Wi-Fi - page 2

Wi-Fi 6 makes iPhone 11 faster than ever

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iPhone 11 with Wi-Fi 6
The iPhone 11 is one of the first devices with Wi-Fi 6.
Photo: Apple/Wi-Fi Alliance

An overlooked feature of the iPhone 11 series is Wi-Fi 6, a faster version of this nearly ubiquitous short-range wireless-networking standard.

And it’s not just about speed. This update is expected to offer better performance when dozens of hundreds of devices are all trying to connect to Wi-Fi at once.

Apple lobbying for new ‘very low power’ Wi-Fi tech

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home Wi-Fi
This could open up new possibilities for Wi-Fi devices.
Photo: Alan Levine/Flickr

Apple joined forces with a number of other tech companies to lobby the Federal Communications Commission for a new Wi-Fi band.

The proposed 6 GHz band would open up new types of short-range connectivity for portable Very Low Power (VLP) devices. It could prove useful for everything from mobile augmented reality devices to high-speed tethering with smartphones, laptops and tablets.

How to use Wi-Fi and Instant Hotspot in iOS 13

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Instant Hotspot makes connection sharing easy.
Instant Hotspot makes connection sharing easy.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

In iOS 13 and iPadOS, the Wi-Fi connections get a lot of changes. In addition to the familiar Personal Hotspot connection, you can now use and share a new Instant Hotspot. Plus, you can see all your connections at a glance in the revamped Wi-Fi settings screen. Let’s take a look.

App Store’s cellular download limit increases on iPhone

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has finally increased the App Store’s cellular download limit on the iPhone — but not by much.

You can now download up to 200MB over a 3G or 4G connection. The limit was previously set at 150MB. You will still need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to download larger apps and games.

Map out and eliminate your Wi-Fi’s weak spots [Deals]

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This app creates a heatmap of your Wi-Fi coverage at home or at work, then walks you through the process of fixing the weak spots.
This app creates a heatmap of your Wi-Fi coverage at home or at work, then walks you through the process of fixing the weak spots.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

At home and at the office, we all rely on Wi-Fi. And it’s a real drag to find weak spots in your coverage. The best solution for wireless dead zones is to find them and fix them. But you need the right tool.

NetSpot Home for Mac offers that tool, packed with features for visualizing, optimizing and troubleshooting your Wi-Fi coverage.

How to plug an Ethernet cable into your iPad

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This is a great-looking hub, but it still has problems.
This USB-C hub adds Ethernet to the 2018 iPad Pro, but any iPad can be hooked up with the right dongle.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Ethernet? In 2018? Yes. Maybe you work in an office without Wi-Fi. Perhaps you need to connect your Mac and iPad together directly with a cable for super-fast file transfers. Or maybe you just want the most reliable network connection possible — when recording a podcast, for example.

Whatever the reason, Wi-Fi hasn’t completely ousted Ethernet yet. And using Ethernet on your iPad is easy. If you’re hooking up an old Lightning iPad, it’s pretty easy. If you’re connecting a new USB-C iPad Pro, it’s dead easy.

Amazon buys mesh Wi-Fi router maker Eero

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eero
Eero monitors things like network throughput and interference, adjusting itself automatically.
Photo: Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac

Right when Apple has decided to get out of the router business, one of its biggest competitors is ready to jump in.

Amazon revealed today that it reached an agreement to acquire mesh Wi-Fi router maker Eero, giving the online retailer another powerful tool in its effort to dominate the smart home market.

Easily share your wireless network with Wifi Porter [Review]

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Wifi Porter uses NFC to easily transfer your wireless network’s login details to smartphones.
Wifi Porter uses NFC to transfer your wireless network’s login details to smartphones.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Wifi Porter takes the hassle out of letting friends or guests access your wireless network. Just tap this accessory from Ten One Design with your iPhone or Android device and the login details will be transferred. 

The hardware is attractive, and it’s certainly a unique idea, but Apple’s implementation of NFC creates some hassles for iPhone users.

Enjoy Apple Music on American Airlines without buying Wi-Fi

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Apple Music on American Airlines
Forget downloading your playlists before takeoff.
Photo: Apple

Starting Friday, Apple Music subscribers can enjoy the service on domestic flights with American Airlines without purchasing Wi-Fi.

Complete access to the service and its more than 50 million songs will be available on flights equipped with Viasat satellite Wi-Fi. American Airlines is the first commercial airline to offer the service.

