How Can I Speed Up My Internet Connection?
Want to speed up your Internet? A slow, crawling Internet connection is a source of great frustration. Sometimes the slowdown is beyond your control; the Internet is subject to traffic jams just like any other highway. But there are some things you can do to maximize whatever speed you are able to get. |
Get a Faster Internet Connection
Let's start with the wire that connects your computer to the Internet. If you have a dialup connection, you're traveling the information superhighway in a horse and buggy. If DSL service is available from your phone company, upgrading will make the Internet seem like a different place. If you have DSL, consider moving to cable or a fiber optic connection, which can be 10X faster.
For those in very rural areas, satellite and mobile broadband may be good alternatives. My article What is The Fastest Internet Connection? goes into more detail on the different connection options.
If you've already got some type of "high-speed" internet connection, sometimes a problem with the wiring, cabling or fiber optic lines between the utility pole and your computer can cause a degradation in speed. Loose cable connections can slow down the Internet. If your computer is hardwired to your router, unplug the cable connections at both ends and reseat them firmly. Also reseat the cable that brings the Internet into your router or modem.
I had a problem once with a slow cable internet connection, which turned out to be caused by the wires rubbing against a tree in my yard. Squirrels have also been known to chew on these cables. If you think the problem lies between your router and the pole, contact your service provider to have the wires checked.
And it's not unheard of for Internet service providers to throttle your connection speed without telling you. You can ask your ISP to test your connection and certify that you are getting all the bandwidth for which you are paying. Or do it yourself! See my article Internet Speed Tests to find out how.
Slow Internet -- Hardware Factors
If you have a router that was installed by your Internet provider, and your Internet speed seems to bog down often, try rebooting the router. I recommend that you shut off the router, wait a minute, then restart it and wait for it to reconnect to the Internet. If that makes a big difference, your router may be defective, and should be replaced.
Also, if you have a router, you probably don't need a software firewall running on your computer. That's because most consumer grade routers have a hardware firewall built into them. If your router's features include Network Address Translation (NAT), then the Windows Firewall is redundant and it's slowing down your Internet. Go to Control Panel, System and Security, and turn off Windows Firewall. See my related article Do I Really Need a Firewall? for more info on that topic.
Wireless networks can have flaky connections, too. If you are not getting a five-bar signal from your wireless router, reposition the router and/or your computer's WiFi adapter until reception is as good as you can get. You might consider a USB high-gain WiFi adapter, or a high-gain antenna. My article 10 Ways To Boost a WiFi Signal has some other tips you can try.
Software upgrades are key to getting the best Internet speed possible. Keep the router's firmware, your WiFi adapter's driver, your operating system, and other security up to date. A computer that's infested with viruses or spyware (malware) can come to a crawl when accessing the Internet. My list of Free Anti-Virus Programs will point you in the right direction if you need help removing malware from your computer.
You can also try an alternative DNS service provider, which may speed up the lookup of Web sites. I covered OpenDNS, Google Public DNS, and others (http://askbobrankin.com/alternative_dns_service.html)
Internet Speed Up - What (probably) Doesn't Work
Turning off unnecessary network adapter properties supposedly boosts Internet speeds. But in my experience, tweaking these properties does not increase speed and it can limit other functionality. For example, turning off the QoS Packet Scheduler is rumored to reclaim up to 20 per cent of your bandwidth that is allegedly reserved for things like Windows Update. But that simply isn't true. Turning off QoS can, however, interfere with VoIP and other applications. Disabling file and printer sharing is a good idea if you don't need to share, but it has negligible effect in Internet speed.
Tweaking esoteric settings hidden deep in the Windows registry, e. g., MTU and RWIN, is an old-school way to boost Internet speed. The problem is that the optimal values for these settings vary depending on network conditions. Since Vista, Windows has incorporated an auto-tuning function that does this sort of tweaking on the fly. It really is not necessary or advisable to fiddle with the registry.
There are many utilities on the Web that claim to "optimize" your Internet connection. Some do, some don't. The best such utility that I have found is TweakMASTER by Rose City Software. It asks a couple of questions about the type of Internet connection you have. Then it creates a restore point so you can recover if you don't like the changes it makes. Finally, you try several different "strategies" - each a combination of tweaks - to see which gives you the best speed boost.
