Home Office setup: Equipment, tips & Wi-Fi

The ideal home office workplace

Every home office starts with a question: Where do you set up your home office equipment, how can you work undisturbed, effectively, and as productive as possible? There is no right or wrong in answering this question. Rather, it depends on your own individual life and work situation and can be flexibly arranged.

Full focus in the study

If you want to work from home, ideally set up a separate workroom. This is also possible in remote rooms, such as the basement or the attic. A separate study has various advantages: You reduce the number of potential disturbance factors and become less distracted..

A physical separation of work and living spaces also ensures that you can switch off better after work and that the job doesn’t affect important recovery phases too much. It is particularly effective if you maintain fixed, regular working hours..

And from a purely practical point of view, a fixed workplace also offers many advantages. Here you can set up your home office however you’d like - with a large desk, an external monitor, smart home office gadgets or other home office accessories..

Illustration of a person in a home office

Maximum flexibility throughout the entire house

Not everyone can enjoy the luxury of a dedicated study. Depending on your life situation, it can also make sense to occasionally leave the confinement of a room and – if the job allows it – to visit other places within the living space.

Why don’t you bring some variety and movement into your daily work routine? This way you don't always see the same room and you can enjoy some variation in the working atmosphere and your posture.

For the sake of your back, don’t crouch for too long at a dining table that is too small or on a chair that is too hard. A changing workplace can provide dynamism, inspiration and fresh home office ideas. And (in exceptional cases) you can also keep an eye on the children playing in the garden.

Wherever you’d like to work: With devolo you can enjoy a strong and stable internet connection with the best range in the entire living area – from the basement to the attic.

Discover perfect Wi-Fi for the home office

Smart home office equipment

Desk with room for evolvement

Your desk needs to be large enough so that you have enough space around it for the most important things. Also pay attention to stability – if the piece of furniture is shaking with every keystroke and causes the monitor to swing, it doesn’t contribute to productivity.

There are bonus points for height adjustability : This allows you to set the optimum height for your body size and, if you wish, simply work standing up.

On a white desk, there are pairs of books/notepads on the right side and a cup, pens and an alarm clock on the left side.

Smart lamps with daylight

Smart lamps can be connected to your Wi-Fi network and controlled by language assistants ("Alexa, turn on the light!"). Many of these lamps also offer settings for the colour ambience..

And that has a very concrete effect on your well-being. A warm light makes you feel cozy and sleepy, while a colder light with a high proportion of blue tones boosts your biorhythms – as well as your productivity in the home office.

A smart lamp is on the bedside table and is on. There are also 3 books and a pair of glasses next to it.

Office chair with an ergonomic factor

Anyone who sits a lot should not make savings in the wrong places – least of all on the seating. The seating should be rotatable and height-adjustable and have ergonomics that match your physique. . It is particularly comfortable to work with (padded) armrests and a headrest that relieves your spine.

Did you know? Meanwhile there are even smart office chairs , that can remember different user profiles that can be called up via Wi-Fi – a real advantage if you share your home office with another person.

A black office chair is next to a black desk

Smart room air sensor for the best air quality

The indoor air quality has a direct impact on your productivity: as the CO2 content of the air increases, your ability to concentrate decreases. Depending on the model, a smart room air sensor supports you every day in keeping an eye on important parameters such as humidity, air quality, temperature and even the noise level.

Practical: You can integrate many models into your smart home via Wi-Fi and conveniently keep an eye on the air quality of any room with the appropriate equipment.

A Smart Room Air Sensor stands next to a plant

Don't forget: a little bit of green in the technology jungle

Smart office tools are essential today. With so much helpful technology, you should always pay attention to a bit of comfort and balance. Place at least one, preferably several, small to medium-sized indoor plants in your home office.

Plants swallow CO2 and also optically represent a balance to the technological jungle and promote well-being as well as inspiration..

Monitor for efficient multitasking

If you work with a laptop, it is worth getting at least one additional monitor with a size of around 24 inches. Such an external screen is essential for a good overview, efficient multitasking and the health of your eyes.

