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Is the WiFi connection working slow for you? Check these options and fix it

Connecting to our wireless network using our laptop or mobile is the order of the day. Today in our homes we have three alternatives to connect to the Internet: Wi-Fi, the Ethernet network cable and the PLC. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages and is more appropriate depending on the situation in which we find ourselves. Wi-Fi networks have many enemies around them and they are none other than the wireless networks of our neighbors. This and more factors can make our Wi-Fi connection slow. We are going to talk about it in this article. We are going to explain the basic steps you must take if your Wi-Fi is slow and for this we provide a series of tips and solutions.

Check that the internet connection is ok

One of the possible reasons why your Wi-Fi is slow may have to do with your Internet connection. In this aspect we can find a punctual failure of our ISP or internet provider.

Also related to the same issue, it may be that the DNS servers are not working correctly, so we could also consider adding others. However, before doing anything, it would be a good idea to check the stability of the Internet connection. One option to consider is to call our ISP and check if there is any problem with our line.

Check the router, its location and configuration

The next step we are going to take if it is our own router is to check that everything is in order. In that aspect, the next step when the Wi-Fi is slow is to carefully observe its LEDs. If we see an LED light on that is normally off or red, it can indicate that there is some kind of problem. A simple measure that we can begin to apply is reboot the router so that it reloads all the configurations correctly. Then we must also try check router location:

  • That it is located in a place where it has space around it and at a medium height. Nothing stuck in a drawer.
  • Stay away from devices that emit electromagnetic interference such as cordless phones and other electronic products.
  • Check the wiring of the router and that everything is inserted correctly.

A test that could be done, if possible, is to connect by network cable. If that works fine, then the problem is clearly related to your wireless network. In addition, another factor to take into account is that the problem is due to the fact that we have not chosen the best Wi-Fi band. In this case it would be like this:

  • We will use the 2.4GHz band if we are far from the router, because it is the one that best supports the distance but we will obtain lower speed.
  • We will use the 5GHz band if we are close to the router to obtain a higher speed.

On the other hand, we could also consider changing the Wi-Fi channel. Another reason why Wi-Fi is slow can be because the Wi-Fi network is saturated. This happens when one or more devices are consuming almost all the bandwidth. To finish the topic of the router, we could also think that it is a fault in the Wi-Fi part of the router. An indication of the latter may be that we can only connect to the router when we are very close.

Wi-Fi is slow due to software problems

A good starting point if possible is to connect to the Wi-Fi network using several different devices. In the event that some work well and others poorly, it may be indicative of a software problem. Here a point where we could start if it is a computer is to update the drivers of the Wi-Fi card. That does not mean that they also have the latest operating system updates and have a good antivirus.

Another factor that we should not rule out is that our computer is infected with some type of malware. For this reason, as we mentioned before, our devices, whether they are computers or mobiles, must be updated and have security solutions. Also, either in the router or in the equipment itself, if the Wi-Fi is slow, you can propose changing DNS servers. On a computer with a Microsoft operating system, we would do it in Windows TCP/IP.

Finally, we could consider that some program is interfering with our connection. An example could be a low-quality free VPN that offers us a low speed or another program that we have recently installed.

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