Finally, consider upgrading your Internet speed by paying a little extra for more bandwidth. Some folks aren't even aware that their ISP offers such an option, and there may be other ISPs servicing your area who can provide a faster connection. A little research may even net you a faster connection at a lower monthly price!
Do you have any internet speedup tips? Post your comment or question below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 24 Jan 2012
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Most recent comments on "How Can I Speed Up My Internet Connection?"
Posted by:
Russ
24 Jan 2012
I'd love to increase my internet speed. Unfortunately, my DSL ISP has a maximum speed of 1.5 Mbps, and that is what I get in testing. I would even pay more for a faster speed, but it isn't offered. The only alternative in my area is "Cable" internet, which is much faster, but to go to that, my wife would lose her email address, which she does not want to change. Or, I could continue to subscrive to the ISP while using Cable, but that is too expensive. So, until my ISP (telephone company) is able to provide faster speeds in my rural area (unlikely), I will have to use the 1.5 Mbps connection.
Posted by:
robert
24 Jan 2012
What about switching to a n-router from a g-router?
Posted by:
Mike
24 Jan 2012
You forgot to mention NOT forwarding all that email garbage, that actually causes some of the slowdown, due to heavy internet traffic.
Every person who refuses to forward the latest chain letter, cutest pix, etc, speeds up the net just a tad - think about cars on the highway, each one you remove speeds things up a bit.
Think about how many 'cars' you add to that 'highway', when you forward one of these emails to most of your address book - then multiply that by how many people are doing the same. Then you begin to understand one of the reasons that the internet gets slow sometimes.
Show some consideration for your fellow netizens and don't do it. Also, ask those who forward such emails to you to stop.
Posted by:
Tom
24 Jan 2012
Difference through a VPN (Cocoon.net)and a straight thru connection (Cablevision) was only a matter of .12mbps on up loads (2.08 vs 1.96mbps) & .24mbps on downloads (21.44 vs 21.20mbps).
Posted by:
Jonathan
24 Jan 2012
I had a cable company supplied modem for over 5 years and during that time have had problems with speed and indeterminacy that were traced to loose connection to the modem, worn out splitter, lightning damaged outside cable and squirrel-chewed cable, as well as changing the modem itself twice. None of the repairs caused my historical speed of around 2 - 7 Mbps to increase. My last complaint regarding low speed was resolved by the company again changing the modem. Now my speed is a consistent 21 Mbps. I suspect that this modem, ARRIS DOCSIS 3.0, has removed the speed block. I'm a happy camper at last!
Posted by:
JohnP
24 Jan 2012
I've used TCP Optimizer, a free utility from SpeedGuide.net. It can be used with a simple setup, or you can use its advanced settings to get into some very granular details.
For a quick tweak, choose your maximum Connection Speed from the slider bar, choose your Network Interface, or check to Modify All Network Adapters, click "Optimal settings" from the radio-buttons near the bottom of the program, and then click the "Apply changes" button and reboot.
It's available here: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
Details for all the settings are here: http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php
Posted by:
Robert Cole
24 Jan 2012
Hello Bob. You mention in your article: "... sometimes a problem with the wiring, cabling or fiber optic lines between the utility pole and your computer can cause a degradation in speed.". I had speed loss problems within the house going through phone jacks (even though all new jacks and wiring). I ended up running a 75 ft Ethernet cable (outside the house) from the phone line connection box outside the house and directly to the wall jack at the modem/router location on the 3rd floor. This is my recommendation. ALSO, you mention favouring 'TweakMASTER' to "optimize" the Internet connection. Have you evaluated 'Internet Download Manager'? http://www.internetdownloadmanager.com I was shocked at the speed of some downloads. So impressed that I purchased it. Kind regards, Robert Cole
Posted by:
Joseph Fischer
24 Jan 2012
Your Internet Service Provider may try to sell you a faster connection for more money. If you watch streaming movies from Netfix or a similar service, it might be worth if for you to pay for a faster connection. Otherwise, the slowest cable or fiber optic connection is probably fine for your needs. Even a DSL connection from Verizon was fine for downloads and Skype.
Also, read what Bob has to say about MagicJack. You might consider using MagicJack, instead of paying $30 a month to your Internet Provider for telephone service.
Posted by:
Gord
24 Jan 2012
At home I have a cable modem. There were some speed issues, so I called up the cable company and discovered that even though my package was 50mpbs, my modem couldn't handle that speed. They neglected to tell me I needed a compatible modem for that speed. I was able to exchange mine for free. Speed was increased 4x.
