lines, which they can use even outside the home. Bundled with the Speedster Fam Plan, these are all conveniently billed under one subscription.” 

“Internet today is not just about high-speed connectivity,” Dujali added.  

“More importantly, it’s about sharing and nurturing the connections that matter most in this digitally-driven world. This data sharing offer from PLDT HOME DSL, in partnership with Smart, is only the beginning of more game-changing innovations that we’ll be unveiling this year.”

Aside from giving subscribers access to an array of multimedia entertainment options from iflix, Fox and Netflix, the Speedster Fam Plan revolutionizes the way subscribers can share data. For instance, parents can share data with their children so they can book an Uber going home or check up on their kids while they’re out through video call. This feature can also be used to plan an impromptu dinner with the family or make travel plans with loved ones despite being away from each other.

The Speedster Fam Plan, which is powered by the PLDT Group’s robust and resilient fixed and wireless networks, will also allow subscribers to access and enjoy exclusive offers from PLDT HOME and Smart’s other digital lifestyle partners such as Zalora, foodpanda and Airbnb, whether at home or on mobile.

To get started on this pioneering way to share data, watch https://youtu.be/36MtKKQBsoQ and log on to pldthome.com.