Because of the COVID19 scare, a lot of people have been working from home. The problem is, many have discovered that their internet is working at a speed that is not to their expectations. Moreover, those who are staying at home and sourcing their entertainment from games and streaming entertainment their internet speeds aren’t up to par with what they were used to. So, in this period of people telecommuting and staying at home, what are the best ways to improve your internet speeds?
A quick note, though: If you are not sure of how exactly your internet is performing, try to run an internet speed test at various times throughout the day. Not only will you get exact numbers, but you will also get to check if there’s actually a fluctuation of your internet speeds, if it’s consistently slow throughout the day, or if there are only particular times of the day when it’s not as fast as the rest of the day.
Reset or reboot?Â
If you have an average home network, you can enjoy a lot of advantages of you reset your router. With resetting, you can avoid attempts at hacking, you can free up the limited memory of your router that should help increase its speed, and you can even apply important router updates.
However, take note that you don’t need to do a factory reset. Doing a factory reset of your router will only erase all the settings you’ve put into it, so you will need to start from scratch. Instead of using the on-router reset buttons and pinholes, you only need to unplug it from all the devices you’ve connected to it. Then, unplug it from its power sources to shit it down fully. Everything should be completely off in less than a minute, after which you can plug the router back its power source, then to its modem, and then plug your devices back to it.
There is a difference between resetting a router and rebooting a router. When you reboot your router that means you cycle the power to it. Resetting your router involves changing it back to its factory settings.
Perhaps you have forgotten the password to your router and now you want to reset the password. First you need to reset the router back to its factory settings then you can use the default password to access your router.
(Via: https://setuprouter.com/networking/how-to-reset-your-router/)
Your Wi-Fi channels may need managing
Do you know if your router is dual-band or tri-band? Having a dual-band router means that it has connections over the 2.5Ghz and 5GHz frequency, while a tri-band router has one 2.5Ghz and two 5GHz bands, allowing connections to be spread out further. These different channels are present because if the demand for a single channel may be too much, the other “free” channel(s) can share in the demand.
The 5Ghz band is faster although has a shorter range, so it is more suited for devices that are not too far from your router. The 2.5GHz band is a bit slower but has a longer range, so it would be better for devices that you carry around the different areas of your house or those in other rooms.
Not a lot of routers can automatically allocate your devices to different channels based on a change in location and other circumstances. So, you may need to manually go to your router settings, check the networks are properly set up with all the channels and connect your device to the best channel for them, one by one.
Are you spending money for high-speed Internet and not getting what you expected? Was your WiFi network working fine and now you’re suddenly stuck with slow WiFi data rates? Selecting the proper WiFi channel can significantly improve your WiFi coverage and performance.
(Via: https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/why-channels-1-6-11.html)
The devices on your network may need managing
Although home routers, in theory, can handle more or less 250 devices connected to it, this will be a stretch in actuality. The more devices are connected to your network, the more stretch the bandwidth will be, and it won’t be a surprise if your internet slows down. You may manage your network in a number of ways, from kicking out unnecessary devices connected, choosing to slow down particular connections, and restricting the length of time some devices can connect to your network.
Do you know who’s connected to your router’s Wi-Fi network? Take a look at the list devices connected to your Wi-Fi network from your router or computer to find out.
Bear in mind that many devices connect to your Wi-Fi these days. The list will contain laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, Wi-Fi printers, and more.
(Via: https://www.howtogeek.com/204057/how-to-see-who%E2%80%99s-connected-to-your-wi-fi-network/)
Aside from slow internet speeds, are lost files also giving you a headache?