Wi-Fi, the way of connecting the radio signals sent by the modem to the devices we use in the smart home, is the most widely used technology protocol. From smart TVs to home security cameras and from smart doorbells to digital assistants, many devices require an internet connection and some may require high speed to work properly. However, this is not always possible for various reasons. Cybersecurity firm ESET shared its assessments on how to identify and resolve the issue.

With more work from home, it’s important to have a good wireless connection to laptops and desktops. Today, there can be two or more home users on Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi radio signals can be blocked by walls and other objects or neighbors. Even if the Wi-Fi itself works as it should, there are many other elements that can be responsible for a slow internet connection. Therefore, the first step should be to find out your internet service provider’s base speed. Then check the current Wi-Fi performance with a speed tester.

What’s wrong with my WiFi connection?

Here are some of the main reasons for slow internet speeds on a Wi-Fi connection:

Modem Location: It may be too far from your device or it may be physically blocked, meaning no wireless signals are being sent.

Modem age and status: The device may need to be refreshed or may have outdated hardware that can affect its performance.

Number of devices: The home network may be overloaded with too many devices trying to connect at the same time.

Bandwidth Intensive Applications: If one of these devices is running particularly bandwidth-intensive applications, such as gaming software, there will be less bandwidth available to the rest of the house, causing slowdown.

Wi-Fi Frequency Bands and Channels: Wireless signals operate in different frequency bands and channels. If your neighbor’s signal is tuned to the same channel as your home signal, it may have exceeded the capacity in your area. If your modem doesn’t do this automatically, try switching to reduce signal interference. The 5GHz frequency band offers the option of choosing from more Wi-Fi channels than the 2.4GHz spectrum. The coverage may be better with the first, but the speed will be better with the second spectrum.

ISP Restriction: Some service providers may slow down customers’ internet speeds if they exceed data usage or have excessive network congestion.

Wi-Fi Thieves: Sometimes your neighbors can be the cause of the slow internet speed in your home. They can try to use your Wi-Fi connection for free by guessing your password.

VPNs: These help improve online privacy, but they can also slow down the Internet connection because they add extra steps between your device and the Internet.

malware: If devices are compromised by malicious code, this code can run in the background, communicate with other machines over the Internet and use memory; all of this can negatively affect performance.

What to do to fix your slow WiFi connection

According to experts at cybersecurity company ESET, there are some very simple things you can do to speed up your slow Wi-Fi connection. It may be helpful to try all of the following one at a time to see if they have any effect on internet speeds:

• Place the modem in an accessible location in the center of the house.
• Change your Wi-Fi frequency band or channel if the current one is overloaded with connections.
• Consider investing in a Wi-Fi mesh network that will boost the signal to remote areas of the home.
• Restart the modem. Install all available hardware updates.
• You can replace your existing modem with a new one.
• You can change ISPs or upgrade your broadband package.
• Check how many devices in the home network are working and disconnect unused devices.
• Close bandwidth-consuming apps and tasks running in the background.
• Use strong and unique admin and Wi-Fi passwords.
• Change Windows power settings to “high performance”.
• If you use a VPN, consider upgrading to a more optimized VPN version.

Malware secretly running on your devices can hijack bandwidth and computing power and throttle performance. Minimize the risk of this happening by:

• Change the factory default password for all devices
• Use a long, strong and unique WiFi password.
• Use security software from a reputable vendor to protect devices and laptops.
• Use VPN for connection.
• Keep devices, including the modem, up to date with the latest firmware.
• Keep network encryption enabled (ideally WPA2 or WPA3).

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency