Eli5:Why is it that cell phones , with their tiny antenaes are able to download files at LTE speeds inside concrete buildings from cell towers kilometers away yet getting wifi to work behind a corner is an exercise in frustration?
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For the same reason you might struggle to hear a whisper from the other room, but you have no trouble hearing the nuclear attack horn miles away.
My favorite elif posts are the ones where the top 5 comments all say the person who explained it before them is an idiot and needs to take it upon themselves to rehash what everyone has said but with slightly different wording. Relax, we’re *all* special.
Imagine a wireless signal is a string. Your cell signal and WiFi are the same length. Data is beads being sent along the string.
A cell signal is a lower frequency, so the string is put on the ground fairly straight with less “waves”, which means the beads can pass by your device one at a time, but they car go further along the string.
A WiFi signal is high frequency, so the string has a lot of “waves”, which means a lot of beads are able to pass by your device at the same time, but they can’t go as far because of all the corners they have to go around.
You also have to remember, LTE speeds are fast, but WiFi is *much* faster, with the slow speeds because of the internet connection, not the wifi
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