Why is My WiFi Slow Like Snail? 🤔 Best Ways To Fix It

So, you were watching Game of Thrones and when John Snow was about to kill Daenerys and your Hotstar starts buffering or you cleared the aptitude test of your dream company, and now when it’s the time for your online interview your browser is displaying “No internet”.

Now, don’t just throw swear words at your ISP or break your router with the hammer of your anger. Here are 8 reasons that will help in finding the answer to “Why is my wifi Slow?” 🤔

There are two possibilities in this scenario either there is some problem with your Internet Service Provider(ISP) or your appliance is facing some difficulties in receiving your Wifi Signal.

We have covered both of the scenarios in this article so stay tuned.

Why is My WiFi Slow Like Snail: Reasons 🤦‍♂️

1. ISP Issue

Before being conclusive you should first check different websites and devices. As sometimes a mere increase in traffic can slow down a particular website.

Or your phone or computer is facing some internal software or hardware issue. Once, you have confirmed that it is not the case in this scenario, then you can jump to a conclusion.

Check your internet speed with that of your plan. To measure your internet speed navigate to www.speedtest.net and click on the “Go” option to check your current internet speed. It will show you your internet speed with the closest server with a multi-connection.

If you want to check your internet connection with a single connection, Click on the “Single Connection” option and then click on the Go option to check your internet connection with a single connection.

and compare the single connection speed test result with multiple connection results which will help you to understand is your internet connection with a single connection or with multiple connections.

There will be some minute differences but if the difference is adequate you should contact your ISP and ask him politely “Why is my internet slow?”

Just don’t forget to clear your bills on time!

2. Router Problem

There can be multiple problems in your Wifi Router or Modem but sometimes all it takes to solve that problem is to just reboot your router and/or Modem. To reboot them unplug each wire from their respective power socket for approximately 10-15 minutes.

After replugging the wires you have to wait for a few minutes, for it to reconnect your internet. So don’t lose your patience, as one of the greatest philosophers of all time Aristotle once said ”Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” 

But if you still are not able to solve the problem you might want to consider reading this article till the end.

These are a few points that you might want to consider having a look at while looking for the best answer for your query

3. Microwave

If you are going to stream Breaking Bad and at the same time you have asked your mom to prepare “Lasagne”. You might want to reconsider your decision. Because both your wifi signal and Microwave oven works at the same frequency which is 2.4 GHz.

Every Microwave oven is perfectly shielded but nothing is ideal. As it emits radio waves that is enough to create Electromagnetic or Radio-frequency(RF) interference. Which is not harmful to humans and pets, but can distort your wifi signal.

Every microwave must be shield enough to reduce the RF interferences.

Fix:- This problem has a very easy fix just change your appliance setting from 2.4 GHz to 5GHz on the 802.1n network.

This is a very easy fix, most of the modern routers have this feature where you can just browse into the Wifi setting with the help of your Wifi’s IP address and then change as per your requirement.

Note:- Many legacy devices are not supporting 5GHZ frequency.

Windows 10 is providing an option to you to specify the particular frequency that you want to connect only.

To access the Wireless frequency option just open the run menu by pressing “Windows Key + X” and select the “device manager” option

Click on the Network Adapters option and select your Wifi Card and right-click on it and select the properties.

Click on the Advanced tab, Here you are able to select a particular frequency that you only want to connect.

2. Drones

Yes! Your favorite toy can cause lagging in your online gaming experience. It’s not the drone that causes the problem, it is the remote control as it runs at the same frequency of 2.4GHz in which your Wifi workes.

As both the frequencies are the same which will create interference and will eventually decrease the speed of your internet.

Fix:- There is no rocket science behind the solution of this absurd problem, just ask your children to not play with drone while you are in a meeting with the clients willing to invest millions in your startup. 🤩

3. Decorative Lights

If you were wondering why your music system connected to Wifi stopped working last year during the Christmas party, then you have assumed the right answer after looking at this subheading.

These lights use a special “sparkling chip” that generates a magnetic frequency that interacts with numerous Radio frequency emitted by your router. These interactions will distort the waves and will eventually decrease your wifi’s pace.

Fix:- Although decorative lights are small, at the same time we are not using a hand-full amount of these lights. Usually, we cover the whole building with these “sparkling pieces of joy”. In that case, one should place the router away from the most densely populated bright area.

One of the things that one can do is to search for any wifi updates. As some of the router manufacturers are providing you with new updates to fix this problem.

4. Fridge

Well isn’t it surprising to see that one of the most useful items to us is, one the most devilish item to our Wifi? Jeez!

The fact of the matter is that any electrical appliance which has something or the other to with water is not good for radio signals.

