January 12, 2022
By Danielle Willatt
Has your connection to the internet slowed to a crawl?
If you’re sick of video buffering or online gaming lag – you’re not alone. A slow internet connection drives anyone crazy, especially when working from home. Good news is you can probably speed it up in a few quick steps with no tech wizardry required!
Today, we’ll share 16 easy and practical tips to speed up your internet. We’ve listed them in ascending order of effort/time required. But first, let’s look at how to test your internet speed.
How To Test Your Current Internet Speed
Testing your internet speed is a good starting point to see what you’re working with.
To do so, just head to an online speed test tool like Speedtest.net. Click ‘GO’ and the tool will calculate your download and upload speeds.
Understanding your results:
You can also compare your speed test results to the speeds your ISP offers with your plan, to see if it’s drastically underperforming.
Anthem Broadband guarantees the speeds promised in the ad in most cases, but your actual speeds may exceed that number.
Try each tip below and then run another speed test to see whether things have improved.
Tip #1 – Reset your router and modem
It’s simple and is often a joke whenever there is a problem with technology but turning your router and modem on and off again can solve a lot of internet speed headaches. Try rebooting your wireless router by doing the following:
If you have a modem that’s separate from your router, reset that too.
Rebooting your router helps to clear cached memories and background processes that aren’t necessary. It’s a great way to invigorate your connection to your ISP. It can be so effective that many ISPs suggest you reset it every month!
Tip #2 – Adjust your router’s antennas
If your router has external adjustable antennas, try tweaking them.
Router antennas are usually omnidirectional, Signals are sent out perpendicular to the antenna, which means a vertical antenna will send out horizontal signals, and vice versa.
If you’re trying to connect to a router that’s on another floor of your house, try flipping the antenna horizontally. If you don’t see antennas on your router – don’t panic. Many routers are built with antennas within the device shell.
Tip #3 – Clear your cache and cookies
Go to https://clear-my-cache.com/windows.html for simple steps to access the cache settings for most common web browsers. Make it a habit to clear your cache and browsing history regularly. This will ensure all that accumulated data doesn’t drag your internet speeds down.
Tip #4 – Check your data cap
Many ISPs (except Anthem Broadband) typically put a data cap on the amount of data you can use each month. If you exceed your datacap, then your ISP is probably going to restrict your internet speed considerably. However, data throttling has also become more common since COVID-19 has forced more people to work from home. In order to cope with this shift in demand, many ISPs have had to respond by throttling users.
Anthem Broadband’s plans have no datacaps or throttling, so you can stream, game, and browse to your heart’s content with no loss in the advertised speeds for your data plan.
Tip #5 – Run a scan using antivirus software
Malware can take a heavy toll on your internet speeds. To check if it’s the culprit, run a virus and malware scan on your system using a decent antivirus security suite. If any threats are identified, you can remove them and see if this speeds things up. After cleaning up any viruses or malware, restart your system.
Tip #6 – Check your web browser
There are a couple of ways your web browser may slow you down:
Tip #7 – Use an ad blocker
Most websites will flood your screen with eye-catching ads – often with large images or auto-played videos. They can chomp up lots of your data and slow your internet considerably.
To cut these out of your browsing experience, consider using a decent ad-blocker. AdBlock Plus is a popular one, and some VPNs like NordVPN and Surfshark also include them.
Tip #8 – Relocate your wireless router
Router signals get weaker as they pass through objects and travel further away. Moving your router to a better location can often give you better signal quality and faster speeds.
Tip #9 – Update firmware for your router
Make sure your router is always updated with the latest firmware. This helps keep it secure and running at peak performance. Many newer routers will update firmware automatically. If this is not the case with your router you should periodically log into your router’s interface and check if there are updates available.
Tip #10 – Disconnect unused devices connected to the internet
Try disconnecting any non-essential devices from your network. Things like old phones or forgotten tablets that have been nibbling away at bandwidth.
Some routers these days come with an app that can display all the devices connected to your home network. From there, it’s easy to disconnect any unwanted devices.
If your router doesn’t have an app, your best bet is to just change your network’s Wi-Fi password. You’ll then need to log back into the network with each device using the new password.
It might be a bit tedious if you have a lot of devices, but it’s a comprehensive way to clear unnecessary connections.
Tip #11 – Check for any unwanted guests
Adding onto the last point – you should also check to see if there is anyone else freeloading off your Wi-Fi.
If you haven’t secured your home network (and especially if you haven’t changed the default username and password), then it’s easy for a neighbor to connect to it and slurp up some delicious, free bandwidth.
First, make sure you secure your Wi-Fi connection. Second, kick off any Wi-Fi freeloaders by:
Tip #12 – Find your router/ISP’s best settings
Many people aren’t aware that they can tweak the settings of their router. Just because a router is using its default settings doesn’t mean these are its optimum settings.
Visit your router and ISP’s website to check the recommended settings. Then, log in to your router so you can compare and update its settings.
Tip #13 – Change your router’s band and/or channel
Wi-Fi supports two different frequency bands – 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Some routers are dual-band routers, which lets you choose between them.
On top of that, routers broadcast Wi-Fi signals on a specific channel.
Some channels will tend to be more congested than others, especially if you’re living in an urban area where neighboring Wi-Fi signals can cause interference. Ideally, you’d all be on the same channel or on channels that don’t interact.
Luckily, most routers let you manually change your broadcast channel. Switching to a less ‘crowded’ channel may help to improve internet speed. Try switching to channels 1, 6, and 11 if you’re on the 2.4 GHz band.
Tip #14 – Plug in with ethernet cables instead
I know, I know – everything is more convenient when it’s wireless. But if you want the fastest internet speeds, you may want to go back to basics and plug into cabled connections like ethernet. These connections tend to be faster, more reliable, and much more secure. You should consider using ethernet cables for data-heavy activities and devices, like streaming shows and movies to your TVs or for online gaming.
Tip #15 – Replace your modem or router
Tech is changing at lightspeed. Even if you’ve bought top-of-the-range hardware, it’s eventually going to become obsolete. Older models will slowly lag behind the type of internet offered by ISPs as they try to evolve and stay competitive.
If you’re buying a new router, look for one that supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands and uses a network management app. Of course, check whether your new modem and routers are compatible with your internet plan and ISP network.
Tip #16 – Contact Technical Support
If after taking these steps and your connection speeds are still below what you were promised with your internet package, we encourage you to contact Anthem Broadband Technical Support for additional troubleshooting. We’re happy to investigate and correct any issues that are impacting your internet experience. Our telephone numbers and hours are listed on our website along with an online form at https://anthembroadband.com/contact-us/