How many wireless devices can you connect to one WiFi router?

With the fast development of the Internet of Things and the general increase of wireless devices on the market, people often face the situation where one router cannot handle the number of connected devices. In this article, we will speak about the number of wireless devices that you should connect to one router.

Tablets, smartphones, computers, smartwatch, smart lights, security cameras… these are examples of smart objects that can be connected the home router, have access to the internet, and even sometimes being controlled remotely. The fact is that the bandwidth is not limitless, and sooner, or later, the router won’t be able to manage all those devices. Internet speed problems might occur because of the overuse of the home router and the bandwidth overload. Moreover, because of the Joule effect, the home router might overheat and stop working if too many devices are connected. Last but not least, with too many wireless devices being simultaneously connected in a small area, interferences might occur and router’s performance would decrease. 

The typical limit in the most common configuration is approximately 250 connected wireless devices, due to the IP addresses pool. Yet, in practice, the speed rating of access points give you an idea about the maximum devices that one router can handle. For example, a Wi-Fi router rated at 500 Mbps with 100 connected devices will only offer on average 5 Mbps to each device (this is true in theory because 500/100 = 5). 

To solve this problem and maximise the performances of a Wi-Fi network, you should consider introducing a second router on your network infrastructure and other access points as well. This will help to distribute the network load and avoid problems of overload and overheat.

Tanaza allows you to set a maximum number of concurrent users to ensure a good Wi-Fi experience to your clients. You also have the possibility to limit the number of connected devices per Wi-Fi user. This feature is particularly useful for hotels dealing with a large number of clients.
Accordingly, the number of access points in your Wi-Fi infrastructure is another  important factor: you can find more information about the number of access point you need for your Wi-Fi project in this article.