Connecting to the Internet in today’s landscape is vital, both for professional and personal reasons. Whether you’re hoping to keep your home network running smoothly so that you can connect with loved ones online or are looking for ways to boost your business’ network speed so that work can flow effectively, good support for your network in Nampa is an important service in which to invest. This is especially true since there are many different factors that could be impacting your network speed and professionals might be your best hope to diagnose and fix the issue.
Factors Impacting Network Speed
Briefly mentioned above, there are a number of reasons why your network is running slower than normal. A diagnostic scan can help provide some basic information, but understanding some of the most common reasons for network slow-downs is important, too.
Too Many Devices
How many devices are connecting to your network? This might not seem like a particularly important question – after all, how many devices could you possibly have connected? The number might surprise you. Keep in mind almost anything in your home that requires either the Internet or network access to operate will be connected to your network. This includes smartphones (each phone counts as a separate device), smart TVs, tablets, computers, streaming media boxes, smart home devices, and even device hubs that are used to wirelessly control things like your lights.
Having too many devices connected to your network can slow things down significantly. Keep in mind that each of these devices is sharing the same bandwidth provided by your internet service provider. As more devices attempt to access the Internet at any one time, the amount of bandwidth left over falls more and more. Eventually, you can find yourself with agonizingly slow speeds and dropped connections.
Wireless Network Channel/Band
This particular issue is one that many people aren’t even aware exists. When your access point connects you to the Internet, it connects to a specific band and channel. Bands come in two speeds: 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz. For devices that stream movies, you’ll want to connect to the 5 GHz band if at all possible, however your ability to do so depends upon your ISP, the device in question, and the type of router you use. Some routers don’t offer both bands and therefore you can only connect to the 2.5 GHz.
Even if you cannot change the band you connect to, you might be able to change the channel that your device is uses. Keep in mind that everyone in your neighborhood is using the same network channels. And because some routers have built-in defaults when it comes to what channels they access, some of those might be incredibly crowded. Switching channels can sometimes dramatically improve network speed.
Contact Connect2Geek to see how we can assist you with your Network Support!
The specialists at Connect2Geek are ready and willing to provide some of the best network support in Nampa.
For more information about how you can speed your network up and keep things running smoothly, reach out to Connect2Geek today!