Water has a gift that no one asked for, which is retaining energy from the wireless waves. Which in turn will mess up your wifi signal and you may not be able to go “insta live” while cooking.

Fix:- There is no fix for this problem and it is not very big of an issue as well. Just make sure that you are not surrounded with fridges full of water bottles, I am not sure why anyone in their right mind would ever do that!

5. Mirror

Mirrors are another daily essential that will slow down your wifi. The piece of reflecting essential that you use to check yourself before the interview might be a reason why your uber is not loading. 

The mirror acts as a shield that will allow the radio-waves to bounce off its surface. So, when you have a mirror near the router, it can make your signal slow and unstable.

Fix:- The fix for this problem is pretty straight forward just don’t put your router near the mirror.

6.Bricks

Well! You cannot live without bricks. Can you?

If you are sharing the wifi with your cousins living downstairs and facing network problems. You might want to address this issue in the next “family get together”. Cause bricks do not allow the waves to penetrate. Which will eventually result in you having a poor network.

Fix: The fix to this problem is not very simple, ’cause bricks are what makes a house a house. So, the best solution is to place the router in the middle of the building or to place it at something which has the least displacement from all the users.

Another solution is to use Home Plug adapters.

HomePlug (or Powerline) adapters work by routing a broadband connection over your home’s electrical wiring. If you have a garage or shed that’s connected to your home’s mains supply, you can plug a Wi-Fi enabled adapter into one of its power sockets.

Plug another HomePlug into a power socket near your router and connect the router and HomePlug with an Ethernet cable. Your internet connection should be extended to the
HomePlug in the outbuilding over your electrical wiring and the HomePlug can then create a Wi-Fi hotspot you can connect your garden devices too.

There are several makes and models of HomePlug adapter to choose from, but the dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Starter Kit Powerline from Devolo is a good option.

7. Metal

Metal is a conductor. And as discussed above your router emits electromagnetic waves. There are dozens of metallic items in your house. The more metallic furniture your house has the slower your wifi will be, as metals will not allow the signals to spread its wings and cover the house. 

So, if you are opening an office and are going to buy metallic furniture, then you might want to reconsider your choice.

Fix:- The solution to this problem is to not keep your router on a metallic shelf and try to not keep it behind any metallic equipment such as fridge, microwave, etc as they will add up to create distortion. 

Helpful Tips To Fix Why is My WiFi Slow Issue

1. Firmware Update

Sometimes your software can also create problems. The best way to solve software related problems is to just update the wifi’s firmware. Firmware is like the software on your operating system or your mobile.

As your software requires an update to maintain its performance and security, so does the firmware on your Wifi.

You can do that by browsing into the setting by entering the IP address of your router. After that, you will see an update if it is available. Just update that and your wifi will be good to go.

Most of the Routers have an IP-address of 192.168.1.1, just open the https://192.168.1.1 in your browser and log in with your router admin credentials and click on the Firmware update option to update your router firmware.

Most of the time you need to visit your router manufacturer website and navigate to their Download section and enter your Router model number to download router latest firmware available for your Router.

Even if you don’t have an issue with your Wifi, it’s a good idea to always keep update your Wifi router firmware for improvements and security patches.

2. Router Placement

A proper router is placement is very important to maintain a good internet speed. We have covered the importance of proper placement earlier in this article.

If maintaining the aesthetics of your house is your goal then you might have to compromise on the performance a little as hiding your router will harm your router’s performance.

An open area is ideal for the placement of your router as we want to give those electromagnetic waves a medium to transmit. Place the router on a surface higher than ground level and make sure that the antenna is vertical, and you are golden.

3. Use WiFi Analyzer Apps

Something simple like doing a quick search for apps for the betterment of your router’s performance does not hurt.

There are tons of apps online that will tell you the week and strong points of network in your home, office, etc. So that you can just shift your room with your younger brother and enjoy full speed internet. Isn’t that a smart move?

A Wi-Fi analyzer app is a software program that can help you identify network problems, see all available channels around you, which could potentially interfere with your connection, and determine the best channel to set your router. The Wi-Fi analyzer will also help you identify the best location in your home or office to keep the router.

A good Wi-Fi analyzer app will help you get detailed information about a router and optimize your Wi-Fi connection for the best possible browsing experience.

While there are several Wi-Fi analyzer apps on the market, you want to choose an app that presents the information in an easy-to-read format like the NetSpot Wi-Fi analyzer.

Now you know what a Wi-Fi analyzer app is, the next step is to understand how to conduct and read Wi-Fi analysis.

How to read Wi-Fi Analyzer?

Launch your Wi-Fi analyzer to begin the analysis of all available networks around you if you haven’t downloaded a Wi-Fi analyzer on your device yet, head over to Google Store or Apple Playstore and search for NetSpot.

