Do you get stuck loading your favourite videos on youtube? Are you thinking of ways of improving your internet speed of home Wifi? If you are, then you have come to the right page.
After the Covid era, in the last few years, there has been an enormous rise in the use of internet services. Whether it is working from home, attending online classes, or binge-watching our favorite shows on Netflix, it is the internet that we are spending most of our time in.
However, the excessive use of internet facilities has resulted in a decrease in its general speed. As a result, we have been facing frequent problems of buffering and lagging of some systems. Also, the sites that used to open instantly are now taking a long time to load which might cause some delay in our work.
Apart from the heavy usage, there could be some issues in the equipment or software too, which you need to check thoroughly.
So, in this article, we have collected some important points with which you can improve the internet speed of your home Wifi.
1. Relocating or changing the position of your router
The best way to position your router is by placing it in a centre direction so that all the devices are equally around the router. The location of your router will directly impact the connection of the devices.
Most people don’t give much thought while positioning a router which might cause the internet on your device to slow down. It is because any wall, furniture, or window between you and your router will weaken the strength of its signal. It is always better to move the device closer to the router or remove any interfering object in between them.
The router can also be placed at a height or be wall-mounted to receive a better internet connection.
2. Using a cable network instead of the wireless connection
It is indeed true that the most convenient network is the wireless connection. We sure can access the internet from any part of the house using WIFI. But this is what decreases the network connection of the device and the internet becomes slower. However, if you switch to a wired network, the cables are directly connected to the router ensuring a secure and fast connection. A cabled network can be really useful at times when you want an urgent connection.
Here is how you can check the speed of your internet.
3. Managing your WiFi frequency band.
Most of the routers these days are of dual bands with the same name. They offer connections of both the 2.5GHz frequency and the 5GHz frequency. The 2.5GHz is the standard network whereas the 5GHz is the less-congested, less-interfered, and faster network. Then a new WiFi band in WiFi 6 is also coming which will be more capacious and faster.
The better bands among these two often depend on the other systems around you which are using the same network and what you are connecting to. The 2.4GHz has more range but less bandwidth and is more congested than the 5GHz. So, it is a better choice for devices distant from the router or mobile phones that move around a lot. Meanwhile, the 5GHz works faster in the devices within a small range from a router.
Check out: Reasons why you should use a dual-band WiFi router
So, you could manage the connections depending on where you are using the internet connection. It is a little work because you have to change your router’s settings and connect each device individually to the channel that is best for them but doing so will secure a faster connection.
4. Adding an extension file to manage the cache
The caches are components that temporarily store values for future access. As you keep on using the web, your browser continues to locally store the websites that you visit as resources. Apparently, the cache occupies most of the space and might cause slow down broadband performance.
Not only caches but also components like history, cookies, and other saved data might result in the lagging of the connection. Therefore, it is a requirement to manually clear all the caches of the web pages.
To make your work easier, you could add a Clear Cache extension that helps in clearing all the unnecessary files and data in one click. You could also flush the DNS to speed up your future visits to the same websites you use. When you have to be redirected to a different website, your DNS records can take a long time so clearing them might be of some help.
Here are some specific ways to improve your ADSL internet speed and solve problems.
5. Trying some router hacks:
If you restart/reset the router regularly, it helps to avoid any issue with the device or hack. Besides, doing so will revert its settings to the factory default and wipe out all the stored data which helps to boost its normal speed.
6. Check for hacks and tighten security
Furthermore, check how many devices are connected to your WIFI network using some applications like Fing. With such apps, you can make sure that unnoticed devices are not using your home internet. It can possibly be a hack from an outsider. Sometimes, if your network is hacked, the third party might use it for illegal activities or malware attacks. Not only that, but you will also experience slow speed in downloading files and browsing the web.
For security purposes, change the Wifi password regularly or hide the hotspot (SSID) to prevent hacking. Use WPA 2 AES or tighter use of MAC filtering. You could also change the default login of your router and disable any kind of remote administration. Here is a detailed article on how to save your Wifi from hacking.
7. Contact your ISP
If none of the above-mentioned hacks works, contact the Internet Service Provider (ISP), you need to first check the configuration of your modem. If it does not work you can ask them to check the speed profile from the ISP side.
The internet slowdown can also be due to the consumption of huge data volume and exceeding the data caps (FUP). Some ISPs like Vianet also allow you to boost the internet speed while consuming more volume. Please contact the respective ISPs for such provisions.
We suggest you read: People’s expectations with internet service in Nepal.
8. Check your Router Speed and change if it’s slower
Further information, a good WIFI router should be utilized to get the desired speed of the broadband and provide a longer range of connectivity to the user devices. You could switch to a router with a higher internet speed of above 300 Mbps and multiple antennas. Prior to buying a new router, you can verify online its real-life speed and opt for a router with a multi-core processor and ideal 256 MB of RAM. In case you don’t get a good router from the ISPs, you can try installing a secondary router.
Read more: NTA directs ISPs to provide internet speed details to customers.
We all have been habituated with the internet from before but the COVID-19 pandemic made us hooked to the world wide web for a longer time. Hence, these ways might help you speed up your home WIFI and have a pleasant stay at home. Did you try any of them to increase WiFi internet speed at home and how was the result? Drop your comments below.
