Low Internet speed over WiFi: what to do? How to increase internet speed

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today, there are practically no people who do not constantly use the Internet. Through the Network, people communicate, play and receive a lot of useful information. Therefore, it becomes very disappointing when, for no apparent reason, the Internet connection starts to work too slowly.

In this case, any person starts to panic. However, not everyone knows that there are many options that will help solve the problem of too low data transfer. First of all, it is worth finding out why the Internet speed drops over WiFi.

Reasons

A number of malfunctions can affect the connection speed. First of all, you need to check that the computer or laptop is in close proximity to the router itself.

Also, sometimes the low speed of the Internet via WiFi is due to the too low bandwidth of the router. And it often happens that several people use the network at the same time, each from their own computer. In this case, the amount of traffic increases too much, and accordingly, the data transfer rate drops noticeably.

In addition, such problems may be associated withthe operation of the router itself. Not everyone specifies which WiFi router is best for the home before buying it. This is a big mistake, since a lot will depend on the quality of the device. The best models are D-Link, TP-Link and ZyXel.

Before we move on to troubleshooting, it is recommended that you take an internet speed test at speedtest.net. This independent service has been on the Web for a long time. You do not need to register on the site, just click Start and wait for the results to be displayed. First you need to close all applications and sites. If the Internet speed test on speedtest.net showed that everything is in order, then the reason is a large number of running processes.

There are several ways that can help solve the problem of low Internet speed.

Using Accelerated WiFi

Until recently, there was only one router data transfer rate, which was 2.4 GHz. The corresponding standards for this were written as 802. N. However, today there are dual-band Wi-Fi routers that are capable of supporting a higher data transfer rate, which is 5 GHz. In this case, you need to make sure that the 802. AC standard is enabled. To make the appropriate settings, as a rule, it is enough to go to the basic parameters of the module.

When you enter the control panel of a dual-band Wi-Fi router, you need to go to the "Wireless Mode" tab and change the settings. However, it should be taken into account thatif the router itself supports the fast WiFi standard, but the computer does not, then nothing will work. Both devices must work in the same mode.

Therefore, when deciding which WiFi router is best for your home, it does not always make sense to give preference to dual-band models.

Router channel width

In this case, everything is simple. As a rule, the Internet works much faster if the frequency is set to 40 megahertz in the 2.4 GHz band. If the router operates in the 5 GHz band, then you can use 40 MHz or 80 MHz.

As a rule, after changing these parameters, it immediately becomes noticeable how much faster the system starts to work. However, it should be borne in mind that it is recommended to set the maximum values of the router channel width only if the signal quality is very good. Otherwise, you may lose the connection altogether.

This is not the only way to increase the speed of the Internet (WiFi).

Disjoint channels

As a rule, in the standard 2.4 GHz band, the radio channel whose number is used can affect the connection speed. To switch to non-overlapping channels in this range, you must select the first, sixth or eleventh. In this case, the distribution of the Internet via WiFi should increase.

If you use a router that operates at a frequency of 5 GHz, then in this case the number of non-overlapping channels will be more than 22. There is noit makes no sense to choose another channel, since there is absolutely no possibility of intersection.

WMM mode

As a rule, providing a quality service when using a wireless network is called traffic prioritization. In short, you can replace this word with the abbreviation WMM.

In order to solve the problem of low Internet speed over WiFi, simply enable this option. To do this, go to the parameters of the radio module and connect the appropriate standard in it.

Wi-Fi signal strength

It is quite possible that the transmitter power of the router is simply not enough to provide a high-quality and long-term connection. The fact is that these parameters depend on how close the computer or laptop is located to the router. Accordingly, if you get closer to the router, then the power of the transmitters should increase. However, in this case, it is likely that the problem of low Internet speed over WiFi will not be solved.

On the other hand, getting closer to the router than one and a half meters is also not recommended. In this case, the opposite effect will occur. Therefore, it is recommended to experiment by moving around the apartment.

Protection

As a rule, encryption systems are used to protect the network from hacking. They are constantly updated, but in some situations old data remains. In this case, a security hole may appear. It should be borne in mind that standards such as WPA and WPE have long been outdated. It would be the right decision to refuse them, since such systems can be hacked in a few minutes, even by those people who hardly understand anything about it.

If you use WPA, then there is no point in expecting a speed of more than 54 megabits per second. The best way to solve the problem of low Internet speed over WiFi is to use WPA2 encryption.

Flashing the router

In some situations, this method really helps to speed up the Internet connection. The fact is that the firmware that is installed on the device at the factory very often has a number of errors or is completely raw. For example, Asus routers have repeatedly encountered similar problems.

Do not be afraid of the process of flashing the router itself, as it is quite easy to deal with this. Most models already have a feature that allows automatic updates. However, it is better to perform this operation manually. To do this, just go to the manufacturer's website and download the appropriate files with the firmware. After that, you need to go to the control panel of the router itself and find a tab that says something about updates. In this case, it is enough to specify the path to the file and perform a simple manipulation of reinstalling the program.

Updating drivers

The fact is that in some cases the software of the router itself may not be correctly recognized by the operating system of the computer. In order to fixthis oversight, just open the device manager on your laptop and find the "Network adapters" tab. In the list that opens, you need to find the router and right-click on it. After that, just click the "Update" button and wait a few minutes until the drivers are updated.

Change tariff plan

First of all, it is worth considering that each Internet provider has several programs for connecting to the Web. If the video is loading the slowest, then it is quite possible that the problem is in the too low data transfer. For example, if the maximum resolution of an online video is no more than 720x480 pixels, then this indicates that the tariff plan implies a speed of 512 kilobits per second. In this case, the problem is solved by changing the tariff.

Unscrupulous provider

This option should not be ruled out either. It is possible that at the time of connecting the Internet, the client was indeed provided with the highest possible speed. However, some unscrupulous providers eventually begin to reduce the amount of data transfer. In this case, the speed no longer corresponds to the selected tariff plan. Checking the decency of the provider is quite simple. To do this, you just need to try using a different router and a third-party computer. If the work is just as slow, then in this case all questions should be asked exactly to the company with which the service agreement was concluded.

Also worth checking outInternet work via cable. To do this, it must be connected directly to the computer and try to access the network. If the speed is still low, then you should ask the provider.

What can affect the speed of downloading files via torrents

Today, almost everyone uses this service. However, some people have noticed that sometimes when downloading certain files, the data packet transfer rate drops noticeably.

In this case, everything may also depend on the provider. For example, if a tariff plan of 16 megabits per second was selected, then in this case the maximum download speed of documents cannot exceed 2 megabits per second. It is also worth considering that this service is a file exchanger, respectively, it works on slightly different principles. In order to get faster downloads, you must also torrent files and documents.

It is also worth considering that the router could simply fail. As a rule, after 5-6 years of using the router, it starts to work much worse. Fortunately, new appliances are not that expensive, so replacements can be found quickly. Now a quality router costs from 1 thousand rubles. For 3-4 thousand rubles, you can buy a high-quality device.