Is your internet slow? Welcome to the club. Few things are as universal as the frustration caused by telecom providers. If your connection has lost performance (whether spontaneously or gradually), it's most likely that something happened on the other side, but before you head to the WhatsApp support channel and start shouting at a bot, I recommend checking several details on your modem, router, and operating system. It's possible the key to higher speed is right there…
Internet is slow: Now what?
Unstable downloads? Intermittent WiFi signal quality? Speeds that don't come close to what the service promises? The headaches related to the internet are many and varied, but it will take more than a finicky link to make us give up. If your internet is slow, we have the tools and knowledge to fix it... as long as it's a local problem. The question is: where do we start?
Measure your connection speed
The first thing is to get a baseline, a benchmark that helps you determine how good or bad your connection speed is. That's solved with a visit to dedicated portals like Ookla's Speedtest, or Fast.com by Netflix.
Earlier we shared a list of sites to measure your connection speed. They all work very well, and if something is wrong, you'll notice almost immediately.
Optimize your WiFi signal
Is your main connection wireless? The conditions for modems with WiFi functions and dedicated routers can change without warning, but the most common mistake is placing them in a location that affects signal quality. As users, we must do everything possible to minimize the number of obstacles and achieve direct lines between routers and devices. If you want to know more, our guide to making your WiFi faster remains perfectly valid despite the years.
Another aspect I highlight there is that your router doesn't need competition, which I referred to above with changing conditions. A neighbor installs a new router, perhaps more powerful than yours, and ends up using the same channel. That could affect the quality/stability of your WiFi connection, therefore the recommendation is to download a copy of WiFi Analyzer on an Android device (it's open source!), or use something similar for Windows. Both programs will help us detect saturated channel conflicts, and if they exist, the solution is to enter your router's settings and change the channel.
Change your WiFi password
Continuing along the wireless path, this suggestion reaches more to the human factor than the technical one. Suppose you've decided to "loan" your WiFi connection to a friend, family member, or neighbor. The problem is that on many occasions, freedom is confused with libertinism, and if the other user starts downloading the 4K edition of "Princess Submissives 38" via BitTorrent without throttling when you're trying to work... don't expect good performance.
Some high-end routers enable download and speed limits by IP or MAC address, but the healthiest thing is to change the WiFi password. Don't remember how? This article will help you.
Replace your DNS servers
Often, connectivity problems are not linked to access in general, but to your provider's DNS servers that go down or don't resolve names correctly. The most common options for replacing DNS servers are two: at the router level, and on each device. The first is the most complete, because the changes are shared across all connections (the router "offers" your devices the DNS you configured).
However, nothing stops you from visiting the classic Control Panel, going through Network and Sharing Center, clicking Change adapter settings, entering the Properties of the active connection, then the TCP/IPv4 properties, and configuring DNS manually. Servers? OpenDNS (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220), Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) to begin. If you have doubts, run a benchmark!
Windows Update?
Yes, the internet is very slow with Windows Update. Under Windows 10 and Windows 11, updates are mandatory, and besides suggesting restarts at very inconvenient times, the operating system won't hesitate to download huge patches (which are also getting bigger and bigger). To check, go to the Settings section, click Update & Security, and observe the status of Windows Update. If you catch it in the middle of downloading hotfixes and notice it's choking your connection... wait. Windows will have its way one way or another, and it's better if it does it quickly.
Want to prevent it from happening again? Look for the Delivery Optimization menu in the advanced options. If you enter its advanced properties (redundancy intended), you can limit bandwidth for foreground and background downloads.
Scan for malware and repair your connection
Our next entry mentions two very specific tasks. One is to detect any malware infection on the system. Digital bugs try to spread or download additional material once they take control of the computer, and loss of connection performance is a frequent symptom. The first thing is to purge that malware with an appropriate combo (say, a Malwarebytes scan followed by an external antivirus).
If the infection disappears but connectivity problems persist, it may be necessary to repair the connection in one go by applying tools like Complete Internet Repair. This program is a "last resort", and the developer himself recommends not using it on healthy configurations. Basically, it returns Windows connectivity settings to their factory state, cleaning DNS (ipconfig /flushdns if you prefer manual) and emptying several caches.
Try another device... and the nuclear option
If nothing we've explored so far has managed to restore your connection speed, you should check whether the performance loss is limited to a single computer or affects all devices in the home. A smartphone or tablet should be enough to rule out an external and remote failure, but it's not a bad idea to use another computer, or alternatively, a Linux distro in live mode. Now, nobody wants to apply Lieutenant Ripley's diplomacy to recover connection speed on a computer, however, sometimes the deterioration is very advanced... and we have no other option.
Restart your modem/router
The last recommendation on the list, but not necessarily the last to implement. When you contact your provider, the first thing tech support will tell you is to turn off and on the modem/router, waiting between 10 and 30 seconds. A modem/router can stay linked for weeks if conditions are right, however, this doesn't last forever. With a bit of luck, that "power cycle" is all it needs to get back to normal.
Alright, you have work ahead. If your internet is slow, I sincerely hope some of these suggestions help you. Good luck!
