7 Things That Slow Down Your Internet Speed From Your Computer Side

Is it your connection that is slow?

This misconception is on everyone’s mind. It is not your internet connection which is slow, it is actually your Wi-Fi which is slow. You may have a fast internet connection, but there are things that can slow down the overall speed of your internet connection. You may do an internet speed test. Just because a speed test says that your connection is capable of high data rates doesn’t mean that you will always get them. Most of the time this problem may be caused because of router positioning, or heavy usage, or blockage or for various other reasons. That’s not always the case. You may see that there is no blockage in front of your router, your router positioning is efficient, there is no heavy usage, nothing is running in the background. Still your internet connection is slow, which is really troublesome.

This condition may occur because of problems from your computer (both hardware and software) side. Let’s try to find out these reasons.

Hardware Related Reasons:

  1. The devices we use with our computer have changed a lot. A few years back we were used to using wired devices. We used wired keyboards, wired mice, wired headphones, wired speakers, wired monitors and everything else we used. With the passage of time, we have started to use wireless devices. Now we use wireless keyboards, wireless mice, wireless headphones, wireless speakers, wireless monitors –  whatever we use is wireless. Now devices run with the help of Bluetooth connections which is kind of similar to Wi-Fi. Both are wireless connections, thus when they run together, they interrupt each other. To avoid frequency clash, manufacturers use frequency hopping where the signal randomly rotates between 70 channels, changing up to 1600 times per second. These devices run on the same frequency as your Wi-Fi connection, 2.4GHz. When you have so many devices running on the same frequency, they basically create a ‘traffic jam’ of frequencies, which may slow down of your internet experience.
  1. Maybe your computer devices aren’t compatible with the speed your ISP provides to you. Many people use out dated devices which actually can’t handle the speed they are getting.
  1. It’s pretty awkward to hear, but using LED lights around your computer can lessen the internet speed. Many people use LED lights to decorate their computer desk. Their purpose obviously gets served, but with that a new problem arrives. These lights emit electromagnetic waves which interfere with the Wi-Fi signal.

Software Related Reasons:

  1. Probably you left something running in the background. This problem happens frequently to a lot of users. Probably you had left your BitTorrent running on the background and probably it was downloading something that you forgot about. Perhaps this was causing this problem of slowing down your internet. You may you have set your windows updating system turned to automatic mode and it has been running whenever it gets the slightest of updates available which slows down your internet speed. In this case you can try Charter Spectrum Deals which will provide you with the best internet service which is efficient as well as safe from every aspect.
  1. If you run lots of software or applications which connect to the internet at one time, it will surely decrease your Wi-Fi speed. Every application or software that you use needs a share from your bandwidth. So, never use so multiple apps at a time. Check your auto-update, sync, backup settings etc. Also take care of the tabs that you open on your browser. Always put only those add-ons that you use frequently on your browser home.
  1. Malicious software or malware programs are always there to cause you problems. In this case, it’s no different. Malware will run in the background without your permission and with the help of the internet it will drain your computer resources which will surely affect your internet speed.
  1. Probably your firmware is out dated. It is one of the most common reasons behind slowing down Wi-Fi speed. Sometimes the driver is also out dated. Out dated firmware or drivers aren’t compatible with the internet service you are provided with. If use them you don’t get your desired internet speed.

These are the most common reasons from your computer side that decrease the internet speed. You don’t need to be an expert to solve these problems, just keep a regular eye on your device and the problems won’t be there.

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