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WHYWhy does…? · #19EP.206 · 24 s

Why does…? #19: why a microwave oven slows down your Wi-Fi

Cover of the lesson: Why does…? #19: why a microwave oven slows down your Wi-FiComing to YouTube soon
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// WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Both use radio waves around 2.4 GHz; a little microwave leakage drowns the Wi-Fi signal nearby, so 5 GHz Wi-Fi or more distance fixes it.

// LESSON NOTES

Microwave on… and your Wi-Fi lags? Here's why! 📶🍿

📡 Both use radio waves around 2.4 GHz — the same band (a microwave oven uses about 2.45 GHz).
🔥 The oven blasts about 1,000 W inside a metal box. The metal and the door mesh keep almost all of it in.
✅ A tiny bit leaks out — far below anything that harms you…
❌ …but your Wi-Fi router only sends about 0.1 W, so that leak is LOUD next to it. Slower, dropping Wi-Fi.
🔧 The fix: switch to 5 GHz Wi-Fi (a different band), or move the router away from the oven.

Read the voiceover (transcript)
  1. Microwave on, and your Wi-Fi lags? Here's why!
  2. Both use radio waves at two point four gigahertz!
  3. The oven blasts about a thousand watts inside a metal box.
  4. A tiny bit leaks out: safe for you, but loud for Wi-Fi!
  5. So what's the fix?
  6. Switch to five gigahertz Wi-Fi!
  7. Or move the router away!
  8. Next: why LED lights flicker on camera. Follow for more!

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