Internet has become the most used service during the lockdown. Internet usage has grown rapidly over this period. With the risk of covid-19 infection outside, most of the things are done online. From meetings and online classes to gaming and streaming, people are consuming a lot of bandwidth. Your internet service provider (ISP) allocates a fixed bandwidth which it distributes among its subscribers, based on the package The increase in internet usage directly leads to increased bandwidth consumption. Internet service providers may reduce WiFi speeds to provide even distribution of bandwidth. Regardless of that, your WiFi may be slow due to various other reasons. Here are some ways with which you can quickly fix slow WiFi.
Restart the router
Restarting the router may sound like a dumb idea but actually helps to fix the network-related problem including slow WiFi connections. You just have to turn off your router for 10-20 seconds and turn it back on. Besides, you can also restart the device in which you are using the WiFi.
Stop background processes
Not only foreground apps use WiFi. Background programs and processes receive information from the internet even if the programs are previously closed. In that process, they use WiFi networks. This makes WiFi slow in the foreground as the bandwidth is distributed between background apps and foreground apps. You can kill all the background processes from the taskbar and close background apps to speed up your WiFi network.
Change router location and reposition antennas
The distance between the router and the internet device plays an important role to determine the speed of the WiFi network. WiFi speed is inversely proportional to the distance between the router and receiving gadgets. That means the nearer you get to the router, the stronger signal you’ll receive. If you’re not receiving the optimal signal you can place the router at the nearest point among internet gadgets. You should avoid any obstacle between the router and your device to get maximum speed Generally 6-10 meter radius around the router provides optimal speeds.
Check other devices using WiFi
Your ISP allocates fixed bandwidth to your home network depending upon the plan you choose. The bandwidth will then be shared among the devices with simultaneous connections. Any device which is consuming high bandwidth directly affects the internet speed of other devices in the network. Browsing the web or using social media doesn’t affect that much but you could face a serious drop in speed if someone is gaming, streaming or downloading on your WiFi network.
Check for malware
Another cause of slow WiFi could be malware. Malware and viruses steal data from your device. In doing so they constantly upload data to the server which in turn increases the bandwidth usage. Malware may run in the background on your device and steal processing power which makes everything slower. You must use a good antivirus and check for updates regularly on your devices.
