Are two bell Wi-Fi pods necessary - 1300 Sq ft area

[Phoenix314159]

Hi all, new forum poster. I just  ordered my bell wifi pod and what to see what it will do for my wireless. I have a 1300 square foot condo and I just wanted to know are two wifi pods really necessary? Just trying to control costs.

[Vanadiel · Accepted solution]

If WiFi in your condo works fine, not necessary.

[dks · Accepted solution]

You might need two pods and you might not. Much depends on your condo construction. Concrete walls are not great for radio propagation. Neither are steel shelves, fining cabinets and other solid objects. I suggest you try first, move the pods around, give them 24 hours to settle (they won't give you the best result instantly) and find out. Don't sweat about speed tests, either. I have five pods. They self-regulate well. 

[hgeris]

Why does Bell even charge for pods , your already paying them for service 1300 sq ft home is not big  , they should provide all coverage in your home

[Phoenix314159]

Hi all, this has been an ongoing issue. I contact tier 2 and they tell me with one device connected everytyhing is fine. I have a third-party access point which boosts the wifi. But no one has been able to help. I am concering returning my wifi pods as I pay for 8 gig and barely get 1 gig on wifi. I used to b e in tech for a major telecom company in Canada and I know wifi speeds are not guaranteed. But honestly this is very frustrating and what reality is having only one device connected a permanent solution?

[Vanadiel]

1 gig on WiFi is actually very good. If your access point is using a WiFi channel as backbone, you will suffer overall WiFi speeds. Wired access point is recommended to avoid this.

However, you will not be able to properly mesh with the existing WiFi on the homehub when using a third party mesh solution. That is where the Bell provided pods come in, as they do mesh with the Homehub WiFi network. 

[dks]

Thank you for your question. I have 3 Gb service and five pods. The maximum speed you can obtain on your pods is limited, not by the pods but by your devices connected to the pods. For example, my iPhone 15 pro, which connects at 6e speeds, can do no more than 1.3 Gb within 3 feet of the Giga Hub. My iPad 10the Generation, again with 6e connection ability, drops to 150-200 Mbps from any pod. My older devices connect at slower speeds. That is because the wireless radio signal from the Giga Hub or the pods decreases in strength as it spreads out from the transmitter. This is called the Inverse Square Law of Electromagnetic Propagation. It is as unbreakable as any law of physics. The effect is felt even more at the shorter wavelengths of wireless radio signals. This page  has some good illustrations on how distancer affects wireless radio signals. 

If you want more than one device connected to the 10 Gb port of your modem, you will need a 10 Gb unmanaged switch to make a wired connection. I see some brand name 10 Gb hubs on sale at Amazon. 

[dks]

Thanks for your question. As this is a user to user forum, we have no connection with Bell sales policies. I can't answer your question of "Why?" at all. Bell does as Bell does. 

[Cheri]

Do I need more than one wifi pod

[BellPatricia]

Hi there @Cheri 

Welcome to the Bell community 🙂

We need a bit more information to help determine if you require more than one Wi-Fi pod (such as the size of your home, the layout, and the materials used in its construction). Are you experiencing a weak signal in a certain part of your home?

Keep the community posted.

@BellPatricia 

[dks]

Thank you for your question. It is actually difficult to answer on a yes/no basis. Much depends on the distance of your devices from the Giga Hub, the number of your devices, the construction of your home (steel framing or concrete, for example, are problematic) and other things. With more information, we might be able to say more.