Having a slow internet speed is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to someone nowadays, and not only because webpages will take forever to load. Some apps and games won’t work at all without an active internet connection, such as browsers, cloud and email services, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, GTA V, and many more.
Before thinking of troubleshooting your internet connection problem, you must remember that the online realm is loaded with harmful programs that claim to help you in one way or another, including to improve your internet speed or tell you exactly how many years you’ll live. These programs will only infect your PC with malware and viruses that will steal important data, such as passwords. Reinstalling the entire operating system could become your only chance to get rid of such harmful software, as some of them cannot be deleted otherwise. Before installing anything on your PC, make sure you’ve tried other methods of improving your internet speed. And if you really want to install something, make sure you do it only from trusted sources. Otherwise, the risk is all yours.
Why the internet speed is slow
You must bear in mind that your ISP (internet service provider) is not always the culprit when your internet runs slowly. Having an obsolete PC, a router that needs a reset, or too many programs running in the background can all have a huge negative impact on your internet speed.
Therefore, feel free to try out these methods:
- Check your router
The Wi-Fi router could be placed in the wrong spot, it may not be password-protected, or it could just need a restart or reset. As pretty much anything else in this world, routers also get tired. A simple restart by unplugging the cable and leaving it that way for 10 minutes can grant your router new strength to deal with the internet connection. If that doesn’t help, you can also reset your gear and follow the instructions from its box to get it right back in shape in no-time.
If you didn’t add password protection for your router, that’s a huge mistake. People could be using your internet connectivity without your knowledge and therefore grabbing a significant part of your bandwidth. Therefore, add a password from your router’s settings menu that you can access by entering the IP address in your web browser. It usually works if you just type ‘routerlogin.net‘ if you are a NetGear user or ‘jiofi.local.html’ if you are using a JioFi router.
Having your router placed near certain objects can limit the strength of the wireless broadband signal, such as doors, walls, microwaves, and so on. Therefore, try moving your router in another place from your room and see if anything changes regarding your internet connectivity. It would be ideal to have the router placed as high as possible.
- Stop programs running in the background
A lot of programs these days cannot survive without using the internet, so if you have Skype, Spotify, or uTorrent running even if you don’t need them (although we’re absolutely sure that none of you would ever download content from torrent websites), head over to Task Manager and stop those unnecessary apps. You can also prevent such programs from starting along with the Windows operating system by typing ‘msconfig’ after you hit the Windows key + R. Next up, go to the ‘Startup’ tab and uncheck the unwanted apps without hesitation. Your computer will need to restart, and your internet speed should become faster.
- Switch to a wired connection
Wired connection instead of wireless can also be a good idea if you need better broadband service. Therefore, simply connect your laptop or desktop computer to the router through an ethernet cable and observe the outcome.
There are many ways of improving your internet speed, and we were glad to write to you about the best solutions we know. You can also try to use a broadband accelerator, swap the ADSL broadband for mobile broadband or simply upgrade your computer’s components if they are too old.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.