Slow internet is a pain, and we all know it, whether you are trying to stream your favorite show, join a video call, or work from home, Wi-Fi speed is a crucial part of our daily digital experience. Luckily, there are a few simple, yet effective ways to increase your Wi-Fi speed so you can have a smooth, seamless connection. Without diving too deep into technical details, here are six steps you can take to boost your Wi-Fi performance without breaking the bank.
1. Place Your Router in a Central Location
Your router placement can make a big difference in your Wi-Fi speed. But most people put their router in a corner of their home or even hide it away, which can result in weaker signals in some parts of their home.
The best way to do this is to put your router in the middle of your home or office. It reduces dead zones and weak connections by ensuring that the signal is evenly spread out in space.
It’s also important to keep your router off the floor and away from large metal objects or thick walls that might block the signal. The router should ideally be placed on a shelf or mounted on the wall to get the best range.
The router also travels Wi-Fi signals more effectively when elevated, so giving it some height can make a noticeable difference.
2. Optimize Your Router’s Settings
By default, most routers have default settings, which aren’t always the best for speed or performance. With the help of a web browser, you can make adjustments that will increase the speed of your Wi Fi via your router’s settings.
Perhaps one of the most crucial settings to tweak is the Wi-Fi channel. Most routers work on either 2.4GHz or on 5GHz and within these there are different channels. If you live near other Wi-Fi networks, moving to a less crowded channel can decrease interference and improve performance.
Enable Quality of Service (QoS) features in another setting. This enables you to prioritize some internet traffic types like video calls or gaming, and they will get all the bandwidth required to make it happen. Tweaking router settings is not so scary, and the payoffs to speed can be well worth it.
3. Update Your Router’s Firmware
Manufacturers release updates for their router’s firmware all the time, and many people forget to update it, but these updates can help improve performance and fix bugs. Updating your router will keep it running as efficiently as possible.
Fortunately, most modern routers will automatically check for and install the updates through their settings interface.
Let’s say several years ago you bought a router, it’s no longer receiving firmware updates, it might be time to replace your router with a new one. Now, newer routers have the latest technologies that can often increase Wi-Fi speed like never before if multiple devices are connected simultaneously.
4. Limit the Number of Connected Devices
The higher the number of devices on your Wi-Fi network, the more bandwidth will be used by each one. As the number of smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices proliferate, it’s easy to overload your network without even knowing it.
If you can, limit the number of devices connected to your Wi-Fi so that bandwidth and speeds for the most important devices aren’t slowed because of less important ones.
Furthermore, some routers let you see which devices are connected and how much bandwidth they’re using in real time. Sometimes you can find the devices you aren’t using and connect them to the network from checking your router settings.
If you are always on and have a lot of connected devices, you might want to purchase a router which supports better device management or has a higher capacity for multiple devices to connect at the same time.
5. Use VPNs Wisely
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a must have to maintain online privacy and security but they can sometimes slow down your internet connection if not set up properly. In order to avoid this, you should use your VPN efficiently based on your activities.
When downloading big files, streaming, or playing games, you need to ensure your VPN is connected to a server optimized for speed.
Dedicated servers for high speed tasks like streaming or torrenting are available from many VPN services, so using these options can keep you connected at speed while still protecting your online privacy.
Furthermore, online activities don’t always need you to use a VPN. You can turn off the VPN if you don’t need it for more sensitive tasks like general browsing, meaning latency and speeds should be improved.
If you know when to use a VPN program and which settings to use, you can strike a balance between security and performance, so that your internet connection would be smooth and fast.
6. Invest in a Wi-Fi Extender or Mesh Network
But if you have a big house or office with several floors or thick walls, your single router may not be able to deliver enough signal strength to the entirety of the space. If you’re in these cases, investing in a Wi-Fi extender or mesh network can be a big difference.
A Wi-Fi extender takes what you already have, amplifies it, and rebroadcasts it to the things that were unable to get it in the past.
Now take mesh network! It works just as it sounds, a bunch of routers or access points linked up to make one network.
It gives you more complete coverage and due to that, your devices will connect automatically to the strongest signal no matter where you are in your home or office. Dead zones in a larger or more complex place can be eliminated by mesh networks.
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