Internet speed problems. Why low internet speed? Possible speed problems

Internet speed via Wi-Fi, this is a topic that has always been discussed, and will be discussed in various forums, in the comments, etc. Very often they ask questions like: "why is the speed on Wi-Fi lower than on cable", " why the speed through the router is less "," how to increase the speed of the Internet via Wi-Fi ", etc. Why does this happen at all, where do these questions come from. I'll explain now.

There is an Internet connection that is directly connected to the computer. The provider promises a speed for example 100 Mbit / s. When checked, the speed may be slightly lower, but something like that. We buy a router, install it, and of course check the speed, because we read somewhere that the router cuts the speed. We check from the router by cable, it seems normal, the speed has not dropped much. We check when connected via Wi-Fi and see that the speed is two or even more times lower than when connected via cable... For example, over Wi-Fi, out of 100 Mbit / s provided by the provider, there are 50 Mbit / s, 40, or even less left. It is clear that this does not suit us, and we start looking for a solution. And in search of a solution, we go to pages like this.

If you want to see specific tips on increasing the speed over Wi-Fi, then I will write about this a little later, in a separate article. But, I want to say right away that the tips that I will write about, and which can already be found on the Internet, as a rule, do not give any results in terms of increasing speed. Although, it depends on individual cases. And in this article I just want to tell you why this happens, that when connected through a router, the Internet speed is lower than, for example, by cable.

Why does Wi-Fi router cut speed?

Each router cuts speed. Some less, some more. As a rule, this depends on the price of the router itself. The more expensive it is, the more powerful, and the more powerful it is, it means less speed reduction. I'm talking about the Wi-Fi connection right now. If the speed over the cable through the router is less, then, as a rule, this is not critical. But according to wireless network, losses in speed are decent.

Many are still interested in the numbers that are indicated on the box with the router, or in the characteristics. There you can see information on speed. For example: up to 150 Mbps, or 300 Mbps... And here the questions arise again: "Why does my router support 300 Mbit / s, and my speed is 50 Mbit / s?". So, the manufacturer indicates the maximum speed that you would never get under normal circumstances. The speed will always be much lower. And since those 300 Mbps, which are written on the router, we often get the speed several times lower. But how much less the speed will already depend on the power of the router (mainly), and on a number of other factors, which I will now talk about.

Also, do not forget that in addition to the router, we also have a Wi-Fi receiver in our laptop, tablet, smartphone, or. Which also supports different standards, and the speed at which it operates may be lower than that which the router can give. The speed is always determined by the slowest device on the network. For example: the router gives out theoretical 300 Mbps. But the adapter that receives the signal can operate at a maximum speed of 150 Mbps. And we are already getting a limit of 150 Mbps, since this device is the slowest on the network. Well, I will go further into these nuances, I just wanted to explain why the speed suffers so much when connected via a Wi-Fi network.

What determines the speed of a Wi-Fi network, and how to get the maximum speed?

As promised, I will write in more detail about the ways to increase the speed in a separate instruction. And now, I will list the main reasons that affect Wi-Fi speed networks:

Wi-Fi router. Network standards (802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac) what it supports, what technologies it uses, and the power of the hardware itself. Generally, the more expensive the router is, the higher the wireless speed.
Router software, and Wi-Fi receiver on your computer. Very often, with the update of the router's firmware, or the adapter drivers on the computer, the speed becomes higher.
Interference. Interference can be from other, neighboring Wi-Fi networks (mostly), and from household appliances.
Wi-Fi network power. It's not news that near the router, where the signal is maximum, the speed will be higher than in another room, where the network signal is no longer as stable.
The number of devices connected to your network. If one device is connected to your router, then it will receive all the speed that the router can give. If we connect another device and start downloading something on it, then the speed will already be divided by 2, and so on. In addition, all connected devices create a load on the hardware of the router, which leads to a drop in speed.
The type of internet connection your ISP is using. The fact is that if your ISP uses the Dynamic IP or Static IP connection type, then the router will cut the speed less than with PPPoE, L2TP and PPTP connections.
Router settings. Correct configuration of network protection, selection of the network operating mode and channel width, as well as changing the channel, can slightly increase the speed.

