Were you aware that a plethora of things can make your internet slow, including viruses?
Improving internet speed is something that many people struggle with because they’re limited to what their plan is. However, many people never get to see the high speeds they pay for.
When it comes to getting faster internet, you can go through several steps to find out why yours is slow. The only time you should ever have to spend money is if your equipment breaks, so expect to improve internet speed within minutes.
Here are 6 technology tips to improve your internet connection!
1. Disable Background Downloads
One of the best ways to improve internet speed is to disable background downloads, which may require quite a bit of time.
Background downloads are often automatically enabled whenever you download certain programs. Whenever an update is available, the program will start downloading it.
Unfortunately, these can make your internet connection slower because the programs will randomly start downloading updates throughout the day.
To disable background downloads, you’ll need to enter all the programs that have them enabled. Start with the programs that download larger updates which take up a lot of time.
You won’t need to disable background downloads in every program, but it’s a simple way to improve connection.
2. Place Router and Modem in an Optimal Location
One common mistake that people make when setting up their computers is placing their router in a bad area. Doing this will make it harder for the router to connect your computer to the modem.
If you have a 3-story home and you place the router on the first floor, anyone on the third floor will have a poor connection. This is because the router’s signal will have to travel farther to reach the computers.
Instead of doing this, you could place the router on the middle floor. This would allow you to use your computer throughout the house with faster internet.
Even if you don’t have a large home, you should place the router and modem in a central area. Those that can’t move their equipment can always get a WiFi booster if needed.
3. Turn Off Unused Devices
Similar to disabling background downloads, you’ll want to turn off all unused devices in your home.
It’s common to see people buying a plethora of electronics, connecting to the internet, and then leaving them throughout the house. However, these devices will take up a large chunk of your internet connection.
Things like laptops, tablets, and phones can all connect automatically to your home’s internet. Even if the devices aren’t downloading anything, they’ll still maintain an active connection that could otherwise be used by your computer.
Because of this, you should turn them off whenever you stop using them. If you regularly use the devices but don’t want to keep turning them off, disable the WiFi until you’re ready to use them again.
4. Connect With an Ethernet Cable
If you want to improve internet speed without going through a bunch of steps, a quick way to do so is to connect to your modem with an ethernet cable.
To connect to WiFi, you must connect to a router, which then connects your device to the modem. However, connecting directly to a modem with an ethernet cable prevents you from having to use a router.
If your computer is already connected to your modem via ethernet cable, consider swapping the cable to see if the connection improves. If it does, you can get rid of the old cable.
5. Test a Different Modem and Router
Like checking a different ethernet cable, you should test another modem and router to see if you can improve internet speed.
Modems and routers both often malfunction, so it’s normal to reset them regularly to regain a faster internet connection. Before testing another modem and router, simply unplug yours for 30 seconds and turn them back on.
It’s important to leave them off for at least 30 seconds because it’ll ensure that your other devices realize they’re disconnected. This will make it easier to reconnect when you turn the modem and router back on.
In many cases, this should fix your problem. You can visit https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-check-your-internet-speed to find out how to check your internet speed after resetting the modem and router.
If the problem persists, you may have faulty equipment that should be replaced as soon as possible.
6. Check for Viruses
A variety of computer issues can cause a slow internet connection, but one that’s often overlooked is a virus. Many viruses take up a lot of resources from your computer’s hardware, which can make it load things more slowly.
If you’re browsing the web and the pages are taking forever to load, a slow internet connection may not be the reason. Instead, it could be a virus that’s draining your CPU.
A quick fix to this problem is to run an anti-virus scan to ensure that nothing’s on your computer. You should do this before anything else because it could save you a lot of time if it turns out that your computer issues are virus-related.
Start Using These Technology Tips to Improve Internet Speed
Now that you have a good idea of how to improve internet speed, all you need to do is go through these steps. Keep in mind that many things can make your internet slow, so it’s best to go through each of these steps until you find a solution before you buy anything.
Run an anti-virus scan first, then go through the other steps if that doesn’t resolve anything. Eventually, you’ll see a major improvement in your internet connection.
For more technology tips, check out our other articles!
