It’s been more than a year since we all adapted to the new normal. Our home desks are now the new office, our TVs are the new extended monitors, our mobile phones are now the new intercom lines. The routine of working and home set-up have changed forever and will continue to be so even in the upcoming months. So, it is imperative that you keep your working set-up fast and effective to match the professional environment such as your office. The most important and fundamental aspect of working from home is a stable and a fast internet connection.

We all know how frustrating it becomes when your browser is stuck with loading a single page forever. Phew!!! And who could possibly be not annoyed by the robotic voices during video/audio calls due to poor internet speed? We’ve all been there and learnt our lessons! So, how do we handle this crisis? What to do in such occurrences? Don’t you want to know? Worry not! We’ve got you covered! We’ll help you with the tips and tricks to boost your internet speed in this article.

Router Placement

Regardless of how fast is your actual internet service provider, the placement and positioning of your WiFi router in your home affects the speed more than you possibly can think of. Be it for the obviously ugly design of routers or the pointy antennas obstructing the line of vision, almost all of our routers are placed in some corner of our homes. Obstacles such as walls, glassdoors, wooden cupboards, fish tanks, etc contribute towards disrupting your signal strength to some extent and hence it affects your internet speed.

So, it is generally advised that you place your WiFi router high in a centralized spot to facilitate faster internet to all rooms.

Changing the Channel or Band

Almost all new routers have dual bands for your convenience. You can either pick a 2.4GHz or a 5GHz band based on the speed and coverage limits. 2.4GHz has a wider coverage range whereas the 5GHz band has a faster internet with a shorter coverage range than the former.

Also, if you and your neighbour use the same internet service provider and the same frequency channel, i.e., the band, there are high chances that your internet speed is affected. So, it is advised that you pick a different frequency band for better speed. However, every router handles this process differently and you may need to refer to your router documentation.

Protecting the Network

One of the main reasons for the slowness in your internet speed is that there is someone sneaking it. A lot of us hardly change our WiFi passwords. This could be one of the reasons how an unapproved or unknown person can be using your internet without your knowledge. Connecting multiple devices to the network directly reduces the speed of the internet and hence this could be one of the major mistakes if you’re careless about it.

Remember to monitor the devices connected to your WiFi network and ensure you update your password often or in a cyclic period. Moreover, cut off unused devices from your network as they might be connected to your network and be consuming the internet though not actively using it.

Using Ethernet Cable

In the modern wireless world, we often forget the fact that there still is a provision to use ethernet cables to connect to the internet. All Routers provide ethernet ports adequate enough for multiple devices.

Unlike the WiFi options, ethernet cable connections are unaffected by the obstacles and other such wireless concerns. Although there are limitations to the mobility of a wired connection, it is an evident fact that the internet speed over a wired connection is much faster than on a wireless connection.

Troubleshooting

If none of the above helps in boosting your internet speed, it is highly likes that your Internet service provider, WiFi Router, or your device is defective. There are numerous ways to fix or identify this, but it is recommended that you contact the concerned support team to dig further if rudimentary steps such as restarting or resetting the connections doesn’t help.