There are bonus points for the integrated webcam: you don't have to turn your head during conferences and can relax and look straight ahead. Alternatively, of course, an external webcam with a USB port will do the trick.

Home office scenario. A desk where there is a computer monitor, a cup, a plant, pens, books/notepads and mobile phone.

Headset and microphone for good sound quality

If you regularly participate in video conferences, you should get a solid headset with an integrated microphone. In this way, you always understand your colleagues perfectly – and vice versa.

Pro-tip:Headphones with a noise-cancelling function will filter out the noise around you, giving you the freedom to focus on your work around the house. You can easily ignore the noisy dishwasher in the kitchen, the children playing in the living room or even the neighbours gossiping in the garden.

Home office scenario. On a desk is a laptop, a plant and a headset.

Smart speakers with voice assistance

For the right soundscape between or even during work, we recommend speakers that are connected via Bluetooth – or even more comfortable: via Wi-Fi. You can collect fresh motivation and inspiration and occasionally clear your head to soothing sounds.

Alexa, Siri and Co. are actively by your side: On command, the digital assistants start your favourite playlist, provide you with information and support you in organizing your everyday life.

Small table in the living room. A plant, a mobile phone and a loudspeaker are on the table.

Perfect Wi-Fi that holds everything together

The modern home office is smart – more and more devices, gadgets and even furniture offer smart functionalities. The basis of this is a strong and, above all, stable Wi-Fi network, which also covers remote living areas and lets you work productively and without interruption.

devolo will happily support with Internet and Wi-Fi coverage in your entire home.

A devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 powerline adapter with WiFi waves is plugged into a socket in the home office.

A man is in home office while he is videocalling his coworkers

Set up a seamless video conference

– Basic tips for virtual meetings

Depending on your profession, you can work just as well in the home office as in the office, if not more productively. And nevertheless: the exchange with colleagues is important – for the accomplishment of common tasks and projects, maintaining interpersonal relationships and cultivating a positive team spirit.

If you set up your home office, you can hardly avoid the video conference. Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, Google Meet and other services give you the opportunity to exchange ideas on important (and sometimes less important) topics every day. To ensure that this works well, here are a few tips that you should take to heart when participating in virtual meetings.

Mind your appearance.

If you're working from home, it might seem tempting to do it in your comfortable sweatpants. But even if one doesn't usually get to see your lower half: At the least when talking to colleagues – not to mention customers – you should pay just as much attention to your appearance as you would in the office. This is also beneficial for your personal mindset.

A few unnecessary stubbles or areas of the face without make-up often get lost during the transmission and are not a big deal. However, if you do show up in a spontaneous meeting with a bathrobe or the latest flea market purchase, you may just provide company parties with enough conversational topics for years to come.

Find a quiet place.

With appropriate Wi-Fi coverage, you can theoretically work throughout the house. For the video conference, however, you should definitely retreat to a quiet place where you can largely exclude interruptions by children, pets and other disturbing factors.

Of course, you should also make sure that your smartphone is set to silent and that no other unexpected noise sources can disturb the web meeting.

Choose an appropriate background.

In virtual meetings, you provide your colleagues with a look into your private living area. Order and cleanliness should be a matter of course. To convey the most professional impression possible, you should not sit in front of the children's play area, but rather a background that is as neutral as possible or alternatively impressive – a wall of books, for example.

Optionally, with most meeting services, you can also switch on virtual backgrounds that cover your living space. Here you should also choose a picture that is as neutral as possible – you can save the colourful beach panorama and other funny backgrounds for the next virtual company party.

Consider the lighting conditions.

Cardinal errors can be avoided: Before the video conference make sure that you are sufficiently illuminated – ideally by daylight. This brings freshness and naturalness to your appearance.

