AirTime Fairness: Is it worth Turning it On or Off?
To sum up, if you have a number of Wi-Fi devices that support multiple different standards, turning on AirTime Fairness is often a good idea. This is especially true if you have a large number of Wi-Fi devices. However, if you have a home network that is quite modest and is comprised of devices that are routinely updated, you won’t notice much of a difference.
After putting AirTime Fairness to the test in a number of different scenarios, we have determined the situations in which it should be used as well as those in which it should not.
You will be able to decide whether or not to use AirTime Fairness now that you are equipped with this knowledge and can make a smart decision.
so, keep reading.
Now What Exactly Airtime Fairness is?
These days, the possibility to switch on the AirTime Fairness feature may be found on the majority of routers. However, what does it actually imply, and how does it function? [1]
A parameter known as “AirTime Fairness” guarantees that all of the devices connected to a network have equal access to the ‘airtime’ that is shared by the network.
This indicates that they should experience a comparable level of internet performance. Airtime Fairness assures that each user gets a fair amount of the airtime available, regardless of the quality of the device’s hardware, operating system, or signal strength.
Airtime fairness is a feature that allows wireless routers to improve the quality of service for all connected users. It works by dynamically adjusting the amount of airtime each client gets based on their usage, ensuring that no one user dominates the shared spectrum.
This helps to reduce latency and increase throughput, allowing all users to experience faster speeds and better connections. Airtime fairness is especially useful in busy networks, where multiple users are competing for limited resources. By using airtime fairness, network administrators can ensure that everyone gets a fair share of the available bandwidth.
If AirTime Fairness is not activated, the network will function on a first-come, first-served basis for users’ airtime allocations. Therefore, the devices that successfully connect to a network first will be given higher priority. There is a limit to the number of people who can be active at the same time.
Additionally, devices that are more powerful and have improved Wi-Fi reception capabilities will use more of the available bandwidth. This indicates that older devices, for example, may have poor performance if AirTime Fairness is not enabled.
The AirTime Fairness protocol has been around since the introduction of Wi-Fi 4, thus it is not anything brand new. It has been used by people for a number of years, and for a variety of purposes.
However, there is a range of viewpoints on whether or not it is worthwhile to do so. Let’s investigate the basis of those beliefs and find out where they came from.
When You should have it ON?
When you expect having several connections, you should typically activate the AirTime Fairness feature.
For instance, at a hotel, the feature known as “AirTime Fairness” has to be activated since, if it were not, it would be unfair for certain guests who would not be able to connect to the network.
However, AirTime Fairness is not restricted to being used solely in public Wi-Fi hotspots. It could also come in handy at someone’s place of employment. Even while you’re at home, using AirTime Fairness may be a smart option, particularly if your download speed is slow.
Imagine two members of the same household, one of whom uses an outdated smartphone and the other of whom uses a brand-new, powerful desktop computer. Without AirTime Fairness, the latter might have trouble succeeding in this situation because the former slows down the network.
In most circumstances, the AirTime Fairness feature will have its default setting disabled. In order to make use of it, you will first need to activate it. Simply carrying out the steps listed below will get the job done:
- Locate your computer’s IP address. On a Mac, you can accomplish this by going to System Preferences, whereas on Windows you may do this by typing IPCONFIG into the terminal.
- Entering your IP address into your browser will allow you to access the page that configures your network. Check out our accessing your router tutorial if you want additional information on how to carry out the aforementioned steps.
- Turn the AirTime Fairness option on by toggling the switch in the settings menu.
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When You should have it Off?
When a device does not support it correctly, which is not always the case because not all of them do, turning off AirTime Fairness is the most important thing to know how to accomplish.
Because of AirTime Fairness, the performance of some devices may actually decrease. They are unable to grasp the new signal, which is slower, and they may terminate the connection as a result.
Turning off AirTime Fairness allows you to give priority to one device over another, which is useful if you have many powerful devices. Disabling the option will reduce the amount that individual devices have an effect on one another.
The one and only exception to this rule is if your router gives you the ability to give some devices priority over others. If this is the case, you can easily activate AirTime Fairness and select which devices your network should prioritize by turning it on.
Benefits Of Airtime Fairness Feature
Fairer To More Devices: The most significant advantage of using AirTime Fairness is… fairness. It helps allocate bandwidth more equally, which is incredibly helpful in situations in which a large number of devices are simultaneously attempting to access the network.
Get The Best Out Of Supported Devices: AirTime Fairness is an excellent choice to make if you have one newer, more powerful device on the network and one older, less powerful device on the network. Your router will be able to comprehend the issue. As a consequence of this, it will allocate more speed to the powerful gadget.
Better For Big Areas: AirTime Fairness serves to mitigate the adverse effects of a weak signal’s lack of reception. It guarantees that devices located further away from the router receive a fairer share of the available bandwidth.
Potential issues with the setting
It is important that you do not activate AirTime Fairness before thinking about the points listed below. The following is a list of the most significant possible downsides of using it:
May Compromise Performance: Due to the nature of AirTime Fairness, it is possible for older and less powerful devices to experience a noticeable slowdown in performance when it is activated alongside a more capable device.
Compatibility Issue with Some Devices: No matter how old they are, not all devices are capable of functioning well with AirTime Fairness. If you have enabled the option and then seen a decrease in performance, you may want to consider activating it once more.
Bottom Line
When it comes to network settings, AirTime Fairness tends to be one of the more interesting options. However, not everyone will feel the same way about this.
Before you decide to activate AirTime Fairness, you should make sure that you give careful consideration to both its benefits and drawbacks. You should be able to accomplish that with the help of our instructions.
On your home network, one of the various parameters that you may change is referred to as “AirTime Fairness.”
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