With many Americans still working at home, a speedy internet connection is vital to keep things running smoothly. But what happens when the internet gremlins come out and stop you in your tracks? And what can we do about it? Also: Internet slow? Here are the possible reasons why and how to fix them Researchers from London, UK-based online and telephone comparison and switching service Uswitch have revealed that internet speed is the US’s most searched for broadband issue. It checked how often each broadband issue was searched for globally, identifying 20 common annoyances using sites including T3, Digital Trends, Waterston, Linksys, Obiko, The Pinnaclelist and IMI. From SemRush search volume data, Uswitch found that America’s most searched for broadband Issue is how to improve internet speed. Americans, on average, are searching for ways to fix the problem 5,000,000 times a month on Google. That means 31% of global searches about internet speed come from the US. Other top broadband issues searched for in the US included download speed which had 18,100 searches a month, and one in ten global searches were by Americans trying to sort out their Wi-Fi password problems making 12,100 searches a month. A third of global searches with 2,900 searches from the US was about Wi-Fi signal, and over half of all global search volumes (51%) were from Americans searching to solve DNS issues. If these problems affect you and you want a solution, Uswitch has shared some tips and tricks on how you can solve these internet issues. Also: Speed up your home office: How to optimize your network for remote work and learning To improve your internet connection, consider placing your router in a more central location in your house – 0 so that your wireless devices can reach the router. Add an easy-to-install mesh Wi-Fi system – or a Wi-Fi extender to help connectivity further. Run a speed check to make sure that the internet speed to your house is the same promised on your broadband contract. If your speed is too slow, you might want to switch your broadband provider. See: Best internet speed test Use a Wi-Fi booster such as the Rockspace AC2100 dual-band Wi-Fi extender to improve the signal in those hard-to-reach parts of your home and garden. Make sure that your Wi-Fi router has a secure password so that other’s do not jump on your network and clog up your own bandwidth with their Wi-Fi traffic. Some routers have simple-to-guess passwords – and these should be changed. Consider using hardwired connections for your devices that need a good signal. Ethernet cables are not affected by drops in signal and can be used when all else fails. If you reboot your router regularly to try and get a better signal and nothing seems to work, it might be time for you to get an upgraded package – to stop that boring buffering when you are trying to watch your favourite show.
