Nowadays, just about anyone can have access to the internet. Many of us have made this monumental piece of technology a basic necessity in our lives. It’s no longer a question of whether you have internet or you don’t, but a question of how fast is your internet service giving you – and if the answer is “not that fast”, then you can forget it or at least go to the next service provider that can give you the best speed.
The Internet is, in many ways, important for today’s business, personal and economical advances in one’s life. We use the internet to research, look for jobs, learn more about our jobs, learn more about earning, and even shopping. Sometimes, we do so much browsing that the internet lags and it’s a pain. Well, your service provider may not be always the one to blame. Before you dial the hotline and make a complaint, check out these easy steps on how to keep your internet at top speed.
Strategically position your modem/router
If you are using a Wi-Fi network at home to connect your devices, there are several factors that can affect the speed of the internet. Uncontrollable causes such as walls and aquariums (or other bodies of water) can intercept the network signal that the router emits. If any of these obstructions are in between your device and the router, it may affect the Wi-Fi signal, which in turn would also affect the speed.
What you can do is to move your modem or router to an area at home that has a more open space, or where you will most likely be hanging out the majority of the time. This is to ensure that you get the full signal your router gives off.
Check the Wi-Fi channel and settings
The home network connection goes through specific channels through your router. The specifics may be a little more technical and you may need help in talking through this one. However, it would help to know that you can actually change the Wi-Fi channels – there are several options in your router – in order to test and isolate which one of them would give the best signal and internet speed.
Secure your Wi-Fi network
A secure Wi-Fi network means a password is needed for a device to connect to your router. Whereas, public networks do not require passwords and are generally unsafe. In your home network, the more devices connected to the router, the slower the speed becomes.
If you have an unsecured network, more and more devices can connect to it, even those who just pass by your home. Secured home network, on the other hand, allows you to control who can connect to your Wi-Fi network.
Keep your computer clean
When we say clean, we don’t really mean keep it dust-free and clutter-free, although that is also a good practice. Since we are talking about internet speed, computer speed also affects the response of your browsers and online apps. This means if you have a lot of unnecessary apps and start-ups on your computer, it can affect the bandwidth and actions performed by internet-based programs which would seem that the internet speed is slow.
What you can do is to clean up your computer regularly. Remove unnecessary and redundant apps. Delete old files. Run your anti-virus software. Keep the computer squeaky clean to make the clicking of your mouse from one link to another smooth and easy.
Update your internet browsers
In some occasions, the internet browsers we use can be the ones to blame for the seemingly slow internet connection. When in fact, your browser application is outdated and you will need to upgrade to the latest version to ensure that the settings and programming are up to date. Yes, this is what all those pop-ups reminding you for an upgrade means.
Cord connection is better
Granted the Wi-Fi internet connection is much better and much more convenient for you – allowing you to position yourself anywhere around the house – cord connection will still be better. Nothing wrong with Wi-Fi, it’s just that direct cord connections will allow faster travel of data from the server to your device.
On the other hand, the Wi-Fi signal can be barricaded by frequencies and other causes of Wi-Fi distraction. When you are in dire need of uber-fast internet speed, on some really important occasions maybe, try connecting your device directly.
If you have fast internet speed, that would mean you get twice as much knowledge and information from the internet. You get twice as many things done and twice as many options for entertainment, as those who have slow internet speed. So why settle for anything less? They will just keep improving internet technology, we all might as well go with the flow and enjoy the best internet speed.
