Working from home can quickly become a nightmare when the wireless speed drops and the buffering wheel seems to be driving to the other side of the world. Use these 5 tips to get the most out of your WiFi connection and put a stop to the frustration!
- Restart the Router! This might be a bit of an IT get out of jail free card – but it’s surprising how often it works. Simply pull the power from the router, plug it back in, wait a few minutes and watch the Mbps soar! If you’re not sure which one the router is it will be the one with the flashing lights and aerials. Broadband providers might call this a Hub, HomeHub, Modem, Gateway – it’s all the same thing, the box that is connected to the telephone socket.
- Give the Router room to breathe! As the router is often a device you never need to touch you may have stuffed it in a cupboard with other electronics and devices. These can cause interference and severely reduce your WiFi range and speed. Move it out of the cupboard, put it up high if you can, and remove other devices from being near it.
- Get Closer. This one might be a bit of a no brainer, but getting closer really does make a difference. If possible be in the same room.
- Turn off devices. Your WiFi and internet connection are both shared by all the devices in the house. The more devices talking to the internet, the slower your connection is going to be.
- Take control of your router! This is the ultimate method of getting that connection speed back. Buried in the admin center for your router, is the ability to block devices, set schedules and manage bandwidth. You can essentially limit the children’s devices and allocate the bandwidth to your devices. Some routers will even be able to limit certain applications – so you could limit Netflix during the day when you’re working, and increase it in the evening when you want to use it.
To test connection speed we use https://www.speedtest.net/
If you need help getting to grips with any of this – please contact our helpdesk on 01428770290
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