What to do to speed up the home Internet?

Currently, many families in Vietnam can use fiber optic Internet with high speed. Providers offer many attractive packages with speeds from 30 Mbps to 300 Mbps, with prices ranging from 150,000 VND to 500,000 VND. However, even when buying the highest package, it is difficult for users to experience the advertised speed.

If the network connection is not as expected, users can apply some measures to somewhat improve the Internet speed at home.

Add your own router

Internet is transmitted from the service provider (ISP) to the modem via coaxial cable, fiber optic cable or phone line (DSL), and then to the router (router) before reaching the wireless devices. over Wi-Fi or wired via LAN port.

However, most home Internet networks today use modems with built-in Wi-Fi routers, and separate routers only apply to homes that are too large or have many floors. The common point of these devices is cost savings because users do not need to spend extra money, but the disadvantage is that the actual speed is limited, often not reaching the speed recorded in the package.

According to WSJto achieve the highest speed, users should buy more routers from third-party vendors such as TP-Link, Asus… Users should pay attention to the highest supported bandwidth parameters on the device, Avoid buying products with lower speed than package bandwidth.

In addition, the cable connecting the modem to the router also needs to be of high quality. Dane Jasper, CEO of Sonic – an Internet service company in California, said that users at least need to use a Category 5e cable (called Cat 5e) for their system. This cable currently supports up to 100 meters gigabit connection speed.

Category 6e (Cat 6e) cables can support faster multi-gigabit connections at longer lengths. According to Jasper, if used for a long time, type 6e is better than other network cables.

Use a wired network if possible

Wired Internet connection speed is always better than wireless. WSJ tested the laptop using a wireless network via a gigabit-enabled Eero Pro 6 router and found the best download speeds at 600 Mbps, uploads at 320 Mbps. But when using cable, both download and upload speeds are close to one Gb/s.

Jasper said that, if fixed devices are often in one place such as TVs, game consoles or PCs, users should use a wired network to have the most guaranteed Internet speed. Most routers today have at least one LAN port, but users can expand it via an adapter. However, this can reduce the aesthetic of the space if you have to run the wires outside the wall.

Router Placement

Sandeep Harpalani, Netgear’s Vice President of Product Management, said that the placement of the router is very important because misplacing it can cause weak Internet speeds. According to him, users need to place this device one meter or more above the floor, in a well-ventilated place, avoiding obstacles such as walls, electronic devices or metal to limit interference.

Besides, if the router has an antenna, users can align it to provide the best coverage. Usually, the instructions will be in the manufacturer’s documentation.

In addition, it is recommended to restart the router once a week or fortnightly, or when you feel that the Internet is intermittent for no apparent reason. If the modem or router has 5 GHz network support, you can choose to get a higher speed instead of 2.4 GHz.

Mesh Wi-Fi Solution

According to Harpalani, Wi-Fi networks usually follow the rule: As you move further away from the router, the Internet speed will decrease.

Therefore, in a larger space or blocked by obstacles such as walls, the Wi-Fi network speed will be weakened. Users should install more routers to improve, or have the more popular wireless solution today, Wi-Fi Mesh.

Wi-Fi Mesh has been around for a long time, but it was not until 2016 that this technology was applied to residential Wi-Fi transmitters due to the expensive price, nearly tens of millions of dong per set. This device has wide coverage, easy installation and especially stable connection, less bandwidth loss – something that previous repeaters could not do.

A Wi-Fi Mesh set usually has two to three devices called nodes. These nodes will be placed in different locations to broadcast Wi-Fi at almost the same speed as the original network.

Currently, the price of Wi-Fi Mesh is no longer too high, about 500,000-700,000 per node but still gives strong wave strength, good wall penetration, stable and high-speed transmission bandwidth between nodes.. In Vietnam Popular Wi-Fi Mesh providers include TP-Link, Viettel, Tenda, VNPT…

Bao Lam