Wifi Router

My Cousin has Fios for the Internet.

And She has One LapTop and 14 WiFi Cameras around Her House.

She told me Her WiFi is slow.

I think it is because She has 14 WiFi Cameras that all Transmit to Her CellPone.

Am I Right even if She is not Looking at One of Her Cameras on Her CellPhone all the Cameras are still taking up the Bandwidth?

Or is this not how these things work?

 

To start, it depends on the type of cameras. Some are motion activated and only communicate over wifi when triggered. Others are streaming video 24/7.

The more wireless devices connected at once, the more bandwidth is being consumed at that point in time. As plodr correctly notes, other wireless devices may be consuming some of that bandwidth too.

She needs to disable all wifi access and connect a computer to her gateway device (typically the modem) via Ethernet. Then see if she is getting the bandwidth she is paying for - perhaps by running Speedtest.net.

If okay there, then the problem is not with her ISP and is definitely on the wifi side of her network.

BTW, most wifi networks let you prioritize access for each connected device in the admin menu of the WAP (wireless access point - often integrated into a wireless router). So she can set the priority of her cell phone or notebook, for example, ahead of her cameras.

Another problem may be the type of WAP. If single band, all the wireless devices may be on the same 2.4GHz network. A dual-band WAP lets you split the load between 2.4GHz and 5GHz (assuming the devices support 5GHz too). 5GHz has a shorter effective range so that typically is best for the devices physically closer to the WAP. For best performance, it should be a "dual band simultaneous" WAP. And best if 802.11AC.

Also, if she lives in a crowded wifi neighborhood (a large apartment complex, for example), she may be on a crowded channel. Surrounding networks on the same channel can degrade performance. So using a "packet sniffer" like XIRRUS WiFi Inspector to see what wireless channels are in use and available. NirSoft's WifiInfoView is another good one. Also popular is inSSIDer. It is typically a simple matter in the WAP admin menu to change channels. Nothing has to be done on the connected devices, they will change automatically.