This one Wi-Fi setting did wonders to fix my network

• What is SQM, and why does it matter?
• How do you enable SQM?
• Is there any reason I shouldn’t turn on SQM?

I’ve talked a surprising amount about improving your Wi-Fi experience here at Pocket-lint. What that means can vary considerably, of course. Some people may need to upgrade to a mesh router, while others will need to make the leap to Wi-Fi 7, or at least 6E. There’s probably a substantial number of people who could be helped simply by moving a router to a different room, or bringing it out from behind their TV.

One thing I haven’t addressed yet is a software setting that actually came to my aid a while ago: SQM. In this piece I’ll explain what SQM is, why it can make such a difference, and how you can (probably) turn it on. I’ll also explain why it shouldn’t be treated as a crutch.

What is SQM, and why does it matter?

Tackling the realities of Wi-Fi, instead of the ideal

SQM is short for Smart Queue Management, an option on a number of modern Wi-Fi routers. If you haven’t heard of it before, there may be good reason, since it requires a certain amount of onboard processing power. More on that later.

Ordinarily, you might say a router defaults to net neutrality. That is, it handles traffic on a first-come, first-served basis, with no preference for one device over another. Everything has access to the same amount of bandwidth, network congestion notwithstanding. This probably seems ideal on the surface — your phone, for instance, might be fetching emails one minute, but downloading a major update the next, and few people like the idea of a download taking any longer than necessary.

In practice, however, some activities can suffer under this arrangement, and that’s where SQM comes into play. The feature prioritizes particular data packets over others, putting them ahead in the scheduling queue to avoid something known as bufferbloat. It also caps the bandwidth of less important activities, ensuring that the higher-priority ones can operate better.

What constitutes a high priority? As a rule, anything that requires a real-time response. If you’re watching a 4K movie in the living room, that stream needs to be continuous to avoid interruptions. Likewise, someone playing Fortnite or ARC Raiders is going to want minimal ping times to avoid missing shots, and lag in a video interview could prove embarrassing.

The feature prioritizes particular data packets over others, putting them ahead in the scheduling queue to avoid something known as bufferbloat.

Low-priority tasks might include things like web browsing, file downloads, or triggering smart home automations. They won’t have to wait a long time, from a human perspective, but they’ll still be shoved back in the queue if they’re not flagged. This may actually be fairer than true neutrality, since it results in all-around lower latency. No one is going to suffer too much because someone decided Saturday night would be a great time to upgrade macOS or Windows.

For me, enabling SQM on my Eero Pro 6E routers was attractive primarily for gaming. I have a love-hate relationship with PUBG, the original battle royale game. Death can happen so suddenly in it that any advantage is crucial. Switching on SQM didn’t make me an ace sniper, by any means — but I did notice that my network felt more responsive overall, so I could no longer blame any of my defeats on lag.

This may have also contributed to a smoother experience with Spotify and YouTube, but honestly, I can’t say so with confidence. As I just mentioned, turning on SQM seemed to contribute to overall improvements, rather boost performance in any one area. It’s just that so much of my day is spent with those two services that any hiccup with them is noticeable, and in my memory, I’ve had fewer problems since SQM was enabled.

My home situation is a bit unusual, for some context. While there are just three of us here — my wife, son, and I — my wife and I both work in tech fields, and we’re the sort of people who will occasionally max out gigabit internet. I doubt most couples are downloading Windows ISOs or running multiple torrents.

How do you enable SQM?

Cross your fingers that you’ve got it

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Typically, though, the option is going to be found in a Network or QoS (Quality of Service) section of your router’s web interface or mobile app. In the Eero app, for example, you can turn it on by going to Settings – > Advanced networking -> SQM. Some routers may let you choose which traffic is prioritized. With Eeros, unfortunately, this is decided for you.

You’re most likely to find SQM on gaming routers, or other products that advertise a lot of advancement management functions.

A bigger catch, as I hinted earlier, is that not every router has the processor power to support SQM. While any recent Eero unit should be compatible, other manufacturers will sometimes skimp on their CPUs to keep costs down. You’re most likely to find SQM on gaming routers, or other products that advertise a lot of advancement management functions.

When a router doesn’t include the feature out of the box, it may still be capable by way of unofficial firmware. Specifically I’m thinking of OpenWrt, which works on a surprising number of devices. Be warned — installing this is for the technically savvy only. If you mess up, your router will be knocked offline, and you’ll have to execute a special recovery process to restore its original firmware. That may not be worth the risk, given what I’m about to explain.

Is there any reason I shouldn’t turn on SQM?

Not for every household

Yes. Under the wrong circumstances, it can reduce performance for some devices. You may have to experiment to find out. Certainly, SQM is going to affect your performance in speed test apps.

The reason for this is that the feature caps your internet bandwidth slightly below its true capacity. This enables traffic shaping by preventing your internet service provider’s buffering from taking over. If peak speed matters to you more than low latency, SQM isn’t for you.

If you’re a gamer, you’ll probably see a greater difference by switching from Wi-Fi to Ethernet.

SQM isn’t a magic bullet for latency, either. You need a healthy Wi-Fi signal, a decent internet plan, and the cooperation of internet traffic. If everyone in your area is trying to watch the latest episode of The Last of Us, it may not matter how well-optimized your own network is. Also, a cloud server located in the same state or province as you will almost always deliver lower latency than one on the other side of the country, let alone another part of the world. This is why Australian gamers are often annoyed — they have a hard time getting decent pings to the largest gaming markets. Latency may boil down to the luck of the draw.

Ultimately, SQM should just be another weapon in your arsenal. If you’re a gamer, in fact, you’ll probably see a greater difference by switching from Wi-Fi to Ethernet. That’s what I did. You can use SQM and Ethernet in tandem, thankfully.