Top 10 Ways to Speed Up Your Internet Connection

Life is fast-moving these days, and with the rapid digital pace in which we live our lives, a slow internet connection can make one feel like being in the slow lane on the highway. From time spent streaming your favorite show, video conferencing, or simply browsing the web-any lag gets frustratingly on your nerves. Well, do not worry-techniques abound to jack up your internet speed and put you back in the fast lane. We will be doing a review of the top 10 ways to juice up your internet speed that one can easily do without necessarily having to be too tech-savvy.

1. Check Your Internet Speed

First of all, you need to clearly understand what you are dealing with. You can measure your current speed with the help of online services such as Speedtest.net or Fast.com. Then compare the results with the Internet speed that your ISP promised you initially. If the difference is great, you may need to address this issue directly with your provider.

2. Restart Your Router

Sometimes the most obvious solutions work best. This clears the cache and refreshes the system when the router reboots, thus fixing any short-term connectivity issues. Switch off your router; let it be for about 30 seconds and then turn it on again. This may help refresh your connection and speed things up.

3. Place Your Router Correctly

Positioning of your router: This might have much more effect on the internet speed one gets. Think of your router as a light bulb-the closer you are, the better the signal. Place it in the middle of everywhere, with no obstructions like walls or huge appliances, and at an elevated position. In cases where one has a multi-story house, it is good to try placing it on the top floor.

4. Update Your Router’s Firmware

Routers, like all things in technology, have to be updated to function at their full potential. Make use of a settings page on your router-a pretty common location-to check for firmware updates. Many such updates include security patches, among other features that will boost performance and perhaps even improve your speed.

5. Limit Background Applications

The many devices hooked to your network or a number of applications running in the background do eventually start to take a hit on your speed. This will try to stream videos, large downloads, or online gaming with many devices on at the same time and make your connection slow. Shut down unused applications and try to limit the number of devices connected to the network at one time. This may be most important during peak hours.

6. Use a Wired Network

Wi-Fi might be more convenient, but it’s usually not the fastest. A wired connection, using an Ethernet cable, gives you a direct link to your router and cuts much of the interference, usually providing a stable and faster connection. This is quite useful if you stream or game, or work with big files.

7. Change to Another DNS Server

By default, your ISP assigns you a DNS server, but this won’t be the fastest all of the time. Sometimes switching to a free public DNS service-such as Google DNS or OpenDNS-will speed up your browsing. This is pretty easy to do with your device’s network settings.

8. Apply Quality of Service Setting

QoS settings on your router can recognize one type of traffic is higher in priority than another. That means high-priority activities get the bandwidth they need, which during peak usage times may actually speed up your internet connection.

9. Upgrade Your Internet Plan

If all of the above has not helped, then it probably is time for an upgrade in the internet plan. Check with the ISP and discuss the present plan. Understand whether something is available with higher speed. Of course, pick such service that matingpress takes into consideration the number of people at home and what kind of activities go on online.

10. Upgrade Your Hardware

And last but not least, there’s antique hardware getting in the way. If you have not changed your router in years, it may not be capable of delivering speeds that your ISP is offering you. You can replace these with more recent models that support newer standards in Wi-Fi. Also, other older devices may not do very well with new and faster Internet connections; hence, updating such devices may also be considered.