How to Boost Your Internet Speed in 5 Steps

A lot of people think that when their internet speed is down, it’s their provider’s responsibility to do something about it. However, certain aspects and details about your connection may impact the speed that you get whether you are searching an item on your browser or downloading files on your computer.

More often that not, your internet speed can be increased by paying attention to the tiny little details about your connection; increasing it is definitely not an exercise in futility.

Know where your router is

Where your wireless router is located can impact the strength of your broadband signals. Examples of barriers to your internet’s optimum speed are walls, doors, the number of floors you have at home and other household electronics that may be interfering with your signals. A baby monitor, a microwave oven or a cordless phone can impact your broadband signal strength.

Where should you place your router, then? Put it in a central and elevated location. Put it at the top of your stairs or have a high table and put your wireless router on top of it. Avoid putting it in corners, near walls, near windows, in cabinets and beside mirrors.

Check your browser

While it may seem like it is about your internet speed, the truth is, the version of your web browser plays a significant factor when browsing the web. Always get the latest version of the web browser you are using. Or better yet, try to switch to a different browser to test which works faster.

Leeching neighbours

Especially if your network is not password-protected, it is likely that your neighbours are piggybacking on your internet connection. Aside from slowing down your internet speed, letting your neighbours use your internet connection freely is also a big security risk on your part. Protect your network with a password. Create a password that is hard to crack as well.

Cut your bandwidth

Unless it is your anti-virus software, turn off all background applications that naturally update itself when an internet connection is detected. Some applications may ask your permission first before updating, but a great majority of applications also just proceeds with the update.

Examples of these are updates on your Windows or media player, security scans, instant messaging apps and weather and foreign exchange widgets on a website or a blog that is currently running on your browser.

If you are on a computer, check your task manager and see what applications are running. Check your phone or tablet computer also for any background applications that inevitably updates itself.  Cancel them to give your internet speed that much needed boost.

Expand it!

If you are using a wireless router, expand your coverage with an external equipment. Whether it is a wireless extender, a repeater or a powerline adapter, it can increase your internet speed as it bounces your signal all over your premises. While expensive, investing on an external equipment can be an effective way to increase your internet speed.

Since the quality and speed of your internet greatly affects your productivity, work out on these tiny details to give you a more satisfying internet experience.