How to easily increase your connection speed?
Whether it’s watching your videos on Netflix, uploading content to social networks or using a Web App (an application hosted directly online) that is a little resource intensive, it is always pleasant to benefit from a better speed of connection. However, before deciding to subscribe to a plan offering a higher speed with your Internet service provider, it may be wise to test the following tips which will teach you how to optimize your connection speed.
Change your DNS
The DNS service is a kind of directory that allows you to link the domain name of a site to the IP address of the machine on which it is hosted. In fact, machines connected to the Internet can be found using their IP address.
However, sometimes the servers used by your Internet Service Provider are slow or under maintenance, which means that the site you are trying to access is long or impossible to load. It is however possible to opt for other DNS services such as 1.1.1.1 which is a fast DNS resolver but also more respectful of the privacy of its users, since this one does not keep the IP address of the machines using it. Changing your DNS is rather simple, and it is possible to choose a custom DNS for different applications (1.1.1.1 for FireFox and Google’s DNS for Chrome for example), but also if your Internet Service Provider allows it, directly on your modem by accessing its administration interface (typically 192.168.1.1).
Use a VPN to fight IP Throttling
Do you know what IP Throttling is?
It is a practice of some Internet Service Providers to artificially restrict a user’s connection in order to distribute the available bandwidth with other users. This is why you may have already noticed that your internet connection is slower in the evening or on the weekend, since the network is more used.
You should know, however, that it is quite possible to circumvent these restrictions by using a VPN that offers encapsulation of your data. To put it simply, your Internet Service Provider consults the origin of the data sent and received by your machine. Depending on where it comes from, for example an online video game or a series on Netflix, the Internet Service Provider may decide to artificially slow down this data in order to favor other users.
But all you need to do is use a VPN to overcome these restrictions. A VPN is a service that lets you connect in an encrypted fashion to a secure server somewhere in the world, which will act as an intermediary between you and the rest of the internet.
Shut down your apps that can consume bandwidth
While it seems straightforward, many users don’t think about shutting down apps running in the background on their devices that are likely to consume bandwidth. So be sure to take a look in the application manager on your computer or on your smartphone to see which applications are consuming bandwidth and / or RAM on your device. If you’re on Windows, it might also be a good idea to take a look at the list of your apps that launch when your system starts up and see which ones are really needed.
Change the Wi-Fi channel of your modem
If you live in a city, there is a good chance that several Wi-Fi networks around you broadcast on the same Wi-Fi channel, which may mean that this one is congested. In order to find a less busy Wi-Fi channel, you can use an application like Wi-Fi Analyzer, which will allow you to see which channel will give you the best connection quality. To apply the changes, simply go to your router’s settings and change the channel in the Wi-Fi section of the administration interface.
We just gave you some tips to try to improve your connection speed without having to change subscriptions. And even if you already have the highest plan offered by your provider, a little more speed never hurts anyone! And you, what are your tips or the tools you use to improve the speed of your internet connection?
