Do you know how to improve NBN speed? In this article, we have covered everything you must know.
Even before the pandemic, many people had started doing more and more online, from watching their favorite shows via streaming services to online shopping, so it’s reasonable to expect that this won’t change any time soon. For your online activities to be stress-free, though, it’s necessary to have an internet connection that’s both fast and reliable.
The thing is, even the best NBN plans aren’t infallible, and sometimes your internet speed will be slower than expected. There are several causes for this, including distance from the node (for those with Fibre-to-the-Node connections) and simple network congestion. That doesn’t mean you have to live with slower-than-expected internet, though; in fact, you can give your internet a boost with a few simple steps.
Steps to Improve NBN Speed
Disconnect Unnecessary Devices
Your whole family is online at the same time, doing different things, but because of the number of devices connected to the internet, you’re each experiencing the effects of a more local form of network congestion. Long story short, the more devices connected to your home network, the bigger the impact on your NBN speed.
If you think that simultaneous usage is what’s causing your internet to slow, temporarily disconnect one or two of them, especially the ones that are streaming or downloading large files as these take up more bandwidth. Then see if the speed on the other devices has improved. If it did, then you’ll want to limit the devices connected to your home network to those that need to be at a certain time. If this isn’t feasible for your household, then consider getting a plan at a higher speed tier.
Check Your Router
The farther a device is from your router or the more walls it has to go through, the weaker the signal will be, and that will affect your internet speeds. So try and position the router roughly somewhere in the middle of your home so that no matter where anyone in your family is, they’re equidistant from it. The router’s age will also affect the signal and internet speed, so check and see if yours is five years old or more. If it is, then it’s time to invest in a new one.
Check the antennae, too; for single-level homes, the router’s antennae should be angled straight up and down, and for homes with at least two floors, angle one antenna vertically and at least one other horizontally.
Run a Speed Test
You’ll want to make sure that you’re getting the speeds promised in your service plan – barring evening speeds since more people are online at night. It’s easy enough to find a website that will test your speed; so run the test to see if you’re getting more or less the same speed. If not, contact your ISP to see if there’s a problem on their end, such as maintenance or an NBN outage.
Check Devices for Viruses
This is rare, but it’s possible that malware and viruses on your computer can affect your internet speeds since such harmful files or software could be using your connection without you realizing it.
Run a virus scan on all the desktops and laptops, and get rid of any potentially harmful files. After that, make sure the devices’ respective operating systems and virus protection software are updated, to keep harmful files at bay in the future.
Hope now you have the answer to the question of how to improve NBN speed. Do share it with your friends.
