Tips to increase internet speed in this period of COVID-19 lockdown situation worldwide

As we all are under lockdown, and most employees working in different companies and organizations are working from home, it is a litmus test for the Internet service providers to prove their efficacy and offer continuous service so that the companies can keep working with the employees that are working from home and contribute to the economy. On the other hand, as most other people are also attending classes online and are also entertaining themselves through the internet the requirement for bandwidth is adding up every day. At this point in time, the internet can be slow to you at certain times and there can be a number of reasons behind it. Like a lot of people, more than normal is accessing the internet at the same time, which is also adding more fuel to the problem of slow internet connection. 

Most internet service providers are also throttling the bandwidth for certain services, which is yet another way they deliver optimum service to the uses. However, if you are one who is facing the problem at this point in time and you are unable to watch your favourite shows seamlessly, unable to listen to to the songs and audiobooks that you like, can’t play online games, or can’t do your work, there are some handy ways to make your internet run smoothly and serve all your requirements. At this point in time, when we are fighting against one of the biggest pandemics, i.e. Covid-19, we might have to make certain compromises while accessing the internet. Additionally, all these tricks can also be useful to you if you are accessing the internet at someplace where the speed is not that high, even after the world again becomes a sweet home to live in.

So, without any further delay, let’s get started with how you can do the best use of the internet connection available to you and keep using the internet even when it is slow.

Reduce load on your home internet server

If you have multiple family members, who access the internet, and there are multiple devices that are connected to your home network, your internet can be slow if everybody is accessing the internet at the same time. The problem can be more intense if the home server is connected to the internet through a cellular network that is relatively slower than cable and FTTH connections. So if you are struggling for bandwidth, it is recommended that