11 Ways to improve your Internet Speed and Performance

This article is provided by Truenet. You can find the original article here: How to get the most out of your Internet Connection. TrueNet is an independent company dedicated to the accurate measurement and reporting of broadband performance. 

Most homes are connected to the Internet over DSL in New Zealand. Usually DSL speed is referred to as "up to" because the broadband speeds your line can receive to your door will depend on a number of factors, including how far you are from your local exchange - the closer you are, the higher the speed your line can handle. However there are a few things that can improve your speed.

1 - Review Your Plan. Choose the fastest possible broadband plan for your area

Check whether your neighbourhood is fibre-ready. Check out the difference between ADSL vs. VDSL - VDSL is up to three times faster than standard broadband and if you can get fibre, it's a no-brainer. To find out what's available in your area use the handy fiber address checker: 

2 - Make Sure Your Modem Is In The Best Spot

The further away you are from your modem, the weaker the signal is. Put it in open space, free of walls and obstructions. Keep it away from other electronics if you can – they can interfere with the WiFi signal. Make sure you don’t keep them directly next to your modem. ( To test for interference, switch the device or appliance off and check to see if this improves your internet speed.) Also, if you find your WiFi speeds are slow or the signal’s weak, it could be interference from your neighbour’s Wi-Fi. Try logging into your router and changing the WiFi channel to see if that helps. Every modem is different, but you should be able to change the WiFi channels in the modem settings. Google is your friend when it comes to finding guides on how to do this – just search “WiFi channel (your modem model number.)"

3 - Service Your Computer/Devices 

If your modem is more than three years old, it's worth upgrading it to impove performance of your broadband. Check there is nothing else slowing you down. Update your browser. Upgrade your software and virus protection. Check apps you've got running in the background and reduce the load.  Refresh and reset your router every now and again for faster internet. 

4 - Use a good router

Having a good modem/router is essential to a good Internet experience, especially if you have a lot of people online at your place. A huge percentage of speed related problems come down to an old, cheap or otherwise dicky router. If you get a good one, it’ll eliminate a huge range of possible problems and make your Internet experience much better. The expected lifespan of a cheap router is one to three years, but if you invest a little more, you can expect your router to last you five years or more 

5 - Extend your signal

If you’re struggling to find a signal in the farthest room of your house, you could try using a wifi booster. They’re available at most tech stores- here's a link for the best wifi boosters 2017.

6 - Schedule updates to occur at night

Set your devices to update at night, when you’re asleep. Another tip is to make sure that other devices around your home aren’t running programs in the background – this will help ensure that they aren’t sucking up your precious bandwidth.

7 - Secure your modem

If your Wi-Fi is unprotected, your neighbours can use it and cause congestion. To prevent this, make sure you have a password lock on your Wi-Fi.

8 - Plug in to stream/game

For those who are gaming or streaming movies and TV shows, plugging your device directly into your modem with a network cable will improve the experience by removing any interference.

9 - Use a splitter

If you want a standard phone service, you must have a splitter, so make sure a proper master splitter is attached to the master block.  This is the point where the telephone line arrives from the street. Ensure that your modem has the shortest cable to the splitter. Never use an extension cable for the modem, the cable is poor network quality and may reduce your speed to a crawl.

10 - Make sure your home wiring is sorted

If you use cable, use only ethernet cable to connect your computer. If you’ve got ADSL or VDSL, you should check that your wiring is up to scratch. (If you’re on fibre, you won’t have to worry about this.) Many homes, especially older houses, often have wiring that doesn’t provide a good broadband connection. Over time, wiring in your home can corrode or get damaged. This can seriously inhibit the speed you get from your connection. If you notice that your internet sometimes slows down or cuts out from time to time, get in touch with your ISP. They’ll check your connection, and let you know if you should get a technician to have a look at your internal wiring. If needed, they can arrange to fit a ‘master filter’ to bypass any bad wiring, or you can arrange this yourself. There may be an additional charge for this, but if you’re having connection trouble and can’t get fibre, it’s well worth doing.

11 - Move!

If all else fails, move house closer to an exchange or cabinet. Just kidding, that may not work either!

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