How to organize a Wi-Fi network so that the loss of speed is minimal?

As for the internet provider: if you have not yet connected to the Internet, and if possible, then select a provider that uses the Dynamic IP or Static IP connection technology. This will make it easier for the router, and it is much easier to set up such a connection.

Choosing a router: if you want a minimum loss of speed, you will have to spend money on a router. I advise you to buy a router that can operate at a frequency 5GHz(GHz), and support. The 5GHz frequency is now practically free, which means that there will not be much interference there. Basically, so far all Wi-Fi networks operate at 2.4GHz. BUT new standard 802.11ac, even in comparison with the most popular at the moment 802.11n, allows you to transfer information at a speed of as much as 6.77 Gbps. This is, of course, in theory, with special equipment.

Devices that you will connect to the network: as I wrote above, the speed also depends on the network clients. It is desirable that your devices be new, with support for the modern 802.11ac standard, or at least 802.11n. If it is a computer, then update the driver of your Wi-Fi adapter. I wrote about this in.

Check your internet speed, share the results in the comments, and tell me if your router cuts the speed a lot. Best wishes!

Realities modern life are such that at present a person has become very dependent on the Internet, since everything is in it: work and rest, as well as constant communication with relatives, friends and colleagues. It is not surprising that as soon as the data transfer rate becomes very low and the usual operations for the user begin to take too much time, then the eternal question "What to do?" the first thing that comes to a person's mind is to blame the provider. And in such a situation he is, of course, right, but only half. Because in order to effectively solve the problem, it is necessary to identify the true reason why the data transfer speed sometimes drops when working on the Internet. Below are detailed the main reasons why the Internet speed has dropped and specific recommendations are given on how to act in this case.

Why is the internet slow?

It is possible to give only two answers to this question:

Malfunctions of the provider's equipment;
Problems with the user himself.

The user cannot influence the first reason. Even if some network equipment is out of order or it does not work correctly, the company engaged in the supply of communication services already knows about the failures and takes all the required measures to eliminate them as soon as possible.

But the second category of reasons, for example, malfunctions in a PC or router, can only be influenced and corrected by the owner himself. Therefore, at the first signs of a poorly working Internet, it is most advisable to first analyze the condition of your equipment.

Internet browser problem

The first thing that needs to be done when solving the problem of why the Internet speed has suddenly become slower and the pages in the browser open at a very low speed is to make a test of its performance in another Internet browser. If you find a good and completely correct operation in another browser, then a simple reinstallation of the familiar, but problematic browser should help.

Traffic congestion

The most common reason why low speed the Internet is a banal overload of the user's Internet channel. It is recommended to check if software updates are being downloaded from one of the many gadgets at home, or a torrent client is running, which tries to save a file or a large archive in the device's memory. You should also pay attention to some of your household members playing an online game or watching a movie in high quality, since they simply take away almost all traffic resources. Also, for example, while downloading from a torrent, the speed may drop if the number of people sharing the file becomes significantly less than the number of downloading the same file.

Computer overload and malware

A very important criterion affecting the speed of work in the network is the possible overload of the PC, or it is simply very weak with outdated components.

It is necessary to perform several sequential actions:

Launch the "Task Manager", for example, by calling the context menu from the taskbar and clicking on the line with the appropriate name;
Analyze the degree of loading indicated in "%". If you have tasks consuming more than 90 percent, you should figure out the purpose of the process and, if possible, complete any unnecessary tasks;
Probably, the list includes processes activated by malicious applications. It is required to carry out a full scan with an anti-virus utility with a preliminary update of its databases.

To be sure of the exact discrepancy modern requirements The user's PC, you just need to compare his work by connecting to the Internet using a modern tablet or laptop. This is the technique used by IT specialists.

Malfunction of PC cooling systems

Suddenly, after a short work after booting the computer, the Internet speed may drop due to the excessive temperature rise of various components of the computer. You can install an application to measure the degree of heating of PC parts. If problems with overheating are detected, it is necessary to urgently debug the cooling system, including a complete cleaning of the accumulated dust layer.

Router crash

It is not uncommon for a router to malfunction. It is recommended to simply restart it. Sometimes close Wi-Fi access points interfere. It is necessary to try to change the channel in the device settings and select the most optimal channel for the conditions of the user's router location using the trial method.

