Looking for faster broadband? Here are our top 5 tips to improve your broadband speed at home. Make freezing, buffering and pixelated videos a thing of the past!
Broadband Compare’s top 5 ways to improve your broadband speed at home. Compare NZ’s fastest broadband plans. Try moving your modem, check your speed, password protect….
Freezing pages, buffering movies and pixelating during that vital part of a Zoom meeting - nothing is more frustrating than slow internet at home. Streaming, shopping, and working from home have become a vital part of everyday life and high speed internet is more important than ever.
And, although your internet speed may depend on the type of broadband available where you live, there are steps you can take to get faster broadband at home. Here are five simple tips to improve your broadband speed at home.
Not sure if you’re signed up for the fastest broadband available at your address? Our broadband address checker can help you find the best quality broadband speed for your home and value for money.
1: Try moving your internet modem
The location of your internet modem is important. And, moving it to a better spot can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve the broadband signal in your home. Ideally it should be placed up high in the centre of your home.
Although your modem may not fit with the visual aesthetic of your home, try not to hide it. Tucking it in a cupboard or into a corner can impede the router’s broadcast strength around the house.
In fact physical barriers like walls, large metal objects (fridges, desks, shelves), water cylinders or fish tanks, or even large glass windows can all affect the broadband signal within your home. Learn more about finding the perfect spot for your modem.
2: Check your broadband speed
Broadband speed checks are very easy to perform - we even have one right here on Broadband Compare. With a click of a button our NZ Compare Bot will check your upload and download speeds and let you know if there is a faster plan available in your area. Easy!
3: Password protect your broadband
If your broadband network isn’t password protected anyone within range could be using your network and draining your router’s capacity. Luckily most routers come with a security password already set up. If you’re not password protected, think about setting up a new one.
4: Updates your browser
An out of date browser can slow you down. Check that you are running the most up to date version of your browser. Faster broadband speeds could be as simple as running an update.
5: Clear out the junk
Over time your computer will accumulate apps and programmes that may be running in the background and performing checks and updates without your knowledge. Most of these checks are harmless and help your computer function normally (Diagnostic checks or updates for example), but they can slow down the internet speed on your computer.
Check which programmes are running in the background by opening Task Manager on your PC (hold down the CTRL + ALT + DEL buttons). Or check the Activity Monitor on your Mac (type ⌘ + space). Shut down any apps or programmes you don’t need that are running in the background. Streaming programmes especially can use a lot of bandwidth.
Still looking for faster broadband?
It only takes a few minutes to find the fastest broadband plans available in your area. Pop your address into the Broadband Compare address checker to compare the fastest broadband plans available at your home. Or give our friendly customer support team a call for free on 0508 2COMPARE (0508 226672). They’ll have a chat and help you make an informed choice about the best high speed broadband plan for you. If you’re already on the best plan, they’ll let you know.