Raise your hands if you hate slow internet. If we were to ask this question to a crowd of people, we are certain that almost every single person in the audience would raise their hands in agreement.
People who are reading this piece, or anyone who uses the internet, will agree that there is absolutely nothing worse than internet that works at a Snails speed. Just the mere thought of waiting for the page to load makes one shudder.
Fast internet has especially become important in the current climate where people are being forced to work from home. Imagine the consequences of missing out on an important Zoom call because of a slow internet connection! It’s the kind of stuff that nightmares are made of.
Fortunately, there are simple hacks that can help you increase your internet speed. Let’s take a look:
Reset Your Router
Resetting your router dispels any hacking attempts made on your network and applies updates to your router. More importantly, it clears your router’s memory and speeds up your internet connection.
The trick though is to ensure that you reset your router properly. You don’t want to go for the factory reset option because that would end up resetting all of your settings and you will have to start at scratch.
All you have to do is simply unplug your router from all the devices and then the power source. Wait for a couple of minutes while everything turns off. After that plug in your router into the power source again.
This will reset your router and hopefully speed up your internet connection as well.
Scan for Virus
Sometimes internet connections slow down because of Spyware. Spyware is an unwanted computer program that infiltrates a computer and steals private information such as internet usage data.
In addition to stealing user data, spyware slows down your internet and in extreme cases can even crash your computer system.
Scanning your computer periodically with an anti-virus helps remove such harmful programs from your computer and prevents your internet from slowing down.
Manage Devices on the Network
In theory, an average router can handle up to 250 devices at the same time, but as we said that is just ‘in theory.’
In reality, the more devices you connect on a network, the more bandwidth is consumed. This then has an impact on the network speed. In a single household, there are multiple devices that can be connected to the internet. It’s only natural that this should have an impact on the connection speed.
If you notice a lag in your internet speed, check and see whether too many devices are connected to the network.
Start with identifying unnecessary devices that are connected to the network. If you detect devices that you don’t need on the network or suspect that someone is hijacking your Wi-Fi, you can either ban the MAC addresses of these devices or change your password.
Your internet speed will go up once you disconnect unnecessary device and more bandwidth is available.
With some routers, you also get the option of throttling the bandwidth. If you have such a router, you can use this option to slow down specific connections and redirect more bandwidth to devices that you use for gaming or streaming.
There are routers that also have the restrict usage option. This allows you to restrict the use of certain devices on the network and prevents unnecessary devices from hogging your bandwidth and slowing down your internet connection.
Check Filters
Suppose you have the internet as well as a phone connection from the same provider. Say a company like Spectrum. You have been using your Spectrum Internet Customer Service for a while now but only recently you have noticed a lag in your speed.
Usually, such situations arise when there is a problem with your phone filters. Filters are little plugs that are attached to your phone line and as their name suggests, their job is to filter out the disturbances in the connection.
In case the filters are damaged, they cause disturbances in the phone line and this eventually leads to reduced internet speed. Getting filters checked and replaced, in case of damage, will prevent such problems from arising in the future.
Plug Into a Modem
Wireless connections usually tend to be slower. So if you have a work station and don’t need to move around too much, you can always connect your computer directly to your modem. This will boost the speed of your connection.
Internet Cables
Structure and the length of your internet cables have an impact on internet speed. Replace your old cables and lines with new ones that are shorter in size for a faster internet connection.
Remove External Interference
Are there electronic devices like speakers near your modem? These devices might be causing disturbances in your internet connection with electromagnetic interference. Move these devices out of the way to ensure that your internet speed stays fast.
Change Your Browser
Are you sure you are not using Internet Explorer? Browsers too can have an impact on your connection speed so try and change your browser and see if that makes a difference.
A minimalistic browser like Google Chrome that only loads when it is necessary can boost your connection speed and offer a superior online experience.
Final Word
The aforementioned hacks will help ensure that your internet speed never slows down. However, if you continue to face issues with internet speed, you can always get in touch with your service provider and ask for an inspection. This might cost you some money but considering how important fast internet truly is, we would say it is a worthwhile investment.