You also need to look at the characteristics of the device. Sometimes the bandwidth of the router does not match and is significantly lower than that supplied by the provider over the wire. It is recommended that you study the accompanying instructions for the router and, if necessary, replace it with a more modern and powerful one. To make sure that the narrow link in the chain is the router, you just need to connect the PC to the network directly with a cable (bypassing the router). With satisfactory data transfer rates during the connection, you can already make a bold conclusion about the problem device directly.

If the execution of all the above options did not lead to success, then you can consider the reasons due to the fault of the provider, for example, what to do if the Internet data transfer rate from Rostelecom has dropped.

Why is the low speed of the Internet Rostelecom?

Often, RTK subscribers receive numerous complaints against the provider. And this is not surprising, since the "army" of users of this Internet provider is one of the largest in Russia. Especially in the evenings on holidays and weekends, the provider's servers are overloaded, which immediately affects the quality of customer service. Unfortunately, here we can only recommend one thing - it is to move your time in the global network to another time.

It happens that the speed decreases significantly after the change tariff plan... For example, after the end of the promotional period, Rostelecom sometimes transfers the subscriber to another plan.

If it is impossible to eliminate the reasons, you need to contact technical support provider, for example, if it is RTK, then in "http://rostc.ru/service/kak-pozvonit-operatoru-rostelekom/".

To find out why home or Mobile Internet began to work slowly, no need to be a programmer. Basic knowledge of a PC user is sufficient. Indeed, in order to find out the balance in personal account on the provider's website, check the system for viruses, restart the router or correctly configure the network equipment does not require professional knowledge.

How to determine the real connection speed?

The Internet is clearly transmitted at a low speed if:

Yandex and Google take a long time to load;
files from torrents are not downloaded;
video from VK and other sites hangs (except for Youtube - this video hosting works at the minimum speed);
at wired internet sites are automatically opened not in the regular, but in the mobile version.

But the exact determination of the Internet speed is happening:

It is more efficient to use Yandex.Internetometer (www.yandex.ru/internet):

If the Internet is slow, you need to find out the reason and understand what to do next.

The internet may be slow if the paid period has expired. The balance is checked in the personal account on the website (for all providers).

Instructions for Yota:

More complex settings and actions

Internal system problems are easily diagnosed. Necessary:

Checking the system for viruses

If the Internet loads sites slowly, viruses may be to blame for this (due to the fact that they slow down the operation of the entire system), for prevention, you should clean Windows at least once a week. If an antivirus is installed on your computer, when the Internet speed decreases, you should immediately run a virus scan.

The computer is not protected by antivirus

If there is no anti-virus (or the validity period has expired), you can download the application for free on the network, for example, on the Kaspersky website (www.kaspersky.com). But some installed antiviruses (for example, Avast) slow down the Internet by themselves, since they check all incoming traffic.

Settings and nuances of work in different browsers

Browsers can also slow down the Internet if they are all open at the same time.

Different browsers

If you have problems with the network connection, you need to clear the history (old cookies are one of the reasons why the Internet does not load sites).

Cleaning up in Chrome:

Similar actions in Yandex browser:

In Internet Explore:

Setting up a network connection

A sample plan for diagnosing network connectivity:

Checking that there are no problems with devices (router, network card) or cable

Before system reboot and changes network settings, you should make sure that the cable is connected to your computer or router. The main criterion for a wireless connection: a burning light on a router or modem. If everything is on, but the Internet slows down (and it's not clear why, for what reasons, such a slow Internet), you need to restart the router and computer. For a PC, there is a special menu item, and the router is rebooted with a button on the device box.

Possible provider restrictions

If the connection icon hangs, but there is no access to the sites, then the restrictions have arisen due to:

incorrect configuration of the router to synchronize with the provider (they do not fit together and cannot connect);
the user has incorrectly set the WAN settings and the type of connection (you can find it out by phone hotline provider);
incorrect operation of drivers (licensed installers do not function well on "pirated" versions);
misconfigured connection;
the owner of the distributing mobile device changed the password during the connection.

