Although you may have a fast internet connection, at times, you get half the speed for which you pay. Your download seems extremely sluggish while the upstream connection works barely. This is a common scenario faced by almost every individual. Even after resetting the modem doesn't work at times. So, why does this happen?
There are a lot of reasons why your internet speed can slow down suddenly even though you're paying for a premium plan offered by your internet service provider. The reasons may include slow wi-fi, bandwidth shortage, malfunctioning router, a problem with the VPN, malware infection, etc. Regardless of the reasons that are causing a slow down in your internet, the first thing you should do is to check the internet speed on every device that's connected to your router. It will help you figure out whether the issue is with the internet speed or if it's just your device that needs to be replaced.
To know more about why your internet may slow down and what could be the possible fixes, keep on reading this article. We will discuss everything in detail starting from the causes to the solutions. So, let's get started,
The ideal internet speed would be 25Mbps per person if we talk about the download speed. And, speaking of the upload speed which is usually slower than the download speed, 3 to 4Mbps would be ideal. However, when your internet speed slows down, you barely get 25Mbps speed per person which affects the entire browsing experience.
Your videos start to buffer, website pages load extremely slowly, and you barely can download any large files to your device. On vice, your speed test shows that your internet is slow, try connecting to multiple websites and multiple devices to narrow down the problem. It could be that the slowness is occurring only with one particular website or device. But, if the slowness is occurring in all your devices and websites then there could be the following reasons below.
Although you may have a fast and reliable internet connection, a bad wi-fi signal can degrade this speed in all possible ways. This is a common reason why people can't enjoy the full potential of their bandwidth as their Wi-Fi signal sucks. A poor Wi-Fi signal may seem like an internet problem especially because it affects all your connected devices inside the house.
This happens especially if you're having a 2.4GHz and not a 5GHz. A 5GHz connection may help you improve the internet speed in this case but it covers a smaller area only while 2.4GHz provides a larger area coverage. Sometimes, your Wi-Fi signal can suddenly drop once it's placed in a dead zone where something interferes with its signal. You can consider the solution mentioned below to fix a poor wi-fi signal.
Solution
Currently, there are two categories of hardware are used in a wireless network setup. First, a traditional router. This acts like a central hub and the second is a mesh network that provides internet access by creating a web of nodes. With a traditional router, one thing must be noted the farther away your devices are from the router, the higher the chances of encountering a connection problem.
Hence, if you're using a traditional Wi-Fi setup, place it close to the location from where you mostly access the internet. In addition, make sure there are no metal objects that can impede connections between your devices. You can also invest in Wi-Fi extenders to help boost signal strength. Otherwise, shifting to a mesh network will help to enjoy a fast internet speed throughout your home.
Bandwidth shortage is one of the common problems that people face and this is a pretty common reason behind your internet slow down. For example, if you take a plan from an internet service provider that offers you 100Mbps of speed which is pretty decent, right? But, you have 8 to 10 members in your house or 8 to 10 or more devices connected to the same router. All these devices will split your internet bandwidth.
This means if you want to download a large-size file or any file for that matter while other devices are streaming Netflix or downloading a movie, then you will have a minimum bandwidth left to process your own downloads. Thereby, it will definitely cause a lag in your system. This is why understanding how much bandwidth you need is pretty important while choosing an internet plan.
Solution
Even if you're using the premium plan that offers the highest bandwidth and still facing the slowdown, then you can do a few things. First, you can choose a specific time when other people in your house don't really use the internet much. You can download your important things at that time. To make things easier, you can try a download scheduler. This will schedule all your downloads for that specific time period.
Else, you can turn off the internet from some devices to speed up the connection a bit. Also, sometimes the unnecessary applications installed on your device may act like a bandwidth hog. So, disable all such applications that are using your internet resources and see if it helps speed up the internet.
When internet speed is slowed down, we often blame either the router or the network connection. But, the problem can be underlying on your devices also. Sometimes, if the software is out of date on your device, there are more chances of malware attacks which may further slow down the internet speed. In fact, virus infection or malware attacks is one of the common reasons behind an internet slowdown. But, people often ignore them causing more damage to their entire system. Therefore, you must check your device thoroughly when the speed is slowed down.
Solution
The most important step to avoid malware infection is by installing proper antivirus software. Virus infection not only slows down your internet connection but also your entire system. So, you will easily detect whether the problem is your internet or it's simply a virus infection. To avoid such issues, you must run a regular antivirus scan to enhance its performance. In addition, keep all your browsers up to date to avoid any lag while browsing.
These are the primary reasons behind an internet slowdown. Along with following these steps, you can also try to switch to a less crowded wi-fi channel to avoid any issues. Also, you can change the DNS server to see if it helps to speed up the internet. In worst cases, you may switch to another ISP provider or replace your modem or router.
A poor internet connection while working on an important project can be a nightmare. Although you're paying for a fast internet connection, it doesn't always mean that you will get the optimal speed as promised. Therefore, check your internet speed if you feel a lag while browsing the internet. Try to follow the solutions we mentioned above, and if nothing works, contact your internet service provider to help you further.
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