Why Home WiFi is Slow and 3 Solutions

I got a question about my favorite topic, "Wireless Network", so I'll roll up my arms and answer it.

Lifehacker has talked about WiFi many times because it's a stressful factor that causes a lot of trouble from readers, which makes Tech 911 very dissatisfied.

WiFi is slow and doesn't work

The other day, Lifehacker's favorite reader Gareth asked this question.

3 troubleshooting

First of all, thank you Gareth for sending us your question with a picture of the WiFi nightmare.

I was able to confirm that the connection speed is the worst (downstream 5 Mbps or less) on both your PS4 and old laptop, but the speed is high (downstream 110 Mbps or more) on the smartphone.

I had some troubleshooting ideas in my head until I read in the question that the speed wasn't stable at all when I connected it to my device via an ethernet cable.

This is a little tricky.

In general, there are three basic troubleshooting tips I often suggest when you have problems with inconsistent connection speeds between devices.

The questioner seems to have already done the first TIPS. So, if you want to solve the network problem, try the second one.

After that, it is also recommended to reset the router to the factory default state. You'll have to reconfigure your WiFi, which is about 5 minutes.

This may solve the problem in some places.

Last but not least, the questioner assumes that you connect your laptop directly to the router's ethernet port (rather than a WiFi repeater) and use a relatively new ethernet cable (CAT5e or CAT6).

Just in case, try using a different ethernet cable.

745 yen

It's really strange that the questioner's PS4 is struggling to connect to the Ethernet so much.

It seems that the same result was obtained when the old laptop was connected directly to the router via Ethernet.

If you want to speed up, try reconnecting to your PS4. If it's still slow, try connecting with a new laptop.

Which is the problem, the router or the device?

Basically, the goal here is to find out if there is a problem with the router (I think this is the problem) or if there is a problem with the device.

Normally, if you have a problem with your router, you'll probably have problems with all the connected devices, but there may be some variables that make it difficult to spot the problem.

For example, a new laptop may be connecting in the 5GHz band of a router with a stable connection.

Older laptops, on the other hand, can only connect at 2.4GHz, which may be causing any problems.

The Ethernet problem is annoying, but it can also be normal speed if you use a different ethernet cable or try a different ethernet port on your router.

If the router you are using is a router / modem provided by your ISP, you should contact your ISP to have it replaced (or upgraded).

If your ISP is reluctant or the questioner doesn't want to go that far, ask if your device has the required firmware updates (or unplug your cable modem, wait a few minutes, and then plug it back in again. , Will be forcibly updated).

Try buying a new router yourself

You can also buy a new router yourself (a cheap and simple one that gives you the speed you have a contract with is recommended).

Set your cable modem / router to bridge mode.

Basically, let the new router do all the heavy lifting.

If you already have this setup, it's probably worth looking for a new router as a troubleshooting step.

Again, choose a fast and simple router like the $ 60 TP-Link Archer A7 and replace it with the one you're currently using.

This should completely solve the problem. Perhaps you don't even need a WiFi repeater to connect properly throughout the house.

In general, I prefer not to use a WiFi repeater if I don't have to. If you don't install it in the correct location (almost halfway between the location of the router and the coverage of the router), the speed will not increase.

Also, the WiFi repeater itself may not support router backhaul connections.

You may want to use 5GHz to connect to your router and output a 2.4GHz network, or you may want to use 2.4GHz to connect to a router and output a 5GHz network.

If the WiFi repeater is set to transmit to the device or router in the same bandwidth, the speed will be half (minimum) of the maximum possible speed.

Divide into 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band

I think it's great that the questioner came to troubleshoot the router. Switching to fast DNS is a common troubleshooting that can be done in any situation.

However, I don't think it is necessary to do port forwarding.

It affects the overall connection (for example, when connecting to an online gaming service), but not the download / upload speed.

Another thing that comes to mind is that if the questioner really wants to use this router, divide the WiFi network into 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

That way, you can barely use it, at least as long as the device has access to one of its moderately fast bands.

However, this is just a first aid measure.

If all of my suggestions don't work, I think you should go buy a new router.

It's common for routers to be weird!

I want to read it together

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Image: Shutterstock

Source: Portforward

David Murphy --Lifehacker US