What makes routers faster

Call: Data caps. Download speeds. Transfers data to your home for activities like streaming, shopping and browsing social media. Mbps Megabits per second. A unit of measurement used to indicate download and upload speeds. Upload speeds. Transfer data from your home for activities like video calls, uploading large files, working on online documents and live gaming.

Get the latest internet, streaming, wireless, TV and home security news directly to your inbox. On this page 12 ways to improve your internet speed Update your security Optimize your router settings Choose a new Wi-Fi channel Purchase a newer, high-end router Reset your router Angle one Wi-Fi antenna up and one to the side Antenna upgrades and omnidirectional antennas Move your wireless router to an elevated, clear spot Move your wireless router to a central part of your home Configure or purchase a Wi-Fi repeater Add an internet extender Take a speed test.

Your speed test results:. Download Speeds. Upload Speeds. Need more for the price? View providers near me Rather chat? Give us a call: Rather chat? What to read next Read more. Internet speed classifications: What counts as fast internet? David Anders — 6 min read. Advertised vs.

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More antennas are usually better—this means more connection points for your devices to latch onto. Look for the quoted throughput and range on a router to get an idea of the Wi-Fi speeds you can get and how much of your home your network might be able to cover.

The number of antennas is important, but keep in mind this is just one of many factors determining how fast a router will be able to pipe Wi-Fi to your devices. Dual-band routers working at frequencies of both 2. Essentially, they give your Wi-Fi signals more frequency channels to travel along so signals are less likely to interfere with each other like having more lanes on a highway. This avoids slow and unstable connections. Traditional 2.

For example, how can you make a video stream between your devices more quickly? The best router configuration for local speed often entails changing the channel width. The wider the width, the more that older devices on older protocols will suffer from interference.

You can even take it one step further by reading our article on channel bonding for Wi-Fi routers. One of the most overlooked ways to maximize router speed is to ensure your router is always running the latest software and firmware from the manufacturer.

Sure, the updates are normally security fixes, but they're not going to suddenly make your router blazing fast. However, every incremental gain can help. If you've not updated in a while, you might see more of a boost than you'd expect. It's not only about finding the best router settings for fast internet. You also need to consider where you're placing your router in your home. Because the router competes with every other 2. Additionally, the building material of your house might interfere with the wireless signal.

Solid concrete walls are notoriously hard for a Wi-Fi connection to pass through. Have you considered changing the router's channel? There are plenty of free tools that'll scan your local airwaves for the channels with the least interference. They will then suggest which channel you should switch to.

A former colleague at Pocketnow, Joe Levi, explains that Bluetooth devices, wireless peripherals and even some microwaves cause a lot of noise in the 2. To cut down on the noise and drop-offs, consider switching your router to 5GHz in the administrator panel. If the option for both 2. If you live in a crowded neighborhood or in an apartment and share a lot of the same signal space with your neighbors, choosing the right channel can cut down on interference and help speed things up a bit.

For starters, channels 1, 6 and 11 are most frequently used in the 2. If you've switched to 5GHz, you have whole host of channels to choose from. The selection of channels varies by model. You can use an application like Wifi Analyzer on Android or WifiInfoView on Windows to analyze the nearby wireless signals and see which channels are being used the most.

Mac has this functionality built in. It's worth nothing that many newer routers will automatically choose the least crowded channel upon rebooting, so pulling the plug may also switch the channel to a less crowded one. If you're paying for fast home Internet and feel like you're not getting what you're paying for, the hardware on your end may be serving as a bottleneck.

Wireless and Internet technology have changed a great deal in the last decade, and many routers 5 or more years old do not support newer technology, such as Internet speeds in excess of Mbps.

The easiest way to determine if your router is the culprit is to look up the model number and compare its specs with those of the Internet package from your ISP. Powerline network adapters are almost always the better option to extend your wireless network's reach. However, they won't work across separate circuits. When you need to extend your network and power line network adapters won't do, the next best option is to put your old router to use and turn it into a wireless bridge.

This is rather involved and will usually require you to install custom firmware on your router. Not to mention, the network speeds will be dramatically cut. But it might be the only way -- short of running a wire -- to get Wi-Fi on the outer limits or your property. If all else fails, consider calling your ISP.