We will use NetSpot (Download Here), one of the best Wi-Fi analyzer app for this walk-through on how to read a Wi-Fi analyzer.

After installing the app, launch it to begin the analysis. The NetSpot app has two modes: Networks and Comparison.

Switch to the Network mode to discover all detected Wi-Fi networks around you. The NetSpot app will display the following data for every detected network:

• Network name
• MAC Address
• Band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)
• Signal
• Channel
• Security protocol

A color code is used to indicate the signal strength for each network. Green is the color for a strong signal and Red for a weak signal.

At the bottom of the network screen, you will see the wireless network you are currently connected to and its signal strength.

To compare networks, tap the corresponding ‘Comparison’ tab on the screen. In this mode, you can drill down to see how the network you are currently connected to compares with others. Or compare the signal level and or frequency band of detected networks to discover the best channel to switch to.

To get started:-

– Choose the networks you want to compare. Check the boxes beside them to select. You can compare all the networks at once.

– Each network is represented by the color of their checkbox on the graph.

Select either the signal strength graph to compare all the detected wireless networks according to their signal strength or Channel overlap graph to see the channels each detected network broadcasts on.

The Channel Overlap graph comes in handy when choosing a channel with less traffic since you can see the channels with the highest activities and those with fewer connections.

The Comparison mode also allows you to filter all the detected Wi-Fi networks by a set of rules.

You can filter the networks by signal strengths. For instance, you can select to see only networks with strong signals. Or Filter by frequency band, which enables you to see all Wi-Fi network broadcasting on the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.

Other filter options you can use to compare networks is the Filter by security protocols and Filter by name feature.

Interestingly, NetSpot allows you to combine filters, which means you get to see all the data on one screen.

4. Frequency

Remember all that scientific talk about waves, all the waves operate on some frequencies. Well! As mentioned earlier microwaves, drones, etc workes on 2.4 GHz which is the most common frequency for most routers.

But, the good news is that although it is the default setting but is changeable. As just browsing into the wifi setting will help you change the frequency.

We talked a lot about the wireless frequency in this post, you might have confusion about how wifi and how these frequencies are working, the below video, will help you to understand this.

5. Try Another DNS Server

To get your answer to Why is my wifi slow? we finally reached the DNS settings of your PC, router, or mobile devices. DNS is a service that is responsible for resolving your hostname to the IP-address that the computer is understanding.

By-default Routers are using the ISP DNS which is always quite slower than fast available DNS servers like Google DNS. It will improve your browsing speed.

I would like to read you our guide on How To Switch To a Faster and Safer DNS server.

If you want to change your router DNS settings, login into your router as I explained above and look for the DNS setting and enter the following address:-

Primary DNS Address: 8.8.8.8

Secondary DNS Address: 8.8.4.4

To change in your PC, Open the Run Menu by pressing “Windows Key + R” and enter the command “ncpa.cpl” without a quote.

Right-Click on Your Wifi network card and select the Properties option.

and click on the “Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IP) option and then click on the “Use the Following DNS address” option like the below image and enter the Google DNS address here.

6. Kick Out Unwanted People From Your WiFi network

If your WiFi is used by lots of people who you didn’t share the password which is also a cause for your wifi slowness. Most of the time neighbors are using their social engineering tricks with your kids or any family member to get the wifi password.

It’s very easy to find them and kick them out, to find out who is connected with your Router, just download the Wireless network watch application (Download Here) and run it, it will show you How many devices are connected with your WiFi network.

As you saw in the below image how many people are connected to my WiFI, I am able to view their IP-address, Mac-address and their network adapter manufactures.

To kick them out login into your router admin panel and look for the Mac-address filtering option and enter their mac-address and select the block option to block them. that’s it.

7. Your neighbor’s WiFi Channel

If your neighbor’s Wi-Fi signal overlaps yours, it could have a significant impact on your connection speed, especially if their Wi-Fi is stronger–for example, if they have an
802.11ac router that backs onto a shared wall.

To overcome this problem, you can try changing the channel in your router to one that’s different from theirs. You’ll need to log into the router settings to do this. You can use
guesswork to figure out the best channel, but a smarter option is to use Acrylic Wi-Fi Home.

Another easy tool that you can use to the information about your neighbor’s wifi channel is WifiInfoView (Download Here)

Conclusion

With our guide on why is my Wifi Slow, we tried to cover out all the possible reasons that can cause slowness like ISP, Micro ovens, Bricks, Mirror, Bricks, etc, which will help you to avoid these interferences.

With our guide on Helpful Tips To Fix Why is My WiFi Slow Issue, we tried to coverup the technical aspects of this issue.

Now it’s your turn to let us know is this solution worked for you. if you know any other reasons and fixes, put in the comment we will review it and update the post accordingly.