Slow broadband connection speeds can be frustrating.
We live in a world that is increasingly online and having a slow connection can slow down your entire life: Entertainment, friends, work, education, love, and more may be taking place online.
Here are five easy tips to increase your broadband connection speeds – and they won’t cost you a cent!
- Keep your wireless router in the same room
The walls in your home or apartment can interfere significantly with your broadband connection speeds.
As a rule of thumb, every wall between your computer and the router decreases connectivity by about 25%.
For best results, try to place the router next to your computer, or at least in the same room.
- Use shorter cables
Longer Ethernet or phone cables produce greater resistance, which decreases your connection speeds.
Cut your cord length in half and you’ll also halve the resistance in the cable.
For DSL this may mean moving your router closer to the phone jack, and for the Ethernet you may want to place your desk near the port so you can use a 5′ cable instead of a 25′ cable across the room.
- Elevate your wireless router
Giving the wireless signal an unobstructed pathway to your computer can do wonders for your connection speeds.
To test this, put your head near your computer and check if you can see directly to your router. If something is in the way, move it and try again.
Once you have a clear line of sight to the router your broadband connection speeds will increase. Even having the router under your desk may significantly slow down broadband speed.
If at all possible, move the router so that it is visible from your computer.
- Avoid lots of other wires
Wireless signals, like microwaves or light, are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. That means strong electrical currents or magnetic fields can obstruct or redirect their path.
If your wireless router is caught in a tangle of wires for your computer, printer, scanner, speakers, and desk lamp then you have created a huge electric force field blocking wireless signals from reaching your computer.
Clearing these wires (possibly by elevating your router or moving it closer to the computer) will boost your broadband speed — and clean up that unsightly mess under your desk!
- Eliminate bandwidth-hogging applications
Right now your computer is running tons of background applications, some of which are entirely unnecessary for your computer or program to function but are still constantly accessing the internet.
Your browser or chat client has to compete for bandwidth with these applications, which can really bog down connection speed. Open the Task Manager and close any programs that are unnecessary.
You may also be able to access the list of start up programs — the ones that open automatically when the computer reboots — and remove those that are unnecessary or require internet access.
You can also disable the automatic sign-in feature on chat clients so they only connect to the internet when you need them.
Finally, installing an antivirus program may force programs to ask your permission to access the internet. Don’t think Google Updater needs to access the Web while you are uploading that important file? With one click you can cut it off from internet access.
