Slow Internet? What Can You Do About It?
Slow Internet? What Can You Do About It?
If you’re like the rest of us poor sinning mortals, you’ve probably banged your head against a wall at least once in frustration over a slow internet connection. At times, you may have assumed you can do nothing about it.
Actually, though, you have more tools at your disposal than you may think. With that in mind, explore the following possibilities:
Have you bumped your bandwidth cap?
You may want to read the service agreement you entered with your Internet Service Provider ISP). Your data cap might be much lower than you expected. A bandwidth allotment that may have served adequately for checking e-mail or watching an occasional YouTube video might fall short of your needs for other functions. Do you have an Alexa or Siri device in your house? Do you have IoT devices? Have you been attending virtual conferences through Zoom or Microsoft Teams? Does anyone in your household play online games? Do any of your children attend online classes?
If any of these questions apply to you, then you may need either to curb some of these activities, or upgrade your internet plan.
Do crowded channels slow you down?
If your primary internet service is wireless, you might find bottlenecks because too many people, or too many devices, are crowding your network. Crowded channels often prove especially vexing with mobile devices.
Certain Android and iOS apps analyze WiFi channels and reveal what devices are logged on to your network. Then if you open your router’s configuration page, you will find a list of options for clearing the bottleneck.
Is your wiring defective?
When we try to diagnose internet glitches, we almost always overlook wiring. If the wiring connecting your router to your PC or phone jack is old or worn, it can retard or disrupt your connection. Replacing old ethernet or ADSL wires may help.
Do you have a slow VPN?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can prove a Godsend in protecting your identity and your data. A VPN encrypts connections between device and servers, and masks IP addresses, making users difficult to identify or locate.
Some VPNs, though, can slow internet service with convoluted routing. And sometimes a particular location can get congested. You might speed up your data by routing it through a different VPN address. For example, a user in Los Angeles posted to a New York address might speed up his service by having it posted to Phoenix.
And if you’re not paying for your VPN service, you’re getting less than top quality. You pay a price in lower speed or lost privacy. In this case, you might need to consider a paid service.
Has a squatter hijacked your connection?
If nothing else works, consider the possibility you may be hosting a parasite. With your new router, you were assigned a password. You were free to change it, of course, but many of us use passwords that are easy to remember- and easy to hack.
If your internet is still slow, can your provider meet your needs?
If all else fails, and your internet service is still slow, consider replacing your provider. Some ISPs rely on outmoded technology, or have over-subscribed their networks in certain areas. If this is true of your ISP, consider ditching it for another. For this, you need to shop with Bundle Deals. We represent all major providers in the U.S., so you’re most likely to find what you need through us.
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