Best Buy IdeaX

[#1]

Recently while in-store I had a chance to test out the "improved" (supposedly the connected stores received a WiFi speed boost) WiFi connection and it was absolutely terrible.  It ended with me ultimate switching my phone to LTE and just using that.  I can't imagine why in the world Best Buy would advertise free WiFi knowing that if the initial speed is that slow it only gets worse as more and more people connect their devices onto it and browse the web as they walk around the store.  It just seems counter-productive.

[#2]

Thanks for the suggestion. Would anyone else like us to improve the speed of the Wi-Fi we provide in our stores? Remember to vote for an idea if you like it.

[#3]

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@gadgeteer wrote:

 can't imagine why in the world Best Buy would advertise free WiFi knowing that if the initial speed is that slow it only gets worse as more and more people connect their devices onto it and browse the web as they walk around the store.  It just seems counter-productive.

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Actually, that' is EXACTLY how wi-fi/internet works. The more people using it the less usage each person can get. Sad to say it but yeah...

I can however relate especially in the larger stores ( such as in New York etc ) You would want a better speed considering there will be more people in those stores. I am not privy as to what these speeds actually are, but from testing out the ipads at a few in Georgia I would have to take a guess at about 1-10mbps. Which isn't totally bad but it could be better especially on certain days where a lot of people are around the place. 

[#4]

It just seems like if the theme is being "connected" in the stores, you'd want to make sure you have the tools and resources for customers to be able to "test drive" things and bandwidth is definitely one of them.  I was talking to an employee about this the other day and they even suggested that maybe this particular store was more affected because it had a Magnolia Design Center and a lot of their stuff was networked.  I would've thought that they would give all that high-end wireless home theater stuff its own network. 

[#5]

I vote... leave it.

Today's wireless is less than a $1 dollar a day.  Free wifi at hotels, retailers, restaurants and coffee bars don't interest me as they are unsecured and open to data eavesdroppers.  When I get on the bus, the wifi is lost.  Cellular internet is much more convenient.

Before I connect to any wifi, I check the speed with speedtest.net.  However more wifi providers are now blocking the site.  I now use http://rimouski.speedtest.telus.com/ to assess sites.

[#6]

As an employee at a very busy location our wireless can be a little spotty at times I do admit but it does give us a unexpected ability to show off why MiFi style cards are great.

I would love more bandwidth though, hard to fill in awkward pauses when a site doesn't load that I'm trying to show off on a beautiful Retina screen. 

[#7]

This is a major problem... Try upgrading to AC Routers and spread ranges including outside the store.