Is it now the norm to make the term WiFi synonymous with the term cellular/mobile data (or 4g/5g)

They are not the same thing.

Is this like when people call tablets ipads? Or call vacuums hoovers/dysons.

Someone finish the creepypasta this is begging to be the start of.

When you come face to face with an armed guard and the large steel door of the bunker that he's protecting, just let him know it was the Wi-Fi leading you there.

That's why everybody shows up.

Speed test to 127.0.0.1

He’s about to reach the secret core control room.

Hell has the best wifi because it doesn't give a fuck about FCC regulations.

As a network specialist, I have a very different take on this. Why does your wifi at home suck so much?

You'll almost always get faster bandwidth on cellular, unless you have fiber to your home it's hard to compete with the available bandwidth on a commercial network, unless you're in an underserved and over-populated (device-wise) area, your cellular speed should, in most cases, far exceed your available bandwidth at home, but your home WiFi shouldn't suck. You should get, or at least approach speeds up to 1Gbps (or whatever your internet is capable of) on wifi.

A huge problem with it that I've observed is that people treat wifi like a huge truck, they just dump everything on it and that's it. It's not a big truck, it's a series of tubes.... Wait, that's another thing.... What I'm trying to say is that wifi is half duplex, like.... a walkie talkie. Only one person can talk at a time. With WiFi, each "person" (device) that "talks" (transmits) can do so at incredible speeds, so the channel is free sooner.... Unlike with a walkie talkie, when Timmy just won't let go of the talk button.... You can't hear anyone when you hold that button Timmy. Let it go when you're done talking.

Anyways, networks have a lot of stray, not useful (in terms of data throughput) traffic on it. Usually broadcasts (stuff sent to everybody) that should be sent to only a few devices. So there's a kind of static in the background that takes away from your bandwidth. The more devices you have, the more background noise there is on the network.

This is a problem when smart devices are all wifi based. There's ZigBee and zwave and others, but there's a large number of "smart home" devices which are WiFi. Imagine installing 20 lightbulbs which are all smart wifi bulbs, onto a network. That's a lot of static being added; and that static will reduce your wifi speeds.

That's just one example of many. More devices = slower wifi. Thus my motto with WiFi and devices is: use a wire when you can, use wireless when you have to. A good example of this in practice is.... When was the last time you moved your TV? You know, the smart TV with Netflix and everything built in.... Exactly. So why is it on the WiFi? It never moves, there's no need for it to be wireless. That's an easy example of, why not just run a wire to it once, then never think about it again. Copy and paste to desktop PCs which are on wifi, and set top boxes, etc.

Switching from wifi smart/IoT devices to ZigBee or zwave will also help....

The other point I would make is: throw out your all in one router. Yeah, the WiFi router you bought from Amazon/best buy/radio shack/whatever. Throw it right in the garbage. Buy something that doesn't suck. An easy option is ubiquiti. Put wireless access points in and use ethernet to connect them to the network. No mesh bs, or anything. You'll improve your wifi signal and wireless devices will be able to load balance across them. I have a space that's about 800 (ish) sq ft. I have two access points. One covers the space easily.... I still have two. Why? Because load balancing. So when someone is pulling a lot of bandwidth on an access point, the other is right there, in range, ready to take everything on that needs more bandwidth than the small amount left after that one demanding device has taken what it needs. The situation is great, I never have WiFi related slow downs and all of my devices can easily consume all of the available download from my ISP, and my firewall/router/gateway, does the load balancing for the internet connection.

"But it costs so much!", I hear you say. Well, how much do you spend per month on your internet service? $50? More? And you don't want to spend even $100 on a router, which will last years when you're spending $50/month on service? What kind of a fool are you? You're getting what you pay for. The $65 Netgear wifi router is going to struggle. Especially after a little while. Ubiquiti has put out several, recent, and inexpensive options recently for home use. There's the UDR, UX and UCG-Ultra for starters, ranging from $150-$200 (ish). You don't need the $400+ UDM Pro. Add a small switch and a couple access points and you're up to maybe... $500? That's the same as 10 months of internet. So for less than one year of what you spend to get access to the internet, you'll have a system that doesn't suck and will probably last 5+ years. If you factor that out, it's less than $10 a month. Cheapskate. You spend more than that on coffee in a week. Shut up.

TL;DR: your shit sucks. Do better.

Ok, but how'd they take the picture of the phone?

He just far down enough to the the wifi off a Zimbabwe Starbucks

There’s a giant netgear router

Found the bunker

They have Wi-Fi in caves now?

There is always good wifi in the mancave

Satan's WiFi

Th... this is my network!

It was made for me!

I feel like this ends with him finding the secret government experiments in said cave

This guy here https://lemmy.world/comment/8658597 made a little SCP entry for the cave, and I just had to see what chatgpt could do. It seems good enough to share, so -

ChatGPT

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is located in [REDACTED], and is to be secured by a perimeter of no less than 5 km, with signs indicating a protected wildlife reserve to deter public entry. Foundation personnel stationed at Outpost-XXXX are to monitor the perimeter for unauthorized access and conduct regular expeditions into SCP-XXXX to study its properties and effects.

Entrance to SCP-XXXX is restricted to Level 3 personnel and above, and requires approval from at least two (2) Level 4 researchers. Any electronic devices taken into SCP-XXXX must be approved by the research team leader and equipped with tracking and data logging functions to monitor the signal strength and any other anomalous effects experienced within the cave.

Due to the unique properties of SCP-XXXX, a dedicated research team is tasked with developing methods to harness or replicate the signal enhancement phenomenon in a controlled environment, under Project Codename: DeepWave.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a cave system located in [REDACTED]. Initial reports of the anomaly were made by local spelunkers who experienced unusual increases in their mobile phone signal strength, eventually reaching full signal bars at depths where no signal should logically be available.

Exploration and testing have confirmed that the deeper one travels into SCP-XXXX, the stronger and clearer the cell signal becomes. This phenomenon appears to affect all forms of wireless communication devices. Devices within SCP-XXXX do not connect to known satellites or terrestrial cell towers; instead, they receive signals from an unknown source. Attempts to trace the signal's origin have so far proven unsuccessful.

Further anomalies have been observed at depths exceeding 1 km. Electronic devices begin to receive messages from unknown numbers, consisting of texts, images, and videos that appear to be from various points in the future. The content of these messages varies widely, including mundane future events, significant global incidents, and occasionally, personal messages to the device's owner that are relevant to their future.

Addendum XXXX-1: Discovery Log

SCP-XXXX was discovered on [REDACTED] after local rumors reached Foundation operatives. Initial expeditions confirmed the anomalous signal strength increases and established the current containment perimeter.

Addendum XXXX-2: Incident Report XXXX-A

During an exploration on [REDACTED], a research team received a distress signal emanating from approximately 2 km deeper than any previous expedition had reached. The signal contained a warning of a containment breach of another SCP within the Foundation's custody, weeks before the actual event occurred. This incident has led to a reevaluation of SCP-XXXX's predictive capabilities and potential uses for foresight in containment protocols.

Addendum XXXX-3: Research Note

Ongoing investigations into SCP-XXXX's properties suggest that the cave may be acting as a conduit for a form of quantum entanglement with particles that convey information across time. Dr. [REDACTED] proposes that the unique geological and possibly extraterrestrial materials lining the cave walls could be creating a "natural" anomalous field, enhancing signal strength and enabling time-displaced communications. Further research is required to understand the potential implications and applications of this discovery fully

You're probably near the Batcave(TM)

POV: you're on the 900 level at Cerro Gordo

Yeah, but they're still filled with grues.