I hope this post finds you and your loved ones safe and well in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. We have all been affected, myself included.

You may have noticed that while your Internet was off, your contacts disappeared. Or While your power was out, your cellphone ceased to exist?

Your Contacts are located in the Cloud. So when your Internet was out, your devices couldn’t connect and it appeared that your contacts were deleted, and then when your WiFi was reconnected, they magically reappeared.

What is the difference between Wi-Fi and LTE/5G cellphone signals?

LTE (long-term evolution or 5G) is a cell signal, broadband network cellular signal standard. It’s deployed by radio signal frequencies to/from cell towers and depending on the signal strength and obstacles in its way. Most cell phones are using LTE to communicate to cell towers. LTE is measured in miles.

WiFi is short-range (1000ft) Ethernet radio Signals, typically established between a WiFi base station and portable devices with WiFi Ethernet radios, like phones and iPads or even regular computers. WiFi is short range (think inside a building), so the signal quality is high and fairly consistent so a higher bandwidth is capable. If a user moves out of the connectivity range the signal is dropped and they no longer have a WiFi connection, unlike LTE which would latch onto another tower signal seamlessly and continue its usage. WiFi is measured in square footage.