Download Speed Very Slow

Ethernet internet cable next to a snail — Kerdkanno/Shutterstock

There are many reasons your Internet connexion might appear slow. Information technology could exist a problem with your modem or router, Wi-Fi signal, signal strength on your cable line, devices on your network saturating your bandwidth, or even a slow DNS server. These troubleshooting steps volition help you lot pivot down the cause.

Narrow Down the Trouble With Multiple Websites and Devices

If your speed examination confirms your internet is dull, you should try connecting to multiple websites and using multiple devices in your home if your Cyberspace connection is slow. If the slowness is only with one website, it's probably that website'south problem—not your internet'southward. There's non really annihilation you can do about this except wait for the people in charge of the website to fix it.

Narrowing downwardly where the problem lies will help yous fix information technology. Does the slowness only happen on one computer, or all your devices? If it's but one computer, you know the solution probably lies there. You may simply have to reboot the computer, or you may need to perform a malware scan with your preferred antivirus to check that everything is fine. If the slowness happens on multiple devices—multiple computers, for example, or your estimator and your phone—then it's most certainly a network problem, and y'all'll take to go to your router.

Check Your Speed and Compare It to Your Plan

Internet speed test results

RELATED: How to Test Your Net Connexion Speed or Cellular Information Speed

Before going through a bunch of troubleshooting on your end, information technology's worth running a speed examination using a website like Speedtest.net to see how well it's actually performing. Be sure to stop any downloads, uploads, Netflix streaming, or other heavy internet action earlier running the test to ensure as little interference with the results equally possible.

Compare the measured speed results against the expected speed of the Internet connexion you're paying for. If yous don't know this, in that location's a good chance you can find it on the bill for your Internet connexion or your Internet service provider's website.

RELATED: Why Y'all Probably Aren't Getting the Internet Speeds You're Paying For (and How to Tell)

There are some caveats here. Speed tests may sometimes appear rather high, every bit some Cyberspace service providers may prioritize them and they may have servers very close to you. If your connexion speed appears a chip low, that tin be normal—y'all by and large pay for "upwards to" a certain speed and you don't always go the exact speed you pay for. Speeds may besides exist slower at busier times of the day, when everyone in your neighborhood is using the Internet connectedness, than at off hours when many people are sleeping or at work.

Of course, information technology could too but exist that you pay for a very dull internet programme—in which case y'all'll need to call your internet provider and pay more to upgrade your service!

However, if you're paying for a certain connectedness speed and consistently receive speed test results that are well below that, it's time to move to the troubleshooting steps below.

Reboot Your Modem and Router

Make sure the power cable is securely plugged into your network equipment — trainman111/Shutterstock

Like computers, modems and routers sometimes get stuck in a bad, wearisome, overloaded land. This trouble can be fixed with a reboot. If you lot haven't rebooted your router and modem in a while, you should practice it now.

If you take a combined modem/router unit, you may merely have 1 device to reboot. But there's a good risk y'all need to reboot two pieces of hardware: the router and the modem. The router connects to the modem, which is continued to the cable coming out of the wall. To reboot them, unplug each from their corresponding power outlets for ten seconds earlier plugging them back in. It may take a few minutes for your modem to reconnect to your Net service provider and bring your Cyberspace connectedness online, and then be patient. Bank check if your speed improves afterwards the reboots.

RELATED: Why Rebooting Your Router Fixes And then Many Issues (and Why Y'all Have to Await x Seconds)

Improve Your Wi-Fi Signal

closeup of a wireless router and a young man using a smartphone on living room at home with a window in the background — Casezy idea/Shutterstock

It'due south possible your net is fine, just your Wi-Fi—which connects you to the internet—is having signal problems. A bad Wi-Fi connection can seem like an Internet connexion trouble, peculiarly since it can affect all the devices in your home. There are quite a few reasons you may have a bad Wi-Fi signal. The airwaves could be congested with too many devices nearby, especially if y'all're using 2.4 GHz and not five GHz, which can support a lot more devices. This is a specially common problem in denser urban areas—for example, if yous live in an apartment complex with neighbors who have a bunch of wireless routers and other devices.

Y'all could as well just have a dead zone, something interfering with your Wi-Fi signal, or poor converage throughout your dwelling house. Consult our guide to speeding up your Wi-Fi and getting a better signal for more tips.

If you have a larger home or yard and need better Wi-FI coverage, consider getting a mesh Wi-Fi arrangement that provides multiple base of operations stations you lot can place around your home or property.

RELATED: How To Get a Ameliorate Wireless Signal and Reduce Wireless Network Interference

Stop Saturating Your Connection (or Endeavor QoS)

Check which devices are saturating your network

Your Net connection is shared by all the devices in your home, so other devices on your network could be saturating your Internet connection, slowing things down for everyone else.

For instance, if two people are streaming Netflix and 1 person is trying to download a file with BitTorrent, everyone'south experience volition tedious downwards. Finish (or boring down) some of those other downloads to speed things up.

RELATED: How to Use Quality of Service (QoS) to Become Faster Internet When You lot Really Need It

If this is a particularly frequent problem, you lot may have to upgrade your net package. All the same, yous tin also see if your router has a Quality of Service (QoS) characteristic, which will allow your router to automatically manage and assign how much bandwidth different devices and services receive. For example, it can automatically throttle BitTorrent bandwidth to avert slowing down Netflix streams.

Check for Coax Splitters

Splitter for connecting coaxial TV cable on white background — Valiik30/Shutterstock

If y'all have cable Net and you lot accept coaxial cable splitters on the line going to your cable modem, these could exist degrading your point strength and leading to slower Internet connection. Splitters vary in quality, and a bad, cheap one could lower your indicate strength much more than than a college quality ane would. A large number of splitters could cause a trouble, also.

If you exercise have splitters on your cable line, endeavor disconnecting them to troubleshoot your Cyberspace connection. See how your Cyberspace connection performs without any splitters on the line. If you take a much faster Cyberspace connexion speed, you've constitute your problem.

RELATED: How to Troubleshoot Your Cyberspace Connection, Layer-Past-Layer

Try Another DNS Server

In some cases, switching DNS servers can help speed up your credible connexion speed if your default Internet service provider DNS servers are slow.

Here'south how DNS works: When you connect to a website like google.com, your estimator contacts its DNS servers and asks "What numerical IP accost is associated with google.com?" It gets an answer dorsum and connects to that IP address, which may exist something like 216.58.193.78 then connects to that address.

Typically, your DNS servers are provided by your Internet access provider. But, if they're slow or overloaded, you lot may be able to get ameliorate speed by switching to another set of DNS servers. Google Public DNS and OpenDNS are both pretty pop.

RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Irresolute Your DNS Server

Call Your ISP and Report the Problem

Close up of a man using mobile smart phone — file404/Shutterstock

If you've run through all these troubleshooting steps and tin't set the trouble, at that place'south a practiced chance it's not a problem you tin can fix. Information technology may be your Internet access provider's trouble. For instance, in that location may be a problem with the cablevision line running from your house to your ISP, or with some other equipment they take. In this instance, y'all should call your Internet service provider and report the problem.

Y'all're paying your Internet service provider to provide a stable conneciton, and it's their task to set up any problems with information technology on their end. Just exist sure it's actually their problem, and not a problem on your terminate—similar Wi-Fi betoken issues.