Fix Your Slow Home Wi-Fi With These 6 Steps

Do you ever feel like your home Wi-Fi is just too slow? You’re not alone. Slow Wi-Fi is a common problem, and it can be incredibly frustrating.

We have many solutions for our clients to make your Internet connection faster, more reliable, and more secure at work. But what about at home? Whether you’re trying to stream a video, play a game, or just browse the web, slow Wi-Fi can make it impossible to do anything.

The good news is that you can do a few simple things to speed up your home Wi-Fi.

Here are our top six fixes for slow home Wi-Fi signals that will have you streaming videos and gaming in no time.

Ensure your Internet Service Provider (ISP) isn’t having issues.

Step 1: Most ISPs will have outages published on their website. Check using your phone’s mobile network instead of your home Wi-Fi. You can move on to the next steps if there are no outages or known problems.

Side Note: If you haven’t talked to your ISP in over a year, you should call and see if they have new plans to give you more bandwidth for less money.

Update your router software

Step 2: Update your router software, especially if you haven’t done so in the last 2 to 3 months. Updates will reset your router with the latest (and fastest) connection speeds and ensure your security patches and other preventative programs are current. You might reboot it as well, powering it off and on again. Sometimes, that’s enough to fix the problem.

I suggest you get a new router if yours is over five years old. Aim for one with Wi-Fi 6 and dual or triple band capabilities, which allows your router to connect with multiple devices without sacrificing speed or bandwidth.

Change your router’s location.

Step 3: The basement might not be the best place to store your router. Try placing it up high and as close to the center of your home as possible, free from obstructions, appliances, mirrors, concrete walls, and metal materials that can cause signals to bounce or be blocked. If you mount your router on your house’s wall, your signal only impacts half of your home. If you have a large house, you will probably need to invest in Wi-Fi extenders around the house to boost the signal.

Change the channel.

Step 4: Download the app Network Analyzer to help find the most appropriate channel for your connection. If you use the 2.4 GHz frequency, change to another less “noisy” channel. How you do this depends on the brand and model of your router, so refer to your router’s manual for details.

Turn on QoS, or Quality of Service.

Step 5: This router feature lets you prioritize traffic and apps like Zoom or gaming programs. Essentially, your router will prioritize specific uses over others. How to set this up varies by router, so you’ll have to check your router’s manual for details.

Upgrade to a mesh Wi-Fi router.

Step 6: When too many devices connect, Internet speeds decline. One option is to get a mesh router like Google Mesh routers, NETGEAR’s Nighthawk Mesh, or Eero Mesh from Amazon. Unlike a traditional router, which broadcasts its signal from a single device, a mesh router emits a signal from multiple units strategically placed around your home. Upgrading to a single, more expensive router like a Nighthawk could help in smaller homes.

If your business Wi-Fi is slow, spotty, and problematic, request a free diagnostic of your office Internet connection to see what’s causing the problems you’re experiencing. Business Wi-Fi is more important than home Wi-Fi and can cause you untold frustration and low productivity if not fixed. Contact us today! 508-205-1114