Internet speed means a lot for many people now more than ever. It is essential to productivity in the work from home (WFH) set up. But are you struggling with your internet speed? If yes, this post is for you.
In this post, you’ll know how to maximise your home internet plans and make your internet speed faster than ever.
1. Find a perfect place for your router.
Place the router in an open space. Use third-party apps to identify your home’s dead zones. Set up the router in your home’s central location. But keep the router away from the dead zone areas. Don’t place it near refrigerators, walls, huge aquariums, microwave ovens, and radios as these can cause connection interference.
2. Disconnect other devices from the router.
If it’s time to work, disconnect idle devices from the router. Smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices usually run automatic updates when connected to a Wi-Fi. Yes, excellent home internet plans usually offer good speed even when the router is connected to different devices simultaneously. But you can significantly increase the speed if you unplug unused devices.
3. Create different SSIDs for your gadgets and allocate more speed to your work device.
SSID or service set identifier makes your network identifiable to users. If you share the Wi-Fi router with many people at home, you might experience a slight slack in the speed. The trick is to allocate a specific bandwidth amount for specific devices.
4. Use a separate frequency for your work device.
Are you using a router with both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands? If yes, allocate one band for your work device only to enjoy some level of speed exclusivity. This will reduce congestion.
5. Connect your device using a LAN cable.
Yes, wireless connection is definitely more convenient. But if you’re after speed, experts still suggest that connecting your device using a LAN cable affords you a better and faster connection. Ethernet connection is also more stable than wireless because the traffic transfer is faster between the work device and router. This is the reason many online gamers use Ethernet connection to increase reaction time when playing.
6. Choose your time for work wisely.
Internet usage also has peak times. Unless you’re required to be online for work at specific times of the day, it would be wise to start working after the peak times. You may also schedule meetings and video-conferencing sessions at strategic times of the day. It’s also practical to time-shift or schedule high-bandwidth downloads and uploads during the night when there’s less people connected to the internet. For your OS and software, there’s also an option for pausing and scheduling updates for a couple of hours or days.
7. Use Wi-Fi extenders or repeaters.
Using a Wi-Fi Extender is one of the ways to enjoy a faster internet connection and make the most out of your home internet plans. A Wi-Fi extender acts like a bridge that captures and rebroadcasts the signal of your router. As it widens your router’s coverage, this device is most useful if you have a lot of walls and dead zones at home.
Nowadays, Wi-Fi extenders usually come in plug-in or desktop devices. A desktop device closely resembles a router, but is significantly smaller. Meanwhile, a plug-in device needs to be connected to an electrical socket. Both types of extenders come with one or two Ethernet ports.
The browser plug-ins, cached files, and cookies could also cause some slack in your browsing speed. Take time to check the browser plug-ins you currently have. And uninstall the ones you don’t use frequently. To get rid of the cached files and cookies, go to the browser’s settings. You can find the “clear browsing data” option in the privacy and security section.
9. Check and reconsider the software you’re using.
Avoid streaming movies, listening to live music, and watching videos as you work. These online activities can eat a huge chunk of data. It also helps to schedule software updates during off peak or non-business hours to prevent interference with your browsing.
10. Upgrade your internet plan.
Have you done all the tips above, but to no avail? If yes, it’s possible that you really need more bandwidth. Take into account all the devices at home that can possibly connect to your router. If you’ve added more gadgets over the years, perhaps it’s time for a data plan upgrade. Or if you have more workload now, a better router, such as Plume Device, and internet plan would be good additions to your WFH setup.
Working from home can be a great experience, if you can maintain your productivity. And you can achieve this by making sure your internet connection is fast and stable. With the right internet plan and router, you can adjust and thrive in this new normal set up easily.
