Over the past decade I’ve lived in a handful of places in Los Angeles, each with its own unique internet access issues. Grappling with varying speeds and service reliability opened my eyes to mastering ways to improve my connectivity, regardless of my zip code.
I’ve lived in everything from a concrete Faraday cage building in downtown Los Angeles to a Santa Monica beachfront condo with an exclusive agreement tied to a slow internet provider. I’m incredibly lucky, or at least I feel that way, in my current home in Hollywood: there are no impenetrable building materials and I get to choose my internet provider. And it’s pretty decent; I don’t have many complaints.
Unfortunately, most of my LA friends and family suffer from poor internet, which is crazy because you would think that a metropolis like LA would have easily accessible, high-quality internet throughout the city, not just in some neighborhoods. And I can only imagine what smaller communities in the US are dealing with when it comes to ISPs.
This story is part of Bridging the broadband gapCNET’s coverage of how the country is working to make broadband access universal.
Through my every move, I’ve built a toolkit of free ways to maximize my internet connection, no matter how small it is. While you can spend money on the problem (for example, adding a Wi-Fi extender), most of these methods don’t require you to spend any money, which is always a good start.
Here are my tips for improving internet speed that you can use before you move, right after you move, or wherever you live now – and you can do it for free or for very little money.
Read more: My Internet Journey at Home: What I Learned from Testing Wi-Fi and Ethernet Connections
There’s so much you can do to increase your chances of getting a good internet connection before you move.
Get better internet service before you move
If you’re moving to a new place, first of all, congratulations. Second, I’m sorry. Moving is a big job, even if you plan it well (ask me about my big move in 2023). You can start packing your boxes, making a checklist for changing your address and hiring movers weeks in advance – and there will still be things that don’t go the way you planned.
An often overlooked part of moving is considering internet providers, especially if you’re reviewing places. Unlike square footage, number of bathrooms, or local schools, many of us don’t think much about ISPs until we’ve actually signed the lease/mortgage and moved.
If you’re looking at a new home, do your internet homework and talk to the real estate agent or landlord. Better yet, ask your potential neighbors about the internet options in the area and whether they are affordable, fast and reliable. Check to see if they have any solutions or strategies they use to improve their internet.
You can also check each location on your state’s broadband map website, if it has one, to see all your internet options. In California we have the California Interactive Broadband Map. Once you enter an address, you can filter to show only fixed broadband and mobile options for ISPs. Some sites offer advertised upload and download speeds, but keep in mind that maps may not be up to date. Although there are no reviews for area ISPs, sites like these give a good idea of what you can choose from.
As you can see, this location only has two fixed broadband options to choose from, but there are many mobile alternatives.
If you want more of our guidance, CNET has an extensive catalog of the top Internet providers across the country. Sorted by state, city or town, each story provides informative reviews and comparisons to help you find the best ISP in your area.
Check out: I tried Verizon and T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet Services to see if I could kick the cable to the curb
Another thing you should do before moving is to check the building materials of your future home. Routers emit wireless radio waves to connect your various devices to your home’s Internet network. But the materials in your home can interfere with these signals (just as I discovered in my previous concrete and brick loft apartment).
Wi-Fi signals have a particularly hard time penetrating materials like metal, concrete, and brick, meaning that even if your internet connection is fast and reliable, your physical home can interfere with your signal and limit your connectivity in your home. Common building materials like plywood, drywall, and glass don’t affect your Wi-Fi signal as much as higher density materials.
Get better internet service right after you move
You’ve finally moved into your new home and now it’s time to choose an internet provider. If you don’t yet know what options are available in your area, use websites like ours or the FCC National Broadband Map to see what ISPs are available. You can also enter your new address on the AT&T, Spectrum or Xfinity websites to see similar information.
When choosing an ISP, start with your estimated requirements. That gives you a quick overview of what high-speed internet is, how much internet you use, upload versus download speeds, data limits and more.
Don’t miss it: 5 things I like about my experience with T-Mobile Home Internet (and a few negatives too)
Unfortunately, after installation and once you start using the new service, you may still experience connection strength and speed issues.
Most ISPs offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, including Spectrum, Verizon, Cox, and others. This usually means you can cancel your Internet service within 30 days and get a full refund without paying an early termination fee (minus any installation or restocking fees). Other ISPs, such as AT&T (2 weeks), have different refund guarantee policies or no policy at all (Frontier).
Before you choose an ISP, read the 30-day money-back guarantee carefully to see if you sign up.
I took advantage of this to try out three ISP services in my new home. Once the service was connected, the promised speeds differed between the three.
Another way to get faster internet speeds is to avoid using your ISP’s equipment; only use the modem they provide. Renting a router from your ISP is convenient, but can be more expensive in the long run, and router options are limited and may not be the best option for your home.
It can be frustrating to realize that you’ve paid for faster speeds that your ISP-supplied router can’t even deliver. Also make sure you use the correct cables to connect your modem to your router and router to your devices, as Cat5 and older cables may not support your faster speeds. (Cat6e and newer generally support consumer internet speeds.)
Don’t miss it: Should you buy or rent your router? The wrong decision cost me almost $1,000
Get better internet service in your current home
Maybe you are not moving and you have been experiencing a poor internet connection in your current home for a while. No matter how long you live there, you can still improve your internet speed.
I want to stick with the theme of not spending money to get faster internet speeds, but you may want to consider paying more if you have slow internet in your long-term residence.
The only relatively cheap thing you can do is look at your internet plan and see if you can cancel early with no early cancellation fees. Then you can shop around and try different ISPs that may work better.
However, if you’re locked into a contract or want to keep your existing ISP running, one of the easiest ways to improve your speeds is to upgrade your router. Yes, it costs money, but it could be the answer to your internet problems. Unlike spending more for your monthly subscription, it is a one-time purchase.
For a long time I had Netgear’s Nighthawk R66700 router, which is generally considered a good brand. However, despite a high-speed plan, I didn’t get high speeds at my home.
Read now: Best WiFi Routers for 2024
After consulting with a few CNET colleagues, I decided to upgrade my home setup to a mesh router system (more specifically, the Eero 6 Plus). This system provides more reliable Wi-Fi coverage in larger homes or homes with dead zones (which is a problem in my current apartment) compared to your typical single-unit routers.
The Eero 6 Plus mesh router was a godsend for my apartment, which is almost 1,800 square feet.
Depending on the mesh router system, multiple routers are placed throughout your home and they all work as one, keeping you connected no matter what room you are in. A mesh network is an investment, but there are affordable options available, such as Google’s Nest WiFi, Netgear’s Orbi AC1200, or the TP-Link Deco W7200.
Don’t miss it: Best Mesh Wi-Fi Systems in 2024
I know Wi-Fi extenders may seem like the answer to getting better speeds in your home, especially since they’re pretty cheap, but extenders don’t perform as well as mesh networks, and they typically don’t work as a cohesive network. unity throughout your home.
Unfortunately, a mesh network won’t be the silver bullet solution for everyone because, as I said before, every home has its own unique problems. The solution may be a faulty Ethernet cable or updating your modem’s firmware. It could even be as simple as restarting your router. We all know that works sometimes.
The best thing you can do, without spending money, is to run a few diagnostic tests to find out the weak point of your installation, such as running a speed test, connecting to different devices, using Wi-Fi near restart your router and your various internet devices.
Of course, you may go through all of these suggestions and conclude that none can solve your specific situation. While unfortunate, there is always the last resort: increasing your service level and paying more for faster internet.
That, for better or worse, is a modern necessity.
