It happens to everyone, sometimes, to find the internet connection much slower than usual, with problems downloading quickly from the internet, watching videos and streaming movies, playing online and even viewing websites in the most serious cases. The Internet should theoretically have a constant speed every day, but problems can occur that cause slow connection only on a computer, only at certain times of the day or continuously. Below we go to find out the main causes of the problems that can afflict the internet connection speed and how to solve and restore the previous speed.
To explain the different reasons why the internet connection is slower than usual and it is also difficult to have a complete case history that changes according to the type of connection. We have already talked about this in the article on what slows down the speed of the internet connection, explaining how there may be an old or malfunctioning router problem, a defect in some cables, a coverage problem for the Wifi network, interference, slowness during peak hours and more or a computer that has lost its configuration.
Regarding the speed of the internet and the comparison between the real one and what was expected because it is guaranteed by the telephone company, I recommend reading the guide on internet speed tests to be able to make comparisons in the right way and to understand how to read data without doing confusion with the units of measurement.
What can be done to solve the problems of a slow internet connection are some criteria to understand where the problem lies and, above all, if it depends on us or on the telephone company . You can certainly call the company's call center, but if you don't have data to provide, there is a high risk of finding listless, inexperienced, non-competent or simply not interested in understanding the problem operators. There is no need for special equipment or complex software to determine if the phone line is the culprit or if it depends on the computer and we can summarize the steps and tests to be carried out in this article.
1) If the problem of slow connection occurs only on one computer and not on the others, two things must be checked :
- that there are no active band-sucking programs on that PC or on any other connected device.
- that the computer's network configuration is correct.
As for the first point, that of the band sucking programs, it is necessary to check that on other PCs or network devices there are no peer to peer download programs such as a Torrent or Emule client, and that heavy and large downloads are not in progress . Also, your PC may have a slow connection because you are watching a streaming movie on high quality TV.
On the slow connection computer it is important to check that there are no viruses or spyware programs responsible for the slow connection.
You can then run an antivirus scan with a program like Malwarebytes, but first better use the rKill program which terminates any process not indispensable to Windows, and repeat the speed test to see if anything changes.
Windows processes can also be checked to see if they are safe or harmful, easily and without being expert.
As for the configuration of the connection, it is possible to reset using a very practical and important option on the Windows 10 PC and some other methods in Windows 7. As mentioned in the guide on how to repair the internet connection and restore the network in case of errors, in Windows 10 it is possible to open the Settings, to the Network and Internet section, select Status and click the Reset Network link.
Among the network configurations to be changed on the PC, that of DNS could give a boost to internet speed. Change DNS by putting Google DNS
2) If the problem of slow internet connection affects all connected PCs, the first solution to try is to turn off and on the router and the modem, disconnect the cables, wait a few minutes and then turn on the modem first and then the router ( if they are different). If the slow connection problem occurred after a power outage, turning off and on again can be a solution.
3) Correct the Wifi signal
If the connection is wireless, slowness may be caused by a bad signal.
First of all, therefore, it may be useful to reset the router (however, not recommended if the configuration had been made by a technician of the telephone company).
In the router settings, you can still connect to the channel with the most powerful signal, which is important. Furthermore, it is advisable to connect to the 5GHz wifi network, a wider band that does not suffer from interference. Interference, in fact, can lead to slow internet connections and instability, therefore any network device must stay away from sources of radiation such as a microwave oven or cordless telephone.
In another article we also saw how to avoid interference on wifi from neighbors' networks.
4) Change router
Even routers break, especially old ones. If we have had the same modem / router for several years, it may be a good idea to change it and buy a new one because even if the slowness problem did not depend on that, however, it is a replacement that will give benefits.
In another article, the guide to buying the best router.
5) If the Internet slowdowns are not over, it is time to check the telephone line and check the data provided by the ADSL / Router modem . Then access the control panel of the router (usually just open a web browser and type the address 192.168.1.1) by entering the username and password (if they had not been changed) admin admin . Go to the ADSL Statistics section or the State or Status section first to check the various values that we are going to explain here.
- Line Attenuation (dB) or Line Attenuation : this datum measures the amount of signal that is lost between the telephone exchange and the modem. The more the distance between the control panel (Telecom) and the house, the greater the attenuation. Below 50dB it is considered acceptable, above the line it will never go well. On this page you can calculate the distance from the control panel based on the line attenuation value.
- Synchronization speed (or Max Rate Kbps) indicates the speed at which the router connects to the exchange device.
In fact, it is the maximum achievable speed.
- SNR Margin (dB) (or Noise Margin) ; This represents the difference between the current Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) signal and the SNR needed to provide a particular speed. If the SNR margin is low, frequent disconnections can occur. Ideally, this should be 12dB or higher, both in Up and Down.
Once these values have been collected, paste them in this ADSL line calculation page to get an estimate of the maximum speed obtained by the telephone line operator . If the SNR margin is low or the line attenuation is high or if the calculated maximum speed is lower than what you are paying for, the problem is certainly somewhere between the modem and the exchange center of the phone. With the values indicated, you can call the call center and be much more precise in explaining the slow connection problem.
I remember that if the telephone company or the internet provider provides an internet connection speed lower than that guaranteed in the contract, you can immediately withdraw from the contract without paying any expenses as explained by the AGCOM website.
6) Call the call center
If you've followed all the necessary troubleshooting steps and the Internet connection is still slow, it's time to call the phone company and see if the problem is over. Unfortunately, if the connection works, even if slow, they may not give much attention to our complaints, but results can still be obtained if the answer is taken care of by a competent operator. In addition, by providing the speed data from our tests and showing that it is not our computer or network devices that are to blame, we can save time and help our support team find the solution.
