How many times have you been blankly looking at the computer screen and hoping that the buffering “circle of doom” over your favorite video would just stop? How many times have you thought that why my Internet is so slow & wished that your Internet Speed was just a little faster for you to finish uploading the file for work or complete downloading that movie which you have been dreading to watch?
Even though most of the countries already have 4G and are on the brink of rolling out 5G services, a slow Internet connection is something that will continue to haunt people for some more years.
So, we at Tech88 will help you understand some of the causes of the slow internet connection at your home or office. An extensive amount of research has been done by our team to bring this comprehensive list of reasons and things which you can do to fix your Slow Internet Speeds or get at least a decent Internet connection.
1. Check Your WiFi Connection
Probably the most obvious first step but we have to put it in here: check your WiFi connection is working. In some instances, your computer may have switched over to someone else’s open, weaker WiFi connection because yours has temporarily switched off. That is if you’ve set it to automatically roam for WiFi connections.
2. Switching DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name Server. Any website on the Internet is referred to by its IP Address which is something like 169.7.8.2:8080 and not by the alphanumeric characters (eg www.google.com) which we type into the address bar.
Whenever we type an address like google.com, the computer forwards the name to a DNS server already registered on it. This server is a registry of all the website names along with their corresponding IP addresses. When it receives a request for a particular IP address from your computer, it compares the name you typed to the corresponding IP Address on its register and immediately redirects you to the same IP address.
So, in effect, DNS is like an intermediatory between you and the webserver you are trying to visit. Therefore, if the DNS server is slow, your Internet speed goes down.
Changing your DNS can be an effective way to boost up your Internet speeds. Some of the common and best DNS servers are as follows:
- Google: 8.8. 8.8 & 8.8. 4.4.
- Quad9: 9.9. 9.9 & 149.112
- OpenDNS: 208.67. 222.222
- Cloudflare: 1.1. 1.1
- CleanBrowsing: 185.228. 168.9
- Verisign: 64.6. 64.6
- Alternate DNS: 198.101. 242.72
- AdGuard DNS: 176.103. 130.130
3. Optimizing Your Modem/Router
- Reposition your router to the same room as your computer or somewhere central in the house. Reducing the distance between the router and devices helps in better Internet speed.
- Change the range and GigaHertz settings on your router. A lower GigaHertz may lead to a better internet speed but will reduce the range.
- Instead of relying on a single router, creating a mesh network of routers helps in spreading out the signal as well as reducing the load on a single router, thereby increasing Internet speeds.
- Your wireless device could be slowing down due to the connection being broadcast on the same channel as your neighbors’. Try using programs such as inSSIDer to check the channels in your vicinity.
- Separate other wireless devices as this could be bogging down the internet connection too. Simply keep them apart.
4. Optimizing Your Browser
- Switch to browsers such as Firefox that provides extensions to stop ads, or Chrome that uses minimal memory without the need for Flash and JavaScript. Opera Turbo is specially designed for slow connection as it’s been built with compression technology.
- Close all unused tabs that could be open pages that are being refreshed and therefore using up more bandwidth.
- Allow some cookies and caching. While some may be wary of having their information tracked, they allow pages to load more quickly.
5. Check Your Hardware Including Broadband Router Settings
Giving your modem and router a quick reset could be all you need to do to kick it back into action.
Turn it off and back on again and see if it solves the problem both on yours and any other computers in the house.
6. Turn Off Broadband-Hogging Plugins And Apps
Ads and programs (especially those using videos) running in the background could be taking up a lot of the bandwidth without you realizing it.
Close down all your windows and consider installing an Ad Blocker. It only solves part of the problem but it could temporarily speed up the connection.
7. Check To See If You’re Downloading Anything
Downloading anything can slow your internet connection way down especially if you’re downloading files using BitTorrent.
Also, check the other programs and whether Windows is updating in the background. Also, check for any other background downloads or background tasks that are using up your internet bandwidth.
Pause these and you will see your connection instantly speed up.
8. Check Your Subscription
Are you paying for a slow internet?
Some plans do not allow higher speeds and restrict user’s speeds after they reach a certain data limit or data speed.
It could be worth checking your plan, then use a speed tester such as https://speedtest.net to see if the numbers are matching up. If not, then you need to make a call to your provider.
9. Optimize Your Web For A Slow Connection
If you still need to browse the internet while you sort out your slow connection, then a helpful tip is to optimize your web by switching to HTML or mobile versions of websites and disabling pictures. Doing all these can make your browsing less frustrating albeit less entertaining.
Google has recently launched a program where it automatically optimizes webpages for slower Internet and therefore, helps you get a faster connection.
10. Call Your Internet Provider
If you’ve tried everything and it’s still slow, then now’s the time to call your internet provider.
Be aware that it may not be a fault on their end so be respectful and you’re more likely to get helpful advice or solutions.
The Internet is a necessity and no one should be deprived of it. However, if you are in a place where the Internet is slow, just be patient and follow the above-mentioned steps.
Did we miss anything? Mention any way you know to speed up the Internet in the comments below.