Giving consumers insight into their home network Wi-Fi coverage

WiFi tends to be something that just works in the background. We only notice it once it’s down or when it’s not performing well. Based on research, we found that out of 23 responses 47.8% respondents felt that they didn’t think their current WiFi speeds were sufficient to handle all of their online activities. We also found that 43.5% knew where the dead spots were located within their home. Knowing that, how might we bring more clarity to consumers’ home WiFi coverage? In attempt to do just that, we designed and built the web-based Luma WiFi Coverage Test app.

The Goal

The goal was straightforward. As a technology startup, we wanted to bring more clarity to the average consumers home WiFi coverage so that they could be more informed on whether or not their network can handle the number of connected devices in their home.

The Approach

The primary challenge when designing this app was that we had to make sure that the user was guided throughout the entire experience. The flow was straight forward, the user needed to run the test once near their modem and once more at the furthest point in their home or in a known dead spot. Each run takes about 10 seconds at both points.

We made use of illustrations and non-technical terminology to help guide the user. Once the user completes the test, which typically takes about 3-5 minutes, they receive a report that breaks down their home WiFi coverage as well as provide some details of what activities they can do with those speeds.

Outcome

The primary goal of the coverage test was to bring more clarity to the users actual coverage so they could be more informed on whether or not their network can handle the number of connected devices in their home. From a business perspective, the effort to build this app proved useful as it provided another purchase channel for Luma.

Luma WiFi was acquired by Newell in 2018.