What Is Slowing Down My Internet Connection?

Slow internet connections are indeed extremely annoying! With slow buffering of videos, hindering social media connections, and failed email sendings. Life indeed seems slow without a fastidious internet connection.
With the internet being such a core part of our lives, having a stable internet connection is a necessity.

Going through with slow internet is undoubtedly a nightmare! No one really likes having to wait for a simple email to send off, especially when it’s urgent.

Now there are several reasons why you might be going through with having a painstakingly slow internet connection. However, there sure are ways to make things right! This article has all the information you need on snail-paced Wi-Fi networks. It is divided into two parts such that:

• The reason why Wi-Fi network is slow
• Solutions to a slow Wi-Fi network

Reasons to Slow Wi-Fi Network

 Several things may result in an excruciatingly slow Wi-Fi network. Some of these might be due to some little reasons. To begin with, let’s look at the very basics.

1. Loaded Device Connections

This era is all for having smart devices in homes. With televisions to mere coffee makers, these devices are sprawled across our homes and are connected to our Wi-Fi networks. Each of them connects to the router with a separate IP address.

Now there is a possibility that the router you currently are using is outdated. Most of the older models are not designed to sustain too many Wi-Fi at once. Once they max out their limit, you will most likely start facing dropouts.  Thus having too many devices connected to a router can also slow down your internet connection.

2. Outdated Network Cables

The network cables you use in your Wi-Fi router play a considerable role in the quality of the signals it delivers. If you are smart and have invested in Ethernet cables snaking through your house, then it is better than you have the cabling checked timely.

This because, unlike electric cabling, network cabling has faced many upgrades with time. These upgrades have a different effect on the speeds of data being carried.

 However, there is a way from which you can surely check out if your cable is outdated or not. This can be done through the CAT number specification written on the cable wire. The specs are divided as:

• Cat-5: this is the oldest network cable that is still under use by many people even though its performance is only limited to a mere 100Mbps.
• Cat-5e:  this network cable supports Gigabit Ethernet or in other words 1000 Mbps. It is now a popular choice amongst people.
• Cat-6/6a: this is one of the fastest cable networks and supports up to 10 Gigabit that is 10,000 Mbps.

If you are still using Cat-5 Ethernet on your computer or have it as the main supporting cable of your WiFi system, then you are bound to experience speed lags.

Moreover, network cables are delicate and should, therefore, be handled with care. So if you want to check out your cable network, you could use a cable tester which will also allow you to ensure that all the eight wires inside the cables are firmly connected.

3. Wi-Fi Router Positioning

Where you place, your router plays a vital role in the signal strength you receive. It is crucial to choose just the perfect place to position your W-Fi as small shifts and hindrances can result in a slower connection.

First things first, it is vital to keep in mind that the position of the Wi-Fi router, that is if it placed at a high place or on ground level matters. If you have been careless enough to keep it lying on one of the shelves or behind some objects, you are bound to face problems. This is why it is essential to place it at a high position from where radio wave broadcasting is easy.

Also, the distance of the device from the Wi-Fi router plays a vital role in the performance of your connection. Appliances that are near Wi-Fi routers tend to experience a good signal strength while the ones that further have weak signals. This is why it is essential to ensure that you keep the router at a central place.

As Wi-Fi signals broadcast at a 360-degree pace, it would surely help you get rid of the weak signal strength problem too.

Moreover, it is vital to ensure that your Wi-Fi router is not surrounded by materials such as concrete or metal. These materials are known to be Wi-Fi signal interrupters and thus have a negative effect on the performance of your Wi-Fi routers.

4. Your ISP May Be Throttling

It is a known the fact that ISP tends to throttle the internet of its users. Mostly the ISPs go ahead with throttling if they detect you using file-sharing applications or after you have reached the monthly threshold point.  This is specifically common for people who are heavy internet users.

Now if you suspect that your ISP is throttling your internet, then it is better to have a strict check over it. You should know what the assigned internet speed you have from your internet connection is. To check if you are being throttled or not, you can run speed tests on the internet.

If you find signs of reduced internet speeds, and there are no reported faults by your ISPs, then there are high chances of you being subjected to Bandwidth shaping” or “ISP throttling.”

5. The DNS Server of Your ISP is Slow

In spite of the internet package you have subscribed to, they all have the same Domain Name System(DNS) as the base. The DNS is used whenever you type in a web address in the address bar of the browser.

It serves as a bridge, communicating the human-comprehensible web domain and the physical IP of the server it is originating from. So if you are using the default DNS server of your ISP, then you likely face lags. This is because default DNS of your ISP is often slow and unreliable.

Keen on making things right?

Slow wifi is definitely the worst thing to ever experience. Identifying ist cause is even more of a challenge. However, if you have taken notice of the things mentioned above and have somehow reached the bottom line of the issue. You can look up its solutions.

Some of them might be replacing network cables, or just changing the router placement. Apart from that, you can either change your DNS server. If your issues are due to ISP throttling, you can easily escape that using a VPN service. If your matters are sorted then, happy surfing!