The internet is something you are dependent on for multiple aspects of your life. Both your personal and professional life is affected by it, which means it must be reliable and fast to ensure the seamless completion of your daily tasks.
The quality and speed of your connection depends on a few different factors. While speed can be improved with a few different hacks at home, the quality requires you to consider more technical problems, such as your data package and the type of connection you have.
What is a Good Internet?
If you want the best possible internet connection for your home, the following are the main things to consider improving on: bandwidth, upload and download speed, type of connection (4g or 5g), latency, as well as jitter.
The previously mentioned factors affect how signals are transmitted throughout your home. Data must travel from one point to another in a particular amount of time for a stable connection; this, along with how much data is transmitted per second are only a few things which can impact the quality of your internet connection.
The following are certain things you can do to improve your home’s connection for an easier time working, as well as more efficient functioning of your smart home.
Check Your Hardware
When it comes to good coverage, the router you use can be a game-changer. If you choose to rent a cheaper, used device from your ISP, or don’t invest well in the router you buy, the coverage will most likely be spotty. This leads to a weaker signal and slow speeds, which can quickly become frustrating.
From the wiring to any accessories you may have with respect to your internet connection, make sure everything is of the best quality. Once you see the difference this upgrade makes, the investment will be well worth it.
If the internet is particularly necessary for your home to function (as in the case of a smart home), you must opt for the best small home wireless router to ensure a good connection.
Remove Obstructions – Strategic Placement
One common mistake which can affect internet speed in homes, is physical obstructions around your router. For the signals to be transmitted successfully throughout your home, there needs to be an open path. Any large objects blocking the router is bound slow down your connection.
A lot of homeowners often place the router in locations such as behind the TV, on the ground or in an isolated part of the home. The best way to go about this would be to have it in a room which you spend the most time in, or in the center of the home for a more even distribution of signals. Placing it at a certain height is also a good idea to minimize obstructions. For a larger home with multiple stories, having a mesh network would be a good idea.
Monitor the Speed
When you pay for a certain type of connection or a particular internet speed, you expect to receive exactly that. Sometimes, however, the speed can vary from what was promised to you at the time of the purchase. This can be a source of great frustration for a homeowner, since they aren’t able to fully utilize the package they are paying for. To check this, try to monitor your internet connection throughout the day and record the speeds at different hours.
One thing to note is that the internet speed does not remain constant at all times, even with the best possible connection. It can vary throughout the day depending on a few different factors, which is completely normal. Minor fluctuations are okay, but if you find that the connection is slow and spotty for most of the day, you may want to contact your provider and ask them for the source of the problem. This may help improve your connection, and will save you the effort of trying to figure out the problem all on your own.
Opt for Fiber
Fiber internet is the best possible connection you can get for your home. Unlike other connections which use copper wires to carry signals, a fiber connection uses fiber optic cables – since these are much stronger than copper, the results are better. The use of light pulses in this type of connection makes it the fastest type of internet you can get. If your goal is to get the highest internet speed available in your area, this would be the perfect option.
If, for some reason, you are unable to get fiber, cable internet is a good alternative. When it comes to cable, there is a very good chance that you will be receiving the speeds which were advertised. This allows you to have more control over what you get, unlike most other types of services. Cable internet provides you with a relatively stable connection due to the fact that it is transmitted through cable lines which comes from your existing cable TV connection; this is what makes them reliable.
A Much-Needed Upgrade
High quality, fast internet is a must-have for any modern home. The functioning of all your smart gadgets depends on it, which means disruptions can easily be caused in your daily life due to a bad connection. Fortunately, there isn’t too much you have to do to improve it at home. Following a few simple tricks, you can seamlessly stream, work and control your home.