How to Fix Slow WiFi Connection

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Most of the time, if the problem is on your end, you can fix Slow Wi-Fi Connection. Sometimes, restarting your modem, router, or all-in-one Wi-Fi gateway can make your connection go faster. But your slow speeds could also be caused by problems on the end of your service that you can’t fix. There is no one way to fix Slow WiFi Connection, so it can be very confusing and even annoying.

There are many reasons why your Wi-Fi might not be working as fast as it should. It could be a problem with the Internet or with the Wi-Fi router. Fixing the speed of your Wi-Fi isn’t impossible, but it can be hard to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step to figure out why your Slow WiFi Connection and how to fix it.

Ways to Fix Slow WiFi Connection

Adjust Router for Better Signal

The WiFi signal can’t get through things like walls or microwaves, which are made of solid materials. If your signal strength is low, you’re probably losing a lot of packets, which makes your WiFi seem slow.

1. Place your router high in the central part of your house where any large concrete/metal objects do not directly block it.
2. Adjust the external antennas perpendicularly for max coverage.
3. If you have an old router lying around, you can use it as a WiFi Extender / Repeater to improve the WiFi coverage. Of course, devices made specifically for this are also available in the market.

Check Other Devices on the WiFi

When one device on a network streams high-quality video or downloads a big file, it can slow down the internet for everyone else. This can be especially annoying when everyone is using the WiFi at the same time, like in the evening.

1. Open the Router Settings Page. Refer to the Access Router Settings section towards the end if you need help with this.
2. Navigate to Status or Device/System Info or similar tab.
3. Check the Connected Clients or Attached Devices or similar list.

Use Ping Test to Determine the Cause of the Issue

Use a ping test to find out first if the problem is on the user’s end or on the ISP’s end. Ping is a tool that lets you find out how long it usually takes for a packet of data sent from the client to reach the host and get the recognized (ACK) handshake.

We suggest using a big packet size (10000 bytes) for the test, since packet loss won’t always be obvious with the default size. To do so:

Windows

1. Press Windows + R to launch Run.
2. Type cmd and press Enter to launch Command Prompt.
3. Type ipconfig and press Enter to show your network adapter info.
4. Note the Default Gateway. Use this value in the next step.
5. Type ping Default Gateway -t -l 10000and press Enter.
6. After around 15 pings, press Control + C to stop the ping test.

Mac

1. Open the Terminal.
2. Type ipconfig and press Enter to show your network adapter info.
3. Note the Default Gateway. Use this value in the next step.
4. Type ping Default Gateway -s 10000 and press Enter.
5. After around 15 pings, press Control + C to stop the ping test.

Change Wi-Fi Channel

Frequency congestion can cause your network to have a lot of disturbance, which can slow down the WiFi. To prevent this, your router changes frequencies in an orderly way when it needs to.

So, you can choose any Wi-Fi channel you want, but we suggest setting your Wi-Fi channel to “auto.” Most of the time, your router will figure out the best channel on its own. To do so:

1. Open the Router Settings Page. Refer to the Access Router Settings section towards the end if you need help with this.
2. Switch to the Wireless or WLAN tab (or similar). In some routers, these may be under advanced settings.
3. Select Automatic and press Apply to save changes.

Secure your Wi-Fi

If you looked at the list of devices in the above answer and saw one or more unknown devices, your Wi-Fi connection may have been taken over. Someone could be using your Wi-Fi without your permission, which would make it slow down. Change your password and use WPA2 security with AES/TKIP encryption to keep your Wi-Fi safe.

1. Open the Router Settings Page. Refer to the Access Router Settings section towards the end if you need help with this.
2. Navigate to Advanced Settings > Wireless or WLAN or similar tab.
3. Set a new password and select WPA2 as security and AES/TKIP as encryption.
4. Press Apply to save the changes.