You probably won’t get the full speed you pay for with your internet subscription. Average internet speeds rarely reflect the speeds advertised internet providers – even if your provider delivers these speeds to your home.
So what slows down an internet connection? If you can determine that an ISP is not smother your connection, there are a few other factors that can slow down your actual home internet speed. Router problems are most common and the solution can be as simple as restarting your modem and router or upgrade to a mesh network for a more permanent solution.
Before you start working on a solution for slower speeds, start with a simple speed test to know what you are working with. Read on for a guide to checking your Internet connection speed, followed by some tips to improve your connection.
Run a speed test on your computer, phone or tablet
Testing the download and upload speeds of your Internet connection is the best way to troubleshoot a slow connection. A large number of free apps and websites will perform this test for you. Some more popular speed testing services are Speedtest.net, Fast.com, or CloudFlare.
Whether you’re installing an app or using a website, it’s a good idea to run the test a few times at different times of the day to get an idea of your connection’s performance. Each test takes less than a minute and provides download and upload speed results.
The Federal Communications Commission has published a guideline for household broadband speeds, based on the number of devices and people connected to the same network. Basic service ranges from 3 megabits per second up to 8 Mbps and is good enough for light use (browsing, emailing, video calling, HD video streaming, etc.).
The FCC gives some recommendations on how fast a connection you need based on your usage.
Medium service is rated as 12-25 Mbps and is best for up to three users or devices at a time, with medium to high usage depending on activity. Finally, Advanced Service is any connection speed above 25 Mbps and is best suited for people with more than four users or devices using the connection at the same time for more than light use. Despite household broadband guidelines, the FCC defines an adequate Internet connection as 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. Even if you use different levels of bandwidth throughout the day, you should have a minimum Internet connection of at least 100 Mbps for consistent, reliable speeds.
The speed of your Internet connection varies depending on the time of day, the number of devices connected and used, and other factors. I recommend running multiple speed tests over a day or two and keeping track of the results to gauge the actual speed of your connection.
(For our tech-savvy readers, you can use a Raspberry Pi to run speed tests on a regular schedule and upload the results to Google Drive so you can track them by following this handy guide.)
Ideally, you should connect your computer directly to your ISP’s modem with a Ethernet cable to perform a speed test, but that is not always possible. There is another option to perform a speed test: use your wireless router’s app.
A speed test is a quick and easy way to determine if something is wrong.
Run a speed test on your wireless router
Depending on your wireless router, it may be possible to run a speed test through the dedicated app. For example, Google’s Nest Wi-Fi You can perform a speed test in the app or ask the Google Assistant how fast your internet connection is.
Honor, Linksys And Asus Zen WiFi routers also offer the same capability, although not all of them support asking a smart speaker to run the test. It’s best to start by looking at a dedicated app.
Using your wireless router speed test may prove to be more accurate (at least in theory) because the router is connected directly to your modem.
There’s no need to rush into buying a new router if the speed test results are lower than you expect or pay for. It could the problem may be depending on the age. Router technology, like any other technology, changes often, and that can lead to performance issues. For example, if you have that cable internet most ISPs recommend a DOCSIS 3.1 modem or gateway to handle higher speeds.
There may be more than one reason why your internet is slow.
What to do if your speed is slower than it should be
It’s a simple, but winning solution: turn off your modem and wireless router for about 60 seconds, then turn them back on. This usually resolves any speed issues. CNET’s Ry Crist has more tips on how to get better, faster Wi-Fi to help you get your network working properly again.
If your speeds remain slow, check your carrier’s app or website for outages. For example, the first thing you should do if you Comcast Xfinity compound works flaky is to the Xfinity My Account app and look for any service issues. The app will give you an estimated recovery time if there is one. Knowing that the problem is not on your end means that you can refrain from troubleshooting.
Additionally, you can call your provider to make sure your modem or gateway supports the speed of your plan or to see if there are any plans promotions that will be worth an upgrade.
If none of these solutions prove effective, the problem may be with you type of internet connection. Speeds offered by, among others DSL, fixed wireless And cable providers are often slower than the lightning-fast reliability of a fiber optic connection. If fiber optic is available to you, consider an upgrade. If not, it may be time to move up to a higher speed level with your ISP to ensure your Internet connection remains fast and reliable.
