Tips To Improve Your Internet Speed

These days, the internet is an integral part of your daily lives for work, education, streaming, and gaming, so having a fast and reliable connection is crucial. Conversely, having an unstable or slow internet connection can be a frustrating experience.

So to help you stay online and connected to the things that matter to you, here are some tips to get the most out of your internet speed.

Run an internet speed test

The most reliable way to check if your internet is having any issues with speed is by running a speed test. There are many online tools readily available for you to pick from, like SpeedTest.

For accurate test results, ensure your connected devices aren’t performing any demanding activities, like streaming or downloading files. If you prefer, you can disconnect every device other than the one on which you’re performing the test for the best result.

After you run the test, it’s important to understand how to interpret the results. To ensure the best results, you can perform the test multiple times to check for consistency across the results.

Download Speed

Your download speed is the main way to understand how well your connection is performing. Download speed measures how fast data gets transferred from another source to your device through the internet. 

Download speed is usually measured in Mbps (megabits per second). High numbers mean faster speeds. This is what your internet mostly uses for activities like downloading files and streaming video or audio.

Upload Speed

Your upload speed is how fast data gets transferred from your device to other sources through the internet. Upload speed is also measured in Mbps, much like download speed. This also means that high numbers are better.

A fast and reliable upload speed is crucial when performing activities like video calls or uploading files.

Latency (Ping)

Latency is the response time between devices connected to the internet. Latency is measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower numbers mean fast response times.

Low latency is essential for a great gaming experience as well as real-time video or audio calls.

Jitter

Jitter is how consistent your latency is over time. Consistent latency is preferable, as having high jitter can negatively impact your online experience, especially the ones sensitive to latency, like gaming. 

A high jitter usually means an unstable connection, so restarting your router is a good idea.

Ways to improve your internet speed

There are a few ways you can go about improving your internet speed after you run your speed test. If you find your results aren’t the best, try the tips to improve speed below.

Router Optimization

The router is an equipment designed to spread internet access across a large area. So the placement of the equipment is essential to having the best connection across your home or workspace.

As technology is ever-growing and always evolving, swapping your router for a new one might be necessary due to software or hardware improvements for speed, stability, and security.

Additionally, rebooting your router can often help you improve performance and fix several issues that happen over time.

Reducing network congestion

Having too many devices connected at once while heavily using the internet for intensive activities like streaming can severely slow the connection for every device. To remedy this, keep only what you need connected at any given time to free up your network bandwidth.

If you have too many people in your home with several connected devices, you might need to look for what is using most of the bandwidth. If you have Fidium, a great way to find out who or which device is connected is through your app.

Checking for viruses

While viruses aren’t a common cause of slow internet, they can definitely impact your network and compromise your data security.

Periodically running virus-scanning software is one of the best internet security practices to ensure your devices and network are safe.

If necessary, switch to a different ISP

When all else fails, it might just mean your ISP (internet service provider) is underperforming. Some ISPs still mainly use older technology like cable, which is slow and unreliable compared to fiber internet.

Switching to another ISP with new and improved technology available to you can greatly improve your online presence as well as provide a faster, safer, and more stable internet connection.

Improved Internet Connection

Diagnosing your internet speed through online speed tests is the best and quickest way to understand how your connection is performing. Once you have your results, the solution can be as simple as rebooting your router, disconnecting unnecessary devices, or switching ISPs.

When switching ISPs, look for a reputable and reliable provider that can offer great prices with fast speeds, like Fidium Fiber. Check out Fidium Fiber area coverage today and get your new plan to improve your internet speeds.