What are Wi-Fi pods?
Wi-Fi pods are additional Wi-Fi access points that are placed throughout your home. They work together with our Home Hub 3000 or 2000 modems to create a seamless, powerful Wi-Fi network in every room.
Installing a pod
Installing a pod
You can use the Bell Wi-Fi app to install a pod if you subscribe to Internet service from Bell and have a Giga Hub, or a Home Hub 3000 or 2000. To do so:
- Search for Bell Wi-Fi in the app store for your mobile device.
- Download and install the app.
- Open the Bell Wi-Fi app and log in with your My account username and password. Get help logging in to the Bell Wi-Fi app.
- Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on your device. The app uses Bluetooth to communicate with pods for setup.
- Plug your pod in a power outlet. If you have more pods, plug them around your home. The empty hexagons indicate how many pods you can plug in.
- Keep your mobile device near the pod as you plug it in. The Bell Wi-Fi app will confirm when it's connected.
Adding a Pod:
- Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on your device. The app uses Bluetooth to communicate with the pod during setup.
- Touch the Menu icon (bottom right).
- Scroll down to the Access points section and touch Add a pod.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to add your pod.
Locate and name a pod:
- In the Adapt section of the home screen, touch the pod you want to locate and name.
- Touch the three stacked dots in the top right corner.
- Touch Locate and name pods.
- Follow the on-screen prompts
Follow these installation tips for best performance:
- Keep your mobile device near the pods as you plug it in
- Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on your dvice. The app uses Bluetooth to communicate with the pods during setup. The Bell Wi-Fi app will confirm when it's connected.
- If you have multiple pods, space them evenly
Pods work as a team, so they need to be close enough to communicate with one another. Try to space them evenly, and within 10 to 14 metres from each other and from your modem.
- Install the pod(s) on interior walls
Ideally, place the pod along the interior walls separating the rooms rather than exterior walls. If you have both Wi-Fi Pod Minis and Wi-Fi Pods, use the Wi-Fi Pods in the centre of your home and spread the Wi-Fi Pod Minis outward to the furthest rooms. For best performance, check that your Wi-Fi Pods connect to the modem without connecting through a Wi-Fi Pod Mini first.
- Keep the pod(s) in the open
Wi-Fi signals travel through the air and generally weaken over distance, but their strength can also be affected by:
- Building materials: Concrete or metal make it harder for the Wi-Fi signal to move freely, ultimately slowing down your Internet speed.
- Appliances: Certain appliances, like microwaves or even baby monitors, can interfere with the Wi-Fi signal, possibly slowing down your speed.
- Ventilation: A pod should not be covered by furniture or placed in an electrical cabinet, where it can overheat and impact performance.
- Wait 24 hours for best performance
Bell Wi-Fi pods continuously optimizes your network based on when and where your devices access the Internet in your home. This helps ensure they always get the strongest signal. After installing a pod, or any time you unplug them, it may take up to 24 hours to complete the optimization process.
Good to know:
- Your device may not always connect to the pod that is closest to it. The network will determine the best connection based on a variety of factors, such as interference and traffic.
- While Bell Wi-Fi pods determine the best connection, sometimes devices need some help connecting. Turning your device’s Wi-Fi off and back on may solve performance issues.
- If a pod has a poor connection to the modem, try moving it to a different location to see if this improves performance.
Using pods
Naming a Wi-Fi pod
Naming a pod can help easily identify it in the app.
- Open the Bell Wi-Fi app and log in with your My Account username and password. Get help logging in to the Bell Wi-Fi app.
- In the Adapt section of the home screen, touch the pod you would like to rename.
- Touch the three dots on the top right corner of the screen and select Rename pod.
- Touch the X to the right of your current pod name, enter a new name and touch Done.
Checking pod connection quality
The Bell Wi-Fi app monitors your network to give you a connection quality rating for each Wi-Fi pod, and to show you when there is a problem. If you have more than one pod, they work as a team – if one pod has poor connection quality, any other pods connected to it will be affected. You will get the best performance when all pods have excellent connection quality.
To view pod connection quality:
- Open the Bell Wi-Fi app and log in with your My Account username and password. Get help logging in to the Bell Wi-Fi app.
- In the Adapt section of the Home screenhome screen, touch a pod to view its signal strength:
- Excellent – All applications should run perfectly.
- Good – All applications should run without any major impairments. You may see some buffering for high-speed applications, like 4K video streaming.
- Fair – Not ideal for real-time applications or high throughput applications, like 4K video streaming. Try moving your pod closer to your modem or away from anything that might be causing interference.
- Poor – Your pod is not communicating well with the network. Real-time applications such as video calling or streaming may suffer. Try moving your pod closer to your modem or away from anything that might be causing interference.
For more information on how to improve your Wi-Fi speed, visit the Optimize my Wi-Fi speed page.
Troubleshooting pods
I’m having issues connecting my Sonos speakers
Avoid having your Sonos speakers create their own network loop.
- Wire one Sonos speaker directly to a pod.
- Connect the remainder of the speakers wirelessly.
- Keep your Sonos speakers three feet away from a pod to avoid interference issues.
My speed is slow when connected to my pod
The speed pods are capable of providing will depend on the type of Wi-Fi pod you have:
- Wi-Fi 6E Pod – Capable of speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps in the optimal scenario
- Wi-Fi Pod – Capable of speeds of up to 500 Mbps (average 300 Mbps)
- Wi-Fi Pod Mini – Capable of speeds of up to 250 Mbps (average 100 Mbps)
You can check if a pod is using the optimal setup by checking its connection quality rating in the Bell Wi-Fi app. To do so:
- Open the Bell Wi-Fi app and log in with your My Account username and password. Get help logging in to the Bell Wi-Fi app.
- Your connected pods will be listed in the Adapt section.
- Select the pod you want to troubleshoot. The connection quality rating will appear under the pod name, along with what channel it's on and which pod or modem it's connected to.
If your pod has Fair or Poor ratings, it means it is having trouble communicating with your network. This could be caused by the channel the pod is on, the distance from the modem, or interference around the pod. To improve the quality rating, try:
- Moving the pod closer to the network or away from interference. The recommended distance between your pod and the network varies by type of pod:
- Wi-Fi Pod Mini – No more than 7 metres from the modem or another pod
- Wi-Fi 6E Pod and Wi-Fi Pod – No more than 14 metres from the modem or another pod
- Rebooting your pod – This will reconnect the pod to the network and let it choose the best channel.
- Rebooting your modem - This will reconnect the pod to the network and let it choose the best channel.
Try moving your pod closer to the modem, away from anything that might be causing interference, or connecting the pod to the network via Ethernet.
You can also review our installation tips to improve your pod setup, or visit the Optimize my Wi-Fi Speed page for more information about what affects Wi-Fi speeds.
My pod is offline
If your pod won't connect to the network, try:
- Rebooting your modem.
- Connecting the pod via Ethernet.
- Deleting and reconnecting the pod to your network:
- Open the Bell Wi-Fi app and log in with your My Account username and password. Get help logging in to the Bell Wi-Fi app.
- In the Adapt section of the home screen, touch the pod you would like to delete or reconnect.
- Touch the three dots on the top right corner of the screen and select Delete pod.
- To reconnect the pod, keep the pod plugged into a power outlet.
Adding a pod
- Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on your device. The app uses Bluetooth to communicate with the pods during setup.
- Touch the Menu icon (bottom right).
- Scroll down to the Access points section and touch Add a pod.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to add your pod.
- Wait for the pod to connect to your network again. This should bring the pod back online. If the pod does not connect, touch the floating Contact support button.
- Wait for the pod to connect to your network again. This should bring the pod back online.
My device doesn't connect to the pod it's closest to
Your device may not always connect to the pod that is closest to it. The network will determine the best connection based on a variety of factors, such as interference and traffic. While Bell Wi-Fi pods determine the best connection, sometimes devices need some help connecting. Turning your device's Wi-Fi off and back on or rebooting your modem may solve performance issues.