Slow internet speed can make even the calmest person react. You couldn’t watch your favourite movie as the videos are buffering frequently. You even couldn’t play your favourite Game “League of legends” online. Nor download the important office documents. This is all because of your slow internet. Heard You! Everyone at some point of time got flabbergasted with a slow Wi-Fi connection. But old desktop of yours, wireless hardware, computer settings may also have an impact.
In today’s world, where the internet is ruling. Every household is enabled with a single internet provider which offers speed of 25mbps or higher, that isn’t fast as expected. If you’re in that category you are preferring to have more than what you have. This means having a high-speed connection. There is every possibility to try a few things before switching to the next plan with your ISP, or exploring other options, like cox internet plans, to see if you could be getting a better deal with another provider.
In this guide, there are few tips on how to speed up your internet connection. Thankfully, there are some apps and helpful websites like speedcheck.org which provide a means to know what the actual speed of your internet. Among those NetSpot is an app to check WiFi speed. With this app run the internet speed and make sure you have a continuous WiFi speed ever.
Speed Test
Before proceeding with any other ways to amplify your internet speed. Run the internet speed and do the following two things
Know the speed you’re promised to get from your provider
Analyze the actual speed which you’re getting right now
Knowing the results can be tricky for a newbie as there are some terms associated with these
Download speed
Upload speed
When you measure the speed of pulling the data from others to you is referred to as download speed. In other words, if your friend sends some documents or images to you and you will download them with the help of Wi-Fi or online data. The rate of speed at which it downloads is known as download speed.
To measure the fastness of sending the data to others or uploading the files is referred to as upload speed. It is essential when sending large files through emails or chatting on a video or talking to some of your dear ones online.
Generally, the download speed is much faster than the upload speed as the majority of the activities take place through it. Like loading a webpage or streaming videos online measures the download speed.
Another aspect to look into while measuring the internet speed is the latency. It is the total time taken to send information from one destination to the other. Generally, it is between the sender and the receiver. It is measured in terms of milliseconds or ms.
Prior to running the speed test, it is always recommended to turn off all the activities related to data transmission. It may be pausing your video or downloads. You even have to turn off any online games or live streaming music or videos.
Ethernet
Everyone is on the internet these days. They may be using tablets, mobiles, PCs, or any electronic devices. These are supported by Wi-Fi. Communication has become easier. But the bandwidth it utilizes to send data wirelessly can become overwhelmed. This is true if you’re staying in apartments or dorms. Where every individual is using online devices. The traffic that generates effects congestion which dips your speed. To solve this, use ethernet cable that is connected to your router. It usually has a quick speed than the WiFi bandwidths that clog up the traffic. Insert the cable to PC located at the back, and another cable to the router. Verify whether the green light on the other end of the router.
Reconfigure the Router
What actions do you take when your computer is sluggish after using it for a few days? That’s the right answer! you reboot it. When you reboot, it clears all the cached memory and any background unused apps. It makes your PC to run fast.
Think your router as a mini computer. It locks up the memory and any background processes and cache data. Occasionally reset the data and run the apps smoothly. After a reset, it again reconnects to different channels often providing a less-crowded and more-effective channel.
For efficiently resetting your router take the following steps
- Detach your router’s Power Cord totally
- Wait for 15-20 seconds
- Turn on your electronic gadgets back
- Wait till it begins to broadcast the connection
You now have an effectively cleared router with a faster speed.
Placement of your Router
A wireless router sends radio signals in all direction. Those signals have a short range with high frequency. If there are any objects while sending out the signals, they can obstruct the path and degrades the quality. This reduces the speed of the internet.
One way to boost your speed is to place your router in any central location by avoiding any metal objects. Don’t place it behind the TV, near a microwave. Enclose them in closed concrete walls.
Clean your PC
This might be a cause, WiFi signal can give weak signals if your PC is too old or cluttered with all the unnecessary files. One way to increase the speed is to declutter your PC and remove all the unnecessary programmes. There are various software tools such as Avast!cleanup, CCleaner, F-secure booster, etc. that cleans your system and runs smoothly.
Turn-off and on again
The last process which is fiercely followed is to switch off the PC and on it again. This way it is referred to as power cycling and often rinses out all the issues that affect the WiFi speed. Even try configuring your modem with all the new password and refresh the settings and connections. This can be done from the ISP’s end.
Talk to your ISP
When all is said and done and you have taken all the actions to increase the speed, but still facing the problem. It is your time to chalk out the solution by talking to your provider and see if the problem is from their side. Talk to them politely and get their inputs. After speaking to them, there is every possibility of getting good results. If you’re on it, try to fix the best deal as you used all the wrong speeds all this while.
Conclusion
There are various reasons why your Wi-Fi connection is slow. It can be a problem with a router or modem. Maybe the signal strength is too low even on your cable line. It can be your electronic devices that are saturating your bandwidth. Whatever reasons it might be, try the above troubleshooting tips and check the results after these.