Still Buffering? Why Your Internet Is Being Super Slow (And What To Do About It!)

I think the route of many arguments in our home is the internet. Kids moan if they spend ages waiting for their Youtube video to load up. And it can lead to arguments if one of the siblings has to switch off the device so the other can use it! But a lot of people don’t know why they keep seeing buffering on their devices. Here are some reasons why your internet is being super slow, and what to do about it to keep your family happy!

      Image from flickr

You are using too many devices at the same time

It’s common for families to have several devices. After all, most families now have a phone, a tablet, and a laptop! And the more kids you have, the more devices they will be running in the home. But with so many devices being used at once, it can drain your internet of its juice. After all, your internet can only handle so much! Therefore, everyone who is using the net might start experiencing slow internet. To help ensure you boost the internet speed, you should limit the use of devices. Let kids have an hour or two each to ensure everyone gets a quick time on the net. It might cause arguments at first, but everyone will be a lot happier when the internet runs at a faster speed! And turn off the WI-FI on your phones when you are not using them. After all, they might be reducing the speed without you even using them. And if you get 4G through your monthly phone package, you might as well use that, rather than draining the WI-FI in your home!

You have the router positioned too far away

 A lot of people put the router in one place in their home. And they don’t really think about where everyone will be using the internet. But if it’s positioned at the other side of the home to where everyone is using their devices, it’s bound to cause the buffering sign to appear! Therefore, move your router so that it’s positioned close to the main room where everyone uses the net. You should notice your speed will dramatically improve if you sit closer to the router. Also, for the main computer, it’s best to use an Ethernet cable which connects to the router. It will ensure the primary device gets the most internet, so it runs at a quick speed.

 You are getting a low speed from your provider

 One of the main reasons why you have to suffer loading pages is because of your internet speed. After all, if it’s running too slow, your family are going to be the ones to face the consequences. Therefore, run an internet speed check online to see how fast your internet is going. Once you have got this information, you can ring your provider and ask them for an explanation of the low speed. It might be necessary for you to move on to a different package so that your family gets a fast speed. Or it might be worth looking online to find an internet provider who can give you a better deal with a faster internet speed. That way, your family won’t have to wait for ages when using the net!

 You are using it at peak times

So many of us decide to use the internet when we get home from work. Or your family might spend weekends watching films on online platforms such as Netflix. Unfortunately, as so many families are using the net at these peak times, it can mean that your internet might run at a slow speed. Although there is not much you can do about it, you can avoid these times if you want a quicker speed. For example, mid-week evenings will be a lot better if you want to watch a film online. And avoid downloading during peak times if you don’t want it to take forever. Put games on to download overnight so your kids can play them without an issue the next day!

Pixabay

 You are running too many applications on your computer

 A lot of us have so many applications running on our computer without us even knowing. It’s so important to get rid of these if you want to use the internet without an issue. Get up your task manager and check what is currently running on your computer. That way, you can get rid of programs you are not using right at that moment such as Skype. The same thing applies to your phone and tablet; ensure you haven’t left apps such as Facebook running in the background. Not only will it make the net slow, but it will also sip all your battery juice, so you will have to charge the device before long!

 Your router is old

 When we move into a property, we tend to get a new router to use for our broadband. However, over the years, new ones will come out, and we tend to still have the same router. After all, providers tend to only change it if you ring to complain about the old one! Therefore, call your provider and explain what’s occurring with your internet. They can tell you if the reason for your slow internet is down to that old router. They should get a new one sent out to you for a small cost!

You have too many documents on your computer

 It’s easy to end up with a ton of documents on our computer. After all, we tend to save email attachments in our documents. And photos from our camera are often saved on our computer. However, using so much of your hard drive can slow down your computer and the internet connection. Therefore, it’s time to go through your documents and photos and delete ones that you don’t need anymore. As this article says, for things you want to keep, you could always burn them to CD, or even put them for safe keeping on an external hard drive. You will soon notice a difference in your internet speed if you do make space on your hard drive.

 

Hopefully, you won’t have to experience slow internet again anytime soon!