Whenever the wrath of a faint internet connection creeps on to you, you start blaming the multiple users connected to the network without giving it much of rational thought. You make abrupt decisions such as switching to a new provider or upgrade your plans right away.
Well, hold up right there and don’t jump on to the provider switching bandwagon just yet. That should be your last resort. At times, a prolonging slow connection has a simpler fix than you consider it to be.
Reset your modem, router, and switch
The primary culprits for a constantly problematic connection can be your modem and router. The traditional fix to this dilemma is resetting both the devices. Simply plug out/in or turn the devices off/on, wait a few seconds, and once your system reconnects to the internet, check if the issue persists.
If nothing happens even after you have reset the modem and router, try to reset the switch, as well. The modem, router and switch are standard components in an Ethernet network and work to increase network potential. So opt for a switch that will really do the job.
Make sure to ask every connected user in your household to check the same. If resetting the equipment didn’t help and it’s not a hardware program, proceed to the following troubleshooting tips.
Run an online speed test
There are many platforms where you can test out your internet speed but make sure you choose a reliable one so that the results aren’t inaccurate. Also ensure to perform the speed test at least twice because running it once can give unreliable results. Another thing to take care of is to stop all online activities. That includes not online gaming and putting a halt to downloading and streaming altogether.
It’s also likely that you are paying a certain amount for your internet plan, suppose 25 Mbps, but the speed test results aren’t anywhere near that. If that’s the case, consider getting in touch with your ISP, detect the underlying issue and then choose to get a speed upgrade.
Clear background applications
Background applications hog unrequired space in your system. Each time they do and you start doing multiple activities at once, such as downloading or opening many browser tabs, you feel your system performance slow down. Why? It’s because a few applications, even after you stop using them, tend to be active in the background. This mostly holds true for games and programs such as Skype that are active until you manually remove them from the system application tray.
Run a virus scanner
At times, running a speed test to identify the issue and changing equipment doesn’t work either. The issue is hidden under many layers and can be a tad bit taxing to find. Eventually it could be malicious programs and worms that tend to infiltrate operating systems. The slower you realize it, the more damage these worms tend to leave. The most common identification of a computer worm is that it gradually slows down internet speed, system performance and even hijacks browsers. Operating systems such as Windows comes with its very own Windows Defender suite. But there are several other reliable programs as well such as McAfee and Avast Anti-Virus which one can use to run regular malware and virus checks.
Contact ISP customer support
If the aforementioned troubleshooting tips don’t work out for you, the last thing you can consider is a change in internet connection but before doing so, have a thorough consultation with your ISP customer support and find where the issue lies. Or even if you don’t change your connection type or not upgrade your plans, its probable the internet issue isn’t from your end but there’s.
Many internet providers have a dedicated customer support platform just like Charter customer service does. You get to relay your queries to the provider’s support representative. In turn, they help you identify the issue and perform the relevant measures to fix it.
The endnote
Surely, it’s daunting when your ping spikes whilst gaming and you end up losing a match or two. But with the right set of troubleshooting measures, you will find where the issue lies and get a permanent fix for it.