SOME QUICK STEPS TO MAKE WORKING FROM HOME SMOOTH AND SEAMLESS
Dual screen working – if you have a TV or PC Monitor that can be moved into your home office space, double your screen space to make multi-tasking that bit easier
- Boost your Wi-Fi signal – If you’re plagued by wobbly Wi-Fi, there are lots of tips you can try first before rushing out to buy a new router
- Make the most of your mobile phone – if you don’t have a stable Wi-Fi connection or your network signal isn’t great at home, use your mobile data to get Wi-Fi on your laptop
- Mobile phone calls over Wi-Fi – If you have mobile signal blackspots in your home that prevent you from receiving and making calls, fear not as you can use Wi-Fi calling as long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi
- Face to face communication – just because you’re working from home, you don’t need to feel isolated. Face to face communication using video-calling is a great way to keep in contact with colleagues and clients
As the government encourages ‘self-isolating’, ‘social-distancing’ and working from home where possible, there are some easy steps you can take to make working from home simpler, seamless and more effective. Here are 5 quick steps to make the most of your home office space and ensure that you still feel connected to friends, family, colleagues:
- Dual screen working – most people have a second screen at work and the extra viewing is essential to how they work best. But don’t worry, if you have a TV you can use a HDMI cable to connect to your laptop and resume life on two screens. If your TV doesn’t have a HDMI port, then you’ll need the adapter appropriate for your laptop’s connections and these adapters are widely available online. Alternatively, if you have a PC monitor you can also connect this, most PC monitors have HDMI or DisplayPort inputs on the back or older computer monitors may use a VGA or DVI cable connection. Check the back of your monitor before purchasing the relevant adaptor required.
- Boost your Wi-Fi signal – two simple steps to make the most out of your Wi-Fi: Location – It may be tempting to hide your router away where no one can see it, especially if it clashes with your décor, but this can hamper your Wi-Fi range. If you can, place your router in a high place such as on top of a cabinet, shelf or ledge. This gives your router’s wireless signals the best chance of reaching every part of your home. Check your other household appliances – walls, home furnishings and pets aren’t the only obstacles to be aware of. Other household electronics – most commonly microwaves, cordless phones and baby monitors – can also hamper your Wi-Fi signal. Do your best to adjust appliances to improve your signal.
- Make the most of your mobile phone – If you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection at home, you can share your smartphone’s mobile data connection with your work computer so it can connect to the internet. This is known as setting up a portable or personal hotspot and it’s pretty easy to do. You’re effectively turning your phone into a mini Wi-Fi router, which your laptop and other devices can connect to like any other Wi-Fi router.
- Mobile phone calls over Wi-Fi – If you have mobile signal blackspots in your home that prevent you from receiving and making calls, either on your personal smartphone or on a handset supplied by your employer, there’s a solution. With Wi-Fi Calling, as long as your smartphone is connected to Wi-Fi – whether at home or elsewhere – you’ll be able to make and receive calls, even if your mobile signal is patchy.
- Face to face communication – having to ‘self-isolate’ doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected. Virtually all mobile devices now have front-facing cameras, as do most laptops so video calling is both easy to use and very accessible. You can do this through FaceTime on Apple devices, Skype which can be downloaded on your app store, through the Facebook Messenger and Google Duo (which works on both Apple and Android devices). All you need to do is be connected to Wi-Fi or our mobile network through your mobile data and you can video call with friends, family, colleagues and clients.
For more information on how to stay connected and to make working from home as easy as possible, please visit the Vodafone blog which has some tips and tricks on ‘Smart living: https://newscentre.vodafone.co.uk/smart-living/