In this regard, we have seen how to call the assistance call centers of TIM, Wind, 3, Vodafone, Fastweb.
READ ALSO: Why the internet is slow and how to fix it
To explain the different reasons why the internet connection is slower than usual and it is also difficult to have a complete case history that changes according to the type of connection. We have already talked about this in the article on what slows down the speed of the internet connection, explaining how there may be an old or malfunctioning router problem, a defect in some cables, a coverage problem for the Wifi network, interference, slowness during peak hours and more or a computer that has lost its configuration.
Regarding the speed of the internet and the comparison between the real one and what was expected because it is guaranteed by the telephone company, I recommend reading the guide on internet speed tests to be able to make comparisons in the right way and to understand how to read data without doing confusion with the units of measurement.
What can be done to solve the problems of a slow internet connection are some criteria to understand where the problem lies and, above all, if it depends on us or on the telephone company . You can certainly call the company's call center, but if you don't have data to provide, there is a high risk of finding listless, inexperienced, non-competent or simply not interested in understanding the problem operators. There is no need for special equipment or complex software to determine if the phone line is the culprit or if it depends on the computer and we can summarize the steps and tests to be carried out in this article.
1) If the problem of slow connection occurs only on one computer and not on the others, two things must be checked :
- that there are no active band-sucking programs on that PC or on any other connected device.
- that the computer's network configuration is correct.
As for the first point, that of the band sucking programs, it is necessary to check that on other PCs or network devices there are no peer to peer download programs such as a Torrent or Emule client, and that heavy and large downloads are not in progress . Also, your PC may have a slow connection because you are watching a streaming movie on high quality TV.
On the slow connection computer it is important to check that there are no viruses or spyware programs responsible for the slow connection.
You can then run an antivirus scan with a program like Malwarebytes, but first better use the rKill program which terminates any process not indispensable to Windows, and repeat the speed test to see if anything changes.
Windows processes can also be checked to see if they are safe or harmful, easily and without being expert.
As for the configuration of the connection, it is possible to reset using a very practical and important option on the Windows 10 PC and some other methods in Windows 7. As mentioned in the guide on how to repair the internet connection and restore the network in case of errors, in Windows 10 it is possible to open the Settings, to the Network and Internet section, select Status and click the Reset Network link.
Among the network configurations to be changed on the PC, that of DNS could give a boost to internet speed. Change DNS by putting Google DNS
2) If the problem of slow internet connection affects all connected PCs, the first solution to try is to turn off and on the router and the modem, disconnect the cables, wait a few minutes and then turn on the modem first and then the router ( if they are different). If the slow connection problem occurred after a power outage, turning off and on again can be a solution.
3) Correct the Wifi signal
If the connection is wireless, slowness may be caused by a bad signal.
First of all, therefore, it may be useful to reset the router (however, not recommended if the configuration had been made by a technician of the telephone company).
In the router settings, you can still connect to the channel with the most powerful signal, which is important. Furthermore, it is advisable to connect to the 5GHz wifi network, a wider band that does not suffer from interference. Interference, in fact, can lead to slow internet connections and instability, therefore any network device must stay away from sources of radiation such as a microwave oven or cordless telephone.
In another article we also saw how to avoid interference on wifi from neighbors' networks.
4) Change router
Even routers break, especially old ones. If we have had the same modem / router for several years, it may be a good idea to change it and buy a new one because even if the slowness problem did not depend on that, however, it is a replacement that will give benefits.
In another article, the guide to buying the best router.
5) If the Internet slowdowns are not over, it is time to check the telephone line and check the data provided by the ADSL / Router modem . Then access the control panel of the router (usually just open a web browser and type the address 192.168.1.1) by entering the username and password (if they had not been changed) admin admin . Go to the ADSL Statistics section or the State or Status section first to check the various values that we are going to explain here.
- Line Attenuation (dB) or Line Attenuation : this datum measures the amount of signal that is lost between the telephone exchange and the modem. The more the distance between the control panel (Telecom) and the house, the greater the attenuation. Below 50dB it is considered acceptable, above the line it will never go well. On this page you can calculate the distance from the control panel based on the line attenuation value.
- Synchronization speed (or Max Rate Kbps) indicates the speed at which the router connects to the exchange device.
In fact, it is the maximum achievable speed.
- SNR Margin (dB) (or Noise Margin) ; This represents the difference between the current Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) signal and the SNR needed to provide a particular speed. If the SNR margin is low, frequent disconnections can occur. Ideally, this should be 12dB or higher, both in Up and Down.
Once these values have been collected, paste them in this ADSL line calculation page to get an estimate of the maximum speed obtained by the telephone line operator . If the SNR margin is low or the line attenuation is high or if the calculated maximum speed is lower than what you are paying for, the problem is certainly somewhere between the modem and the exchange center of the phone. With the values indicated, you can call the call center and be much more precise in explaining the slow connection problem.
I remember that if the telephone company or the internet provider provides an internet connection speed lower than that guaranteed in the contract, you can immediately withdraw from the contract without paying any expenses as explained by the AGCOM website.
6) Call the call center
If you've followed all the necessary troubleshooting steps and the Internet connection is still slow, it's time to call the phone company and see if the problem is over. Unfortunately, if the connection works, even if slow, they may not give much attention to our complaints, but results can still be obtained if the answer is taken care of by a competent operator. In addition, by providing the speed data from our tests and showing that it is not our computer or network devices that are to blame, we can save time and help our support team find the solution.
In this regard, we have seen how to call the assistance call centers of TIM, Wind, 3, Vodafone, Fastweb.
READ ALSO: Why the internet is slow and how to fix it