Checking system boot

What should be done if the Internet does not want to load, does not load well or does not load individual pages (for example, with a video)? Sometimes problems with a network connection arise due to the workload of the system: the computer simply cannot cope with all programs and processes. In this case, it must be cleaned.

Long website openings, freezing, low download speed, problems in online games, failures in video communication via Skype - these and similar things have to be faced with a slow Internet connection.

In this regard, users often have a question: why the low speed of the Internet? How can this problem be solved in individual cases?

The reasons that may result from a drop in Internet speed, we will consider the following plan:

Note that a slow computer that "slows down" and a slow Internet are different things and are not directly related to each other.

1. Peak hours

Slowing down is a natural process during peak hours, when a huge number of users connect to the provider's network. As a rule, this happens by 6-7 pm on weekdays.

This moment depends entirely on the provider: the more users it has, the more load falls on the network equipment, therefore, the slower the Internet connection will be.

The situation is the same with the Wi-Fi zone in public places.

And if you go to a cafe specifically for surfing the web, it is better to look for an uncrowded place.

2. Provider equipment

The reason for the low speed of the Internet may be the exhausted resource of the provider's network equipment. Even changing the tariff plan to a more expensive one will not help. After the replacement of the equipment by the provider, the speed of the Internet, respectively, increases dramatically.

The reason can also be a failure on any part of the path from the Internet provider to the network card in the user's computer. The failure can be in the apartment, in the hallway on the stairs, in the basement of the house, or in the attic where the provider's equipment is located.

When someone cut off a piece of cable in our apartment building (possibly due to renovation of the apartment), the provider had to replace 80 meters of cable. But according to my subjective feelings after that the Internet just began to "fly".

In both the first and second cases, little depends on the user. True, you can contact your provider with constant complaints.

But if in settlement there are several companies operating in the Internet access market, why not get acquainted with the capabilities of other providers. You can return to the first one at any time if the Internet speed of other providers also does not satisfy.

3. Router

The router may be causing the slow internet speed. A router, regardless of the specific model and manufacturer, is itself a weak link in the chain of devices for high-speed data transfer in the network.

The situation is aggravated in the case of budget models of routers, which have weak specifications... Those are more capable of reducing the data transfer rate due to constant freezes.

When complaining about the slow Internet speed in the support service, the provider's employees first ask if the connection is going through the router, and if so, then the standard recommendation would be to turn off the router and then turn it on after 5 minutes.

When the router is restarted, the buffer is cleared of cached data that accumulates during the process of checking and assembling network packets.

Before purchasing a router, you should check with your ISP. Its experts will tell you which models have proven themselves best in operation.

4. Number of Wi-Fi users

No matter how powerful the equipment that provides the point Wi-Fi access in a home or public place, it has a limit of connected devices.

And the closer the number of users is to the limit value of possible clients of such equipment, the lower the Internet speed each of them can count on.

Routers do not always distribute the speed of the Internet connection evenly between all devices. It also happens that when one user downloads a large file from the Internet, the second has to wait a long time even for the elementary opening of a web page.

So that none of the household is deprived of the speed of the Internet, you can purchase a router with a traffic distribution function.

An alternative option is to configure the file download speed limit in the software file downloaders (download managers, torrent clients).

And, of course, you need a password-protected access to Wi-Fi. For in apartment buildings signal Wi-Fi router available to neighbors, as well as to all those who come to visit them.

5. Wi-Fi coverage

Each router is designed for a certain radius of the Wi-Fi zone.

In some cases, if the need for a larger range arose later than the purchase of a certain router model designed for a smaller radius, you can try to solve the problem using a wireless amplifier. This device is placed between the router and the computer device and serves to enhance the Wi-Fi signal.

Metal barriers and water containers located between the router and a mobile or computer device that receives a Wi-Fi signal can reduce the speed of the Internet. There may be interference from the neighbors' router, from overheating of your router, from a malfunction of the router software.

It is advisable to place the router on an uncluttered surface and higher.

You can try bringing your laptop as close to the router as possible to see if this will increase your Internet speed.

