7 Ways to fix a slow home office internet browsing

7 Ways to fix a slow home office internet browsing

Few things hinder office productivity more than a slow and unreliable internet connection. Slow downloads, intermittent connectivity, and lag are all common problems that easily get in the way of everyday workflows. Fortunately, most problems are fairly easy to fix. Before you begin, run a speed test at speedtest.net so you can compare your results. If the performance isn’t up to expectations, the following tips might help:

#1. Eliminate interference

If you’re running a wireless network, you’ll need to eliminate common sources of interference, such as other networks using the same channel. Other electronics, such as microwaves and cordless phones, can also cause interference by adding digital “noise.” Also, the more walls or ceilings there are between the router and the device connecting to it, the worse the signal. If that’s a problem, consider installing wireless range extenders or using power line networking.

#2. Upgrade your network

While replacing your hardware and underlying infrastructure might sound like a drastic step, running outdated components and firmware can make it impossible to get the best speed from your network. For example, wireless networking hardware should use the 802.11ac protocol or newer, which may necessitate a router upgrade or new networking cards for the computers. Cabled connections should always use Cat-7 cables to prevent jitter in online phone calls.

#3. Remove bandwidth hogs

By far the biggest influence on internet performance is the amount of bandwidth that applications consume. In particular, video streaming and downloads typically use all available bandwidth, and it doesn’t take long before all other internet-dependent operations slow down. To prevent this from occurring, be sure to prioritize bandwidth so critical business systems always have enough. Another common bandwidth hog is automated file synchronization and backup, which you should ideally schedule to happen outside of office hours.

#4. Use an adblocker

Online ads aren’t just annoying — they can also hog bandwidth and greatly increase webpage loading times, especially if you have a slow connection to begin with. This is particularly true of video ads, which often run by default. Not only does this slow down your connection, but it can also end up costing you money if you’re on a metered mobile connection. Try using an adblocker to improve internet performance and protect your privacy.

#5. Delete your browsing history

As you browse the web and access your online services, your computer collects an extensive history of your activities in the form of saved downloads, cookies, and cached content. While this shouldn’t ordinarily slow down your connection, there are cases where it might, such as when you have conflicting files or misconfigurations. It can also end up consuming a lot of disk space, so it’s good practice to delete your browsing history occasionally.

#6. Use a cabled connection

Wireless connections might be convenient, but you’re never going to get the best performance possible. If your office has a fiber optic broadband, then using a cabled connection will improve speed and reliability by eliminating interference. If you must use wireless, make sure you’re using the latest hardware and protocols. In the end, though, a cabled connection is always going to be faster and less laggy than a wireless one, at least until 5G networks become common.

#7. Flush DNS records

Your computer keeps a record of the IP addresses of every website you visit or every computer you connect to via the internet. While this helps speed up future visits by resolving domain names faster, the opposite may occur if the website moves to a new server, in which case you’ll be redirected. Flushing the DNS records can, in such situations, result in a performance boost. You can do this on Windows 10 by pressing the Windows key and R and entering “ipconfig /flushdns” into the command line prompt.

Of course, if your business is still suffering from slow internet despite following the advice above, Founders Technology Group can help. We offer professional network optimization solutions so your business can operate efficiently at all times. Call us today to find out more.