4 in 5 Londoners experience WiFi Rage as millions continue WFH

More than four in five (84%) of Londoners experienced WiFi Rage in the past 12 months, according to new findings released today by Community Fibre, London’s fastest full fibre broadband. The newly researched phenomenon, which is triggered by poor and unreliable broadband connections, has found to impact almost half (41%) of London households on a weekly basis – amounting to almost 1.5M homes.

Slow speeds and “wheel of doom” amongst top WiFi gripes

Slow internet speeds (35%) is the number one contributing factor for broadband-related frustration, followed closely WiFi cutting out (34%) and constant buffering (25%) – commonly referred to as the “wheel of doom”. Despite over half (59%) of the capital’s workforce now working from home for at least part of the week, one in ten (14%) Londoners say the inability to work effectively from home has also caused infuriating rage over poor connectivity.

The top five causes for WiFi Rage:

Slow internet e.g., slow upload / download speeds (35%)
WiFi cutting out (34%)
Constant buffering and loading (25%)
Videos not working properly e.g., on social media or streaming services (24%)
Unable to access web pages (23%)

As a result of poor internet connectivity, researchers have found that WiFi Rage is causing issues ranging from heightened levels of stress to the inability to access basic services such as GP appointments, online banking, or government services, as well as arguments within the household (15%).

The top five issues poor internet connectivity is causing:

Inability to relax or have downtime (19%)
Heightened levels of stress (18%)
Inability to stream video content (18%)
Inability to access basic services such as GP appointments, online-banking, or government services (14%)
Difficulty staying connected to loved ones who live abroad (16%)

As services in the UK become increasingly digitised, over two-thirds (69%) of Londoners now view broadband as an essential utility, and no longer as a nice-to-have. However, with WiFi Rage causing nationwide despair and preventing seamless access to crucial services, it comes as no surprise that two-thirds of Londoners (68%) are not satisfied with their broadband provider.

Londoners are still baffled by their WiFi packages…

With a third (33%) of Londoners unable to define the difference between wired and WiFi broadband speeds, and a further third (31%) unaware of what their broadband package includes, Community Fibre is working to educate consumers to empower them to better understand and tackle their WiFi woes.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, comments, “We’re on a mission to tackle the issue of slow speeds – and the inevitable WiFi Rage that ensues as a result. With a third of Londoners unaware of their WiFi speed, we’d encourage anyone struggling with their connection to check their speed via our online tool – and challenge their broadband provider to improve their speed if it’s registering significantly below their agreed package deal.

“At Community Fibre, we’re proud to connect Londoners to full-fibre broadband, which provides fast and reliable internet access using only fibre optic cables, direct to your home. We’d encourage anyone living in the capital who is being burdened by WiFi Rage to explore our packages, for access to super-speedy broadband.”

Of those who have a fibre broadband package, 38% didn’t check what kind of fibre is provided in their area before purchasing – potentially missing out on super-fast full fibre broadband options with competitively priced speeds of up to 3 Gbps. This is significantly faster than the partial fibre broadband alternative, which serves speeds of around 30-70 Mbps.

Five tips to improve your WiFi speed according to Community Fibre:

Position your router in an open location that’s not hidden behind your TV or furniture.
Ensure your router is not too close to the floor (a shelf, desk or table will do the trick) or near a window; you’ll ‘waste’ signal by broadcasting to the outside.
Water can also reduce your signal strength so keep your router away from fish tanks.
Keep the router upright so that its WiFi signal goes outwards and not into the floor.
Broadband speed is shared so disconnect devices you don’t need from the router.

Those struggling with WiFi Rage and poor internet connection can check their WiFi speed via ​​https://communityfibre.co.uk/speedtest. Anyone living in London looking to switch to the award-winning fibre provider, which was recently named 2023’s ‘Best Alternative Network’ by Uswitch and has more than 28,000 5-star reviews by its customers on Trustpilot (May 2023), customers can head to communityfibre.co.uk to find out more.