6. Device processor

Most of the internet connection depends on the network equipment, but sometimes the reason for the slow internet speed can be the weak processor of the computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

On the one hand, high-speed Internet is no longer a rarity. On the other hand, there are many devices for Internet access with "lightweight", budget processors: netbooks, etc. Such a processor, alas, sometimes does not cope with a large data stream (for example, torrents).

If you want to check the workload of your processor, press three keys simultaneously: "Ctrl", "Alt" and "Del". In the window that appears after this, click on the option "Open Task Manager".

Rice. 1 Check the processor load in the Windows Task Manager

If in a similar window as in Fig. 1 You will see the download at 100%, then the reason for the low speed of the Internet is not in the provider, but exclusively in your computer and in those programs on it with which it is so busy.

7. Programs

A decrease in Internet speed can be caused by the activity of applications on the computer that work with the network.

These are programs that run in the background. For example, in the "background" can be launched

Skype,
WebMoney,
other messengers,
software torrent clients,
programs for saving Internet traffic, for analyzing it, etc.,
any applications that support data synchronization (Yandex.Disk, Cloud Mail ru),
browser extensions,
antivirus update,
Windows updates
music from some site is playing,
online toy launched
and you never know what else is running?

Unused applications should be closed, and it is best to remove them from startup along with the start. operating system.

Rarely used browser extensions do not need to be removed, but disabled and activated only if necessary.

8. Malicious software

Viruses and spyware can be the reason for slow Internet speeds.

Malicious software ( software) runs in the background and uses the Internet connection without the user's knowledge to send spam, to download junk files to the user's computer, and sometimes even blocking the Internet connection may occur because of it.

It is good if the virus ends up only inside the computer and does not interfere with the launch of anti-virus tools. Since if the virus gets inside the router's firmware, you will have to do a factory reset and re-configure it.

9. Internet provider tariff

There are such tariffs from providers that when the user reaches a certain threshold (which is probably specified in the contract with the provider), the Internet speed is sharply reduced. And so it can continue until the beginning of next month, for example.

At the beginning of the month, the Internet speed will be high again, then, as soon as the permissible threshold has been crossed, the speed again sharply decreases. Here you have to either change the tariff, or the provider, or "stretch your legs over your clothes", that is, live with the current tariff.

10. The site or server is overloaded

Internet speed can drop dramatically if you try to navigate to a site in your browser that its owner has imposed an appropriate speed limit. Although the site may take a long time to load due to other problems on the site or on it.

If you and many, many other users simultaneously start downloading files from some server or from some site, then it may well happen that the server or site "crashes" and becomes unavailable.

11. Dust in the computer

The reason is rare, but everything happens in life. Sometimes an almost "new" computer manages to collect a huge layer of dust from animal hair, from using a laptop "on a pillow", etc.

It is clear that this amount of dust must be removed.

How to measure internet speed

There are many websites that are created specifically to measure your Internet speed. Below I offer you two options for this purpose: a special site and a Yandex service.

1. Website for measuring speed:

To start measuring, you need to go to the above site and then click on the "BEGIN TEST" button:

Rice. 2 Special program for measuring Internet speed speedtest.net

All programs on the computer are closed, all windows are closed, only one site is working to measure the speed of the Internet.
It is better to take measurements not once, but several times and at different times of the day.

2. Internet meter from Yandex:

Rice. 3 We measure the speed using Yandex Internet meter

If you measure the speed of the Internet on your computer and compare it with the speed indicated in your contract with the provider, then it is important to pay attention not only to numbers, but also to units of measurement.

Megabits per second - these units are specified in the provider's tariff.
Megabytes per second - this is how a program measures the speed.

One byte contains 8 bits, so the difference between megabytes and megabytes differs by 8 (eight) times. Keep this in mind before calling your provider and accusing him that your Internet speed is 8 times slower than that specified in the contract.

And the last thing. In the agreement with the provider, you have indicated the upper, maximum possible speed Internet, I would call it “ideal”. It can change depending on the time of day, and often it is less than stated in the contract.

Please vote!

Please take part in the survey “Do you measure the speed of your Internet?”. You can choose 1, 2 or 3 answer options.

Modern data transmission technologies are so advanced that everyone has long been accustomed to transmit various digital information via an Internet connection. We communicate with friends using video and audio calls, send and download huge files, watch videos directly from website pages, play various online games or even work on the network. To perform such operations, a wide communication channel is often required, i.e. high speed of the Internet.

