The fairylights in your room are making your Wi-Fi slow

Having fairy lights in your room could be stopping your Wi-Fi from working properly.

Apparently more than six million people are damaging their wireless signal by putting up fairy lights, according to watchdog Ofcom.

Lights and even printers and lamps can create electrical interferences and can be blamed for a terrible Wi-Fi signal.

This is all because fairy lights use electromagnetic waves to create energy. Wi-Fi also uses frequency to work and connect to your phone or computer.

If there are too many lights around the router, it can cause an interference with a signal and can even stop your Wi-Fi from working.

It turns out microwaves are the worst for killing Wi-Fi signal, closely followed by radiators, freezers and washing machines.

Putting your Wi-Fi box too close to your neighbour’s can also mean signal interference, and poor wiring too.

Apparently the best way to stop this is to move the Wi-Fi box away from the lights and don’t put up too many up.

Ofcom said your router should be placed on a table or shelf in the middle of your house or flat, rather than hidden in a corner where the signal will be patchy at best.

Professor Will Stewart from the Institution of Engineering and Technology said: “It’s true that any form of domestic interference, including Christmas fairy lights and the growing number of other wireless devices we have in our homes, can slow down your Wi-Fi.

“But Wi-Fi systems are getting quite smart and should adapt automatically to cope with things like other Wi-Fi networks and with most other interference, including from fairy lights. Many systems also have access to the higher-frequency Wi-Fi bands, which helps.

“The problem arises for people with very old Wi-Fi base stations who might need to upgrade or extend their networks, as might people who use high speed Wi-Fi for things like streaming satellite TV.”