If you are experiencing a slow or poor internet connection, this guide written by Broadband Savvy for Digital Unite, gives some helpful ways to help improve your internet speeds and keep a stable connection on your home broadband.
The three top tips to troubleshoot poor connection issues are:
1. Ensure there is a good Wi-Fi signal
When connected to your home Wi-Fi, you want to stay close to your router or mobile Wi-Fi device, to ensure a strong signal.
Wi-Fi signals can also be blocked by walls, and can sometimes be interfered with by household appliances, such as microwave ovens.
If possible, it's best to establish a direct line of sight between your device and your router, and avoid placing your router near your microwave, radio, or any Bluetooth devices.
2. Be smart about when you get online
Do you notice that you only get slow speeds at certain times of day, or only when other people in your household are online? There are two possible reasons for this:
- If the internet slows down when other people at home get online, this means that you don't have enough bandwidth for everybody's combined internet usage. To solve this problem, you can either get a faster broadband package, or take it in turns getting online.
- If you slow down at specific times of day when no-one else at home is online, it means that your local broadband infrastructure is getting overloaded during peak periods. To fix this issue, you could try to call your ISP and explain what's happening.
3. Close unnecessary programs and apps
Sometimes, it might be your device that makes your internet feel a lot slower than it actually is. If your internet is slow then, it’s a good idea to try closing down other applications. When using Zoom for example, make sure to close any other programs or apps that you don't need open at the same time, such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word. This gives Zoom more resources to run on, which will help to make it feel faster.
For more tips, you can view the Broadband Savvy guide to improving internet speed.
And if you need further help, you can contact Broadband Savvy for personalised advice about finding an affordable way to get online, or to get help with troubleshooting broadband issues at home. Simply drop a message into our contact form and we'll try to get back to you within 48 hours.
This guide is one of three written by Broadband Savvy for Digital Unite. Why not check out the others that cover: Getting the best value internet deal and How to set up a new broadband connection.
Last updated 4 July 2022