Unfortunately, even the most advanced technologies fail from time to time. One of the most unpleasant problems that users of the global network have to face is the slow Internet. Why might this be happening? In fact, there are many reasons why communication starts to work poorly. Let's consider the most common ones.

Before proceeding with any programmatic actions, you need to make sure that the poorly working Internet is not caused by a hardware failure. If this is the situation in your case, the first step is to follow simple steps:

If none of the above options apply to your case, then the problem is most likely in the software.

Checking the system settings of the Internet connection

The reason why the Internet began to work poorly may be incorrect system settings. This is often caused by a slow-running proxy server through which the computer tries to access the network. To check this, you need to do the following (for example, Windows 7, 8):

If after that the Internet began to work faster, it means that it is clear why the brakes occurred. A proxy server is a server through which a computer tries to access the network, that is, traffic does not pass directly from the site to the user, but through intermediary connections. If the proxy is not working well at the moment, then the connection speed, as a result, will also be low.

What if it doesn't work? Fortunately, we still have a few more options in store for why the internet got slow. Let's consider them.

Traffic leak

The solutions listed above are the simplest and most obvious. Most of the reasons why a network connection starts to work very slowly lies in traffic leaks. This means that your communication channel is being used by third-party programs or even other users. Let's figure out what to do in such situations.

The communication channel is clogged due to the fault of the programs

There is a huge number of malicious (yes, and not malware) programs that can download something in the background, that is, without the user's knowledge. And this can be checked. Applications that can track the actions of other programs on the network will come to the rescue. One of these is Networx.

With the help of this convenient and very simple program, you can not only measure the current Internet speed, but also view information about current state communication channel. Networx shows in detail what programs are currently running on the network, and what speed they consume. To obtain this information, you need to do the following:

If you see a program using Networx that is consuming a lot of traffic, just quit it. This is easy to do. Highlight the required application, right-click on its name and select "End Application":

It also happens that it is simply impossible to complete the application. This usually happens with virus programs that block themselves. In such situations, there is nothing left to do, except to install an antivirus and scan the system completely.

Another reason why the Internet suddenly began to work very slowly is updating the antivirus or operating system. As you know, an antivirus program or system can be updated without any warning. In the first case, the slow connection speed is fast, since the antivirus usually downloads small files. With the update of the operating system, things are different - it can download rather bulky data, which is why the Internet will work very slowly for a long time.

To check this, do the following:

Go to the "Control Panel" again.
Find the "System and Security" section and go to it.
Next, go to the "Windows Update" section.
Here you can see if the system is currently being updated.
If you see a picture similar to that shown in the figure above, you just have to wait until the system downloads the updates completely or interrupt the process (if you really need high-quality Internet at the moment).

Slow Internet access speed can often be associated with the fact that traffic goes to communication devices of other users on the local network. Consider a similar situation.

Low speed due to user actions on the local network

If you are currently located, for example, in an office where all computers are united into local area network then the fault slow internet most likely are the actions of your employees. They can download any files at the moment, which will affect the speed of the Internet on all computers on the network.

If you use Wi-Fi, then the traffic may go to the side for the reason that someone knows the password for your wireless network and is just using it at the moment. This can be checked, but this will require certain skills in working with Wi-Fi routers.

Consider the situation with the TP-Link Wi-Fi router. First, you need to go to the device's web interface. To do this, open the address in any browser - "192.168.0.1" or "192.168.1.1". If the router settings have not been changed by the user, then you will see a small form for entering a username and password. Each router has different parameters. In our case, this is the login admin and the password is also admin.

After entering the data into the form and clicking OK, we will be taken to the device's web interface:

Here we need to get information about the users connected to the Wi-Fi network at the moment. In our case, you need to open the item "Wireless mode" in the right menu, and then select "Statistics of the wireless mode".

The information we need is displayed here. We see that at the moment 4 devices are connected to the router, 3 of which are some other users.

Thus, we can conclude that your Internet is now being used on other computers. Perhaps they are the reason for the slow network access speed from your PC. In this case, you need to change the password from the Wi-Fi network.

In contact with