The internet is the largest repository of things, and our daily lives are shifting more towards online. During work meetings, or streaming your favourite movie, you may look at your download speeds and wonder why the web pages load slower than a snail.
Here, I shall discuss how to increase download speed using a few simple tricks and tips that you help you get faster internet speeds without having to upgrade to the next plan.
What Is Good Internet Speeds?
The term good internet speed seems subjective to the people who have witnessed terrible internet speeds. The preferred term would be optimum internet speed or bandwidth. Check out this article, where we have discussed the optimum internet speeds for different types of workload in detail.
Read: What is good Internet speed
How Can I Increase My Download Speed?
If you are stuck on the loading screen for a website, the first thing you should do is check if the website or the server is down for everybody else as well. If you see that the website is actually just down for you, here are some simple tricks that you can use to boost download speeds.
Trick 1: Power Cycle The Router
One of the first things you should try in order to boost your download speeds is to power cycle the router. Power cycling gets rid of the static build up, therefore resetting the connection in the process. Restarting and power cycling can be one of the best first aid methods you can apply to fix your computer and internet issues.
The basic steps involved in power cycling your device, involves the following:
- Turn off your computer, and your router.
- Remove all the power cables and remove the plugs from the wall outlets.
- With the power supply and UPS disconnected, press and hold the power button on the router and your CPU for about 30 seconds.
This will remove the residual current and the static build up completely. - Release the power button after a while, and wait for 30 seconds more.
- Now, power up your device.
With a complete power cycle, you should be able to see a significant boost in the download speeds.
Trick 2: Check The Device And The Cables
Another thing you need to check beforehand, is for any damage to the device and the cables. The length and structure of the cables you use can affect the internet speeds you get, so make sure the cables do not have any damage on them, and the device is fully functional as well.
Another thing to note here, is making sure your router and the cables support the internet plan that you use. We have seen this many times, when the outdated routers and cables are unable to keep up with the high internet speeds.
Here is a small comparison between Cat6 vs Cat7, to make sure you have the correct cables in your network.
Trick 3: Keep The Firmware And Software Updated
This goes without saying, updated software will have better bug fixes and security patches. If you see the internet speeds throttling, there is a chance that it may be caused by outdated router and modem firmware, or device software.
You will find the latest firmware for your router on the official website, or a quick google search should land you where you need to be. Also, make sure to keep Windows updated, just in case to prevent outdated Windows 10 from slowing down your network speeds.
Trick 4: Manage Band Channels
Many routers these days come with multiple band channels, one 2.5 GHz and one or two 5 GHz. This is primarily done to reduce the demands on a single channel by distributing the network load on different channels. While most modern-day routers automatically allocate the wirelessly connected devices across these channels, reviewing these settings is always a good option.
If the long range 2.5 GHz channel is overcrowded, distribute the load, and connect certain devices to the 5 GHz channel. Connect the devices closer to the router, like your desktop or TV, to the shorter range 5 GHZ channel, and reserve the 2.5 GHz channel for devices that move around a lot, like your smartphone.
Trick 5: Check The Devices On Your Network
As the rule of thumb, the more devices on your network, the slower the bandwidth on individual devices. Although the router box says the device can handle up to 250 devices, you will quickly notice the bandwidth drop if you connect a lot of devices simultaneously.
If many new devices were recently connected to your network, review the connected devices, and remove the devices that you do not want. This small step can help a lot to increase download speeds, as you remove the devices potentially remove the devices hijacking your Wi-Fi.
You can review the connected devices from the router application, which is already installed on your computer or smartphone. For certain older routers, you will need to enter the IP address in the address bar of a browser to navigate to the administrator settings. You will be looking for a section titled Manage devices, Restrict devices or access, or something similar.
Trick 6: Switch To A Better Download Manager
If you primarily use your browser as the download manager, there is a chance you can download faster if you switch to a browser with better download manager. Even better would be switching to a dedicated download manager such as IDM.
Browsers download the files differently than download managers, as browsers will download the entire file at once sequentially. Download managers on the other hand, will split the files into smaller pieces, and download these parts at once. This significantly increases the rate at which the files are downloaded, even if you may not see an actual increase in the download speeds.
You can check out Brave browser, which is a privacy focused browser with a robust download manager. Else, check out some download managers, like the aforementioned IDM.
Trick 7: Flush DNS
Throttling on your network can be caused by static DNS cache. Therefore, in case of slower internet speeds, clearing the DNS cache can be especially helpful. To clear the DNS cache, follow these steps:
- Launch an elevated command prompt window by typing cmd in Windows Search and pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
Click on Yes in the confirmation dialog. - Type and press enter after each command one by one:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
nbtstat -r
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
netsh winsock reset
Upon reviewing the confirmation message, restart the driver.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it. This was a complete list of the tricks on how to increase download speeds on your computer. If the tricks mentioned above do not help you, you may very well have to upgrade to the next plan, or upgrade the Wi-Fi connection itself. Comment below if you found this useful, and to discuss further the same.
