Are you constantly getting lower speeds on your internet connection than you pay for? The connection is a little slower than advertised, which is normal, but I expect (and usually get) at least 90% of the rated speed of my own connection under ideal conditions. So, if you're getting less than that, maybe we all have a few bad habits that are holding you back sometimes.
Leave VPN on when you don't need it
VPNs are incredibly useful. They hide your activity from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and allow you to access content and services that are typically blocked in your region. However, the way a VPN works means it's not a free lunch, and it may slow down your connection. After all, before reaching you, your traffic is first routed through the VPN server through an encrypted tunnel.
This means that your internet connection cannot be faster than the VPN server's speed, and there is some additional latency due to the extra hop as well as the encryption and decryption work happening on your local device. If the server is very far away, as is usually the case when unlocking a region, this also affects the speed. Just like you will see lower overall speed when using a remote speed testing server. Typically, when you use a streaming service, the content comes from the nearest content server in the CDN (Content Distribution Network), which is faster. If you use a VPN, you can receive this data from a server on another continent!
If your VPN supports this, you might want to set up split tunneling. Here, only certain traffic (like a streaming service) is routed through your VPN, while other traffic, like video game downloads or online banking, goes through your regular internet connection. Oddly enough, in some cases A VPN can speed up your connection will be enabled if your ISP uses traffic shaping, which restricts certain types of traffic.
Rely on Wi-Fi when cable is faster
I currently have a Wi-Fi 5 mesh network (yes, I know I'm behind the times) that has a theoretical maximum speed of 6.93 Gbps in lab conditions. In fact, I usually see 300-500 Mbps over Wi-Fi depending on the receiving device. My MacBook M4 is the only computer I own that consistently delivers these speeds wirelessly.
This means I only get half of the 1Gbps I'm paying for over Wi-Fi, which is fine since I also have some devices connected via Ethernet, which means they get access to the other 500Mbps. However, if you only With Wi-Fi and fast home Internet, you're likely to leave speed unattended.
Consider connecting devices that can be connected. For example, when I connect my laptop to the office, I use Ethernet because it eliminates the Wi-Fi part of the connection and now runs directly through my mesh wireless backhaul network. Likewise, I have an Ethernet cable with a USB Ethernet adapter permanently installed on my main router, connected directly to my fiber connection. This cable will pull 950Mbps on my 1Gbps connection, so if I have anything I need to download fast on my MacBook, laptop or other Wi-Fi device, I plug it in for a few minutes and instantly kill the download.
Hide the router in the worst place
We have published many guides on speed up your Wi-Fi and they all have one thing in common – router placement. Some materials block Wi-Fi, especially the fast 5GHz band, so take this into account when checking your Wi-Fi signal strength. Incorrect antenna angles can change the shape of the Wi-Fi bubble and impair reception, for example, on an upper or lower floor.
We all have a tendency to just place a router next to a fiber optic outlet or any other internet gateway device and assume everything is fine. But that's why there are blind spots and slow speeds in certain parts of your home. In fact, you need to make sure that your router is designed for the size and shape of the house you live in. Some routers are designed for better vertical transmission, while others are designed to cover a large area in one plane.
Ultimately, the best modern solution for whole-home coverage is a mesh network of routers that act and appear as one router to devices in your home and have their own wired or wireless backhaul. However, a single router or a router combined with Ethernet Powerline amplifiers or extenders may be more cost effective.
Ignoring basic network maintenance
Unfortunately, your home network isn't just something you set up and forget about. Your network will develop bugs and performance issues over time if you just leave it alone. A router is a type of computer with a processor, RAM, and additional storage, so it falls prey to the same problems as any computer. For example, sometimes it is useful to reboot it. Some routers even allow you to schedule reboots to happen while you sleep. Likewise, you need to update your router firmware to fix bugs or improve performance.
Older routers have a web interface to access their settings, but modern mesh systems and newer routers use mobile apps that make things easier. For example, my TP-Link Deco mesh routers allow me to “optimize” my Wi-Fi and mesh network in the app by automatically scanning for busy channels or poor connections between my router modules. Often when my network is slow, this magic button (or reboot) fixes it!
- Coating
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7500 square feet
- Number of supported devices
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100
- Groups
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3
- Speed
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5.7 Gbps
- Wi-Fi protocols
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WiFi 6E