Also make sure that the light comes from the front or, even better, from the side. If you sit with the window behind you, your face will quickly sink into the shadows. The result: an unsightly image – and a highly unprofessional impression. If the natural lighting is not enough, you can help with artificial daylight lamps.

Rely on the right technical equipment.

The right equipment is also part of the professional overall impression. If your laptop camera does not deliver a satisfactory image, it may be worth buying an external webcam. Also, under no circumstances should you use the standard microphone on your device – then your voice usually comes across as thin and tinny. Instead, rely on a dedicated headset or microphone with good, voluminous sound quality.

Establish stable technical conditions.

There are just a few things that are more annoying than a productive meeting that is suddenly interrupted by technical problems. Therefore, make sure that the basic technical requirements are correct. Does your laptop still have enough battery? If you suddenly get thrown out or must get up to "shortly plug in the power cord ", this already has a disruptive effect on the flow of the conversation.

Even more important – especially when several people share a home office – is a fast and stable Internet connection, ideally via Ethernet cable. Otherwise, the image quality may be blurry or the connection may even be lost, especially with parallel video conferences. We at devolo are happy to support you here.

The VPN connection in the home office

For security reasons, many companies rely on VPN technology for employees working from home. Without it, you might not even be able access your company's network. For this reason, we will answer some basic questions about VPN at this point.

What does VPN stand for?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is basically just that – a kind of virtual private network with the purpose of data security. Therefore, external computers can access a company server from the home office.

The advantage: This connection is end-to-end encrypted and therefore protected against unauthorized access. Your computer becomes part of the corporate network and can access secured files, tools and other services that are denied to third parties.

How can you set up a VPN connection?

Most of the time, your employer will provide the tools you need to set up a VPN connection. The relevant software is usually pre-installed on your work computer. When you set up your home office, all you have to do is log in with your company access data.

If the company does not provide a VPN solution itself, you have the alternative of setting up a VPN server in Windows, macOS or Linux by yourself. Or alternatively you can use your router if it supports this functionality.

Monitoring by VPN – what does the employer see?

Employees are often prohibited from accessing non-work-related content on the Internet during working hours and with the company computer. Would you like to check social media between tasks? Book your next holiday at the same time? If you use a VPN in your home office, you should be extra disciplined here.

Since all data traffic runs over the company network with a VPN connection, it is theoretically possible for your employer to access your browser history in order to encourage you to be more productive in case of doubt.

What to do if the VPN connection is slow?

Your internet connection can become noticeably slower due to the additional VPN encryption. You notice that quickly, for example when video conferences stagnate, or websites only load slowly.

At this point, as a user, you can do one thing above all: Ensure a flawless Wi-Fi connection in your home office. If you want to get the most out of your Internet connection, you should also use a wired Ethernet connection. Powerline adapters from devolo support you with this.

devolo - the perfect companion for your home office ideas

No matter which place of work, which equipment and video software you choose: For a trouble-free and productive home office life, you need an Internet connection that brings all your smart devices and ideas into harmony.

With the ideal solutions from devolo, you establish the perfect foundations for your home office equipment. The proven Powerline technology uses the already installed power lines to send the internet signal to any corner of your house. So, you can enjoy the best Wi-Fi anywhere - and if necessary, you can also connect an Ethernet cable for even better data rates.

devolo WiFi ac Repeater+

Amplification of the Wi-Fi signal for adjacent rooms
For small to medium-sized living spaces (one floor)
For a few parallel users
Surfing at up to 1200 Mbps
LAN ports for Ethernet connection

Application example (or use case): Student flat-share or smaller flat with few participants in limited space

Learn more

devolo Powerline Adapter Magic 2 WiFi 6 in circles with WiFi sign

devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6

Powerline solution for expanding the Wi-Fi
Suitable for several floors and rooms
Wi-Fi speeds of up to 1800 Mbps
Efficient, parallel use of data-hungry applications (e.g. video conferencing and large file transfers )
Gigabit LAN ports for Ethernet connection

Application example (or use case): Family with several home office participants throughout the house or flat

Learn more