At work, similar situation but with the phone company. In this case I discovered that our business district had received a speed upgrade to 15mbps, but we were still filtered at 5mbps. Nobody told us. A simple call to them and we were upgraded to triple the speed.
The moral is before trying anything, call your internet supplier's sales office.
Posted by:
Gusieppe Monginelli
24 Jan 2012
Bob: Very good and concise article. While checking out the site "Rose City Software" I find it stated that it is a "shareware" based outfit. Right or wrong, this concept concerns me. I would appreciate if you could comment on the pro's and con's of such offerings. Thanks for your time and the great daily newsletter. :-)
Posted by:
Chick
25 Jan 2012
Hi Bob, I have got to tell you, I have FIOS and while tests showed it was fast, I really did not see it. What made my perception of a faster internet speed was when I replaced my hard drive with and SSD drive. The difference in speed of internet pages popping up on my laptop was significant. I could have probably used a slower connection and still thought it faster. Perception really is what most people judge it by.
Thanks
Posted by:
Bob Greene
26 Jan 2012
Memory drain from background applications can have a major impact on broadband speed. Any antivirus (AV) application that claims "active" protection or a "real-time" shield is probably taking a hefty share of available memory.
Since many PCs are minimally configured to sell at a competitive price, a memory upgrade may be in order.
To identy RAM hogs among your applications, use http://www.speedtest.net/, do a "before" system performance baseline with the system normally configured. Next, unload all unnecessary applications by disabling under msconfig, reboot, and run an "after" test. Also, consider briefly disabling the current AV and firewall protection (use Windows firewall instead of the AV application's own firewall). If your system is noticeably faster, you may be close to resolving your problem.
Posted by:
Andrea
28 Jan 2012
I used to have DSL and originally had their supplied modem. Their modem was awful, and I had no internet access more times than I did have access. Of course they tried to blame it all on wiring on the INSIDE of the house, but it turned out it was outside. Squirrels chewed through lines all over the place. But I kept having problems with it. So I finally bought my own modem and my own wireless router and after that, never had a connection problem again. I have switched to cable so that I could stream movies and such and haven't really had issues with my cable. I also bought a very good wireless router, dual band gigabit router with a long wifi range.
Also, I have noticed many times it can depend on what browser I am using. If I'm having problems and slow speeds with IE, I switch to FireFox and suddenly everything works quickly. I have about 4 browsers installed and switch between them for this reason.
Posted by:
Jean Lourens
29 Jan 2012
Dear Bob,
Firstly, I am one of your readers who find most of your articles (in your newsletters) most interesting and often very useful. However I wish to comment on a recent article 'How can I speed up my internet connection?' This is of course something most computer users would be interested in. So, I downloaded a trial version of TweakMaster and using the online speed test facility Speedtest.net I got these results:
Before installing TweakMaster:
D/L 2.86 Mps. U/L 0.64 Mps.
After installing TweakMaster and using the various Optimization Settings:
Optimization # 1 D/L 2.87 Mps D/L 0.59 Mps
Optimization # 2 D/L 2.86 Mps D/L 0.57 Mps
Optimization # 3 D/L 2.86 Mps D/L 0.53 Mps
Optimization # 4 D/L 2.86 Mps D/L 0.54 Mps
Optimization # 5 D/L 2.86 Mps D/L 0.62 Mps
I also tried various Advanced Settings with about the same results. I emailed these results to Hageltech.com technical support and received a rather lame reply, part of which read:
'sorry that it does not appear to work for you. Optimization strategies work for the majority of our users, but occasionally we hear from someone who does not see expected results. If you wish to continue trying to "tweak it," refer to our online Knowledge Base Wiki at http://www.hageltech.com/support/kb/index'
Now my interest is to get faster internet download speeds, not to knock TweakMaster and I am still experimenting with the program, but to get absolutely no results? Nil, zero, zip? Something smells here.
Posted by:
Jim Woodward
19 Mar 2012
Tweakmaster did not work for me and caused some minor annoyances. 1 was with MS Security always telling me to update and run a scan when both had been done using the scheduler. Getting a refund-minus 10% for restocking a "download"-seems like a needless hassel. Fill out form, snailmail, wait-wait-wait!! I paid by Paypal--they could return my money with a few clicks. I'm kinda wondering if they will ever return my money??