Do you often get angry because your Internet connection is too slow? Do you ever feel like hitting your computer because it takes much too long than it should to open a webpage? In that case, this article will hopefully be of help!
We have compiled here, for your convenience, the seven most common causes why Internet connections usually get too slow. Consider the following possibilities when troubleshooting this problem and maybe you’ll manage to fix this problem all by yourself. Make sure to let us know what worked for you via comments.
1) Someone is leeching your bandwidth
All too frequently, Internet connections will get sluggish because someone happens to be hogging all the available bandwidth. This could be someone in your house whom you’re aware of, or it could be an unknown outsider who managed to hack into your network by figuring out the password (which is not too hard, especially if you never bothered to change it from the manufacturer settings).
A simple solution will be changing the password so you can keep track of who exactly is using your bandwidth.
2) You’ve been doing excessive downloads
Most Internet Service Providers try to lure in customers with claims of free unlimited downloads, but truth of the matter is there is no such thing. What they actually do is let you download freely up to a certain threshold (which can be as little as a dozen Gb/month or as much as several hundred Gb/month, depending on the service provider). When you exceed these limits, they gradually reduce your connection speed until you forcefully meet the maximum download quotas they impose to you.
For a solution, there’s usually not much to be done unless doing less downloads… which is bound to happen naturally as your connection speed gets restricted. In any case, it might be worth calling your ISP and ask about this possibility.
3) You chose a bad or inappropriate ISP
Some Internet Service Providers are just limited in nature, and there’s not much to be done about it. If you suspect you may have signed up with a really bad or inappropriate ISP, look up some customer reviews on-line and see how others experience the service.
To fix this problem, you should make sure to research properly before switching to another ISP (if that’s what it comes down to).
4) Your slow computer is to blame
If you have a really old and slow computer, or if you haven’t formatted your hard drive in a while, or even if you’re low on disk space… those are all good reasons why your Internet connectivity may be affected and restrained for its full potential.
If you suspect this could be the problem, try asking a friend over with a laptop and see how your Internet connection works on their computer.
5) You keep a torrents manager always open
In this day and age, many Internet users have the habit of using torrents or similar protocols to manage their downloads – which can be highly convenient. The problem is that if you always keep this kind of software running in the background (which is common), and especially if you don’t restrict its bandwidth usage, the high download speeds may actually block you from browsing the web normally.
To fix this issue, just check the taskbar in your computer to see if you have any such program running in the background; if so, just shut it down while you’re browsing, or look in the preferences for a way to restrict its connection speed.
6) Your computer is too far away from the router
Wireless connections are really practical and widespread these days, and for good reason. However, we sometimes forget that routers (the devices that broadcast your wi-fi) have a limited reach; and the farther away your computer from them, the weaker your connection speed will be.
To tackle this issue, just try moving your computer and router closer to each other, and you may be surprised with how a small distance can make a world of difference in terms of speed.
7) Your router is not in the best place
Even if your computer is right next to your router, the strength of the wi-fi signal could be at loss. In this case, the problem can be a misplacement of the router. Maybe another device is causing an electronic interference, or maybe there is metal blocking the signal.
For a simple solution, try relocating the router – preferably out in the open and consider connecting fixed computers via cables to make sure the connection is flawless.
This guest post was brought to you by the slow computer website, where you can find all kinds of free advice on how to speed up your computer. Come see us, if you feel your PC may be the culprit of your slow Internet connection!
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