5 Factors That Slow Down Your Internet Speeds

My internet connection was acting up some time ago, and I did what most people might do in this situation: I upgraded switched to a high-speed internet plan. Honestly, the internet speeds improved a little, but they were nowhere near what I was paying for.

Curious to understand the reason behind this, I fired up the internet and searched for some probable causes. There, I found multiple factors that contributed to slow internet speeds.

Below, I’m going to share those factors because if you ever face the same problem, you should watch out for them before upgrading to an expensive internet plan.

• Table of Contents

  Toggle

  Your Router Needs a Fixing:

When it comes to routers, there are specifically two factors you should be careful about:

• Router’s Placement: 

If your router is placed near thick walls or heavy furniture, then the internet signals from the router may interfere with these objects. Resultantly, internet signals may lose their strength or deviate from their path, which ultimately affects the internet speeds.

In addition, if your router is placed in a corner, the internet signals may lose strength while covering greater distances.

• Router’s Software and Firmware Updates: 

Like electronic devices, our routers may also get frequent software or firmware updates. These updates may include new features, improved security, or bug fixes and are essential for the efficient working of routers.

Most modern routers are updated automatically. However, you may need to manually install the updates on some routers. In that case, I’d suggest you frequently check for the router’s updates and install them whenever they’re available.

• Your ISP is the Culprit:

It’s a possibility that you may face slow speeds because your internet service provider (ISP) is intentionally throttling your connection. Sometimes, ISPs are unable to manage network traffic during the peak hours. So, they may throttle the internet speeds to effectively manage the load on a network.

Similarly, if you’re subscribed to a capped internet plan, then it may also be a reason for slow internet speeds. Most ISPs start throttling your internet speeds when you’re close or have already crossed the allocated data limit. 

Pro Tip: It’s best if you subscribe to uncapped internet plans because you won’t have to worry about data consumption or throttled speeds from your ISP.

To name one, you can check Spectrum Internet packages affordable and high-speed  plans.

1. Your Brower’s Cache is Full:

The browsers we use to surf the web on may also contribute to slow internet speeds. Our browsers collect and store data from websites we visit, called cache memory. When the cache memory is full, our browsers may slow down and require additional bandwidth to work.

Similarly, browsers may also slow down when we install multiple extensions. As these extensions also require internet connectivity, the overall consumption of the browser increases. And ultimately, our internet connections slow down.

• You Have Connected Too Many Devices:

Every internet connection has a limited bandwidth. For all the tasks you do on the internet, the bandwidth is distributed among them. However, if you connect too many devices on a single connection, then bandwidth may get thinner and affect your internet speeds.

Also, if you think that idle devices connected to the internet do not consume bandwidth, then you’re wrong. It’s because idle devices may receive social media or other notifications, even when you’re not using the device.

Additionally, background applications may also consume bandwidth or get vital updates, which may slows down your internet..

• Your Internet Connection is Unprotected:

Internet connections that are open to everyone are generally considered unprotected. It’s because anyone, be it a passerby or your neighbors who receive the internet signals may connect to it.

Consequently, when the number of users on a connection increases, the bandwidth gets thinner and affects the internet speeds. Also, as already mentioned, there is always a chance that bad actors may hack your connection or infect it with a virus or malware.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

• What is a good internet speed?

According to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), download speeds around 100Mbps and upload speeds around 25Mbps are generally considered good.

• Which internet connection type offers the fastest speeds?

Fiber internet is the fastest internet connection type as it delivers the internet using light signals. Also, fiber internet exclusively delivers symmetrical internet speeds, i.e., similar upload and download speeds.

• Do wired connections offer better speeds than wireless connections?

Yes, wired connections may offer better speeds than wireless connections because internet signals are directly delivered to the connected device.

• How can I check my internet speeds?

You can use an internet speed test, such as one offered by Ookla to check your internet speeds.