Wifi Porter makes sharing your wireless network a breeze

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Connect to Wifi Porter by simply tapping your phone on it.
Connect to Wifi Porter by simply tapping your phone on it.
Photo: Ten One Design

Imagine letting a friend connect to your Wi-Fi network just by tapping a hockey puck-sized chunk of wood. That’s the promise of Wifi Porter, an accessory from Ten One Design that saves guests from having to type in a password to get on the net.

It uses NFC and doesn’t require users to install any software.

2019 iPhone may boast super-fast Wi-Fi 6

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home Wi-Fi
You’ll connect to Wi-Fi access points much faster with the 2019 iPhone.
Photo: Alan Levine/Flickr

The next-generation iPhone will reportedly include a version of Wi-Fi that’s up to 30 percent faster than the current one. And that’s not even its biggest improvement in this upcoming wireless networking standard.

This is just one of the details of the 2019 iPhone that’ve leaked out in recent days.

How Steve Jobs’ impossible demands sparked Wi-Fi revolution

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iBook
The first commercial product with Wi-Fi connectivity.
Photo: Apple

How many important moments at Apple started with Steve Jobs being late to a meeting that ended with him making a seemingly impossible demand?

This is exactly how one former executive of Lucent Technologies describes the birth of commercial Wi-Fi, which took place in a meeting room at Apple headquarters in Cupertino on April 20, 1998.

Wi-Fi is about to get way more secure

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smart-gadgets-are-getting-their-own-wi-fi-standard-in-2018-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201409150272362_95f26266a2_b-jpg
After the changes being implemented in WPA3, you might feel less nervous about public Wi-Fi.

Part of the reason public Wi-Fi is so risky to use is that the security built into this short-range wireless networking standard hasn’t had a significant upgrade since 2004. But that’s about to change.

The Wi-Fi Alliance introduced Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3, the next generation of Wi-Fi security. This adds new features to simplify Wi-Fi security and enable more robust authentication. The enterprise version offers increased cryptographic strength.

Visualize and vanquish the kinks in your Wi-Fi networks [Deals]

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Identify and eliminate any weak spots in your home or office WiFi coverage.
Identify and eliminate any weak spots in your home or office WiFi coverage.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Like the Force, Wi-Fi signals surround us, penetrate us, and bind our devices together. They’re also similar in that both are prone to dark spots. With the Force, it takes nine movies and 40 years to work out. With Wi-Fi, all you need is NetSpot.

Pro-Tip: How to make your iPhone ignore crappy Wi-Fi

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Wi-Fi Assist
Without Wi-Fi assist, your iPhone might end up as useless as this piece of junk.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bugUsing your iPhone on a poor, weak, or spotty Wi-Fi is not only frustrating. It could also have a detrimental effect on battery life. But there’s a fix, for flaky Wi-Fi at least. You can tell your iPhone to use cellular data to make up the shortfall, giving you smooth internet access, at the expense of some cellular data use. It’s called Wi-Fi Assist, and it could be the answer to all of life’s problems.

MyLiFi lamp brings you internet through LED light

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MyLiFi lamp
Leave Wi-Fi in the past.
Photo: OLEDCOMM

Forget spotty Wi-Fi connections that drop out when you need them most. MyLiFi is a table lamp that delivers fast and secure internet directly to your laptop through LED light.

Made out of high-quality aluminum, MyLiFi uses “light fidelity” technology that transmits data at up to 23 megabits per second without using radio waves.

watchOS 4.1 arrives with LTE Apple Music streaming

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Apple Watch Music
Grab the new watchOS update while it's hot.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch Series 3 owners can now get all the features they were promised from Apple’s new wearable at launch, thanks to a new watchOS update that brings some big new additions.

After months of testing, watchOS 4.1 was released to the public this morning. The update adds a number of performance improvements and changes, including LTE streaming for Apple Music.

These apps will give your Mac a productivity boost [Deals]

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This bundle of Mac apps adds new ways to work with video, WiFi, PDFs, and more.
This bundle of Mac apps adds new ways to work with video, WiFi, PDFs, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Feel like giving your Mac a new dose of productivity potential? This roundup of apps should do the trick. Included are apps for downloading HD video from the web, and a powerful pair of video conversion apps. Plus, there’s a tool for mapping and optimizing Wi-Fi coverage, and a tool for making any boring PDF into delightful digital magazines. Even better, you’ll get 20 percent off any of these deals when you use the coupon code ‘SOFTWARE20’ at checkout. Read on for more details: