Increase Download Speed

If you’re working at home and frustrated with your download speeds, it may be time to investigate your home setup to see whether there is an obvious culprit that’s slowing things down. To improve your download speeds, work through the following checklist to isolate the issue and improve your speeds.

Test your current speed

First, you need to test your current speed to understand where you are and how far it is from where you want to be.

Understand how fast you can expect your speed to be

Contact your cable provider to learn what type of download speeds you should expect and compare this to the speed you recorded in the first step. Additionally, consider factors like your distance from the exchange, as people who are closer will definitely get faster speeds than those who are farther.

Try a new modem or router

Borrow a modem or router or break out an old one to see whether it’s your equipment that’s hampering your download speeds.

Check for viruses

Viruses are notorious for dragging down your download speeds. It’s always a good idea to double check and ensure that a virus isn’t bogging down your system.

Switch to a wired connection

Wifi is convenient, but if you’re looking to seriously improve your download speeds, you’re going to want to hardwire your computer. Ethernet cables are inexpensive and a surefire way to improve your download speeds for the wired device.

Monitor other device usage

If you’ve got multiple devices sucking up wifi at once, your download speeds will be impacted. Don’t stream music from the iPhone, watch a movie on the iPad, and try to download photos to your desktop all at the same time.

Do a hard reboot

It’s cliche, but sometimes turning off your modem or router and turning it back on again can be the reset that you need to boost your speeds. Perform a hard reset for one or both devices when download speeds get too low.

Keep your gear updated

Keeping your modem and router updated, both with their software and hardware will help you to capture the best download speeds with your connection.

Get outside help

If you’re still stumped, you can always call your cable company and have them run a line check to ensure that you’re actually getting the speeds they advertise. Additionally, you can contact a computer professional to help you evaluate your network and devices to help you get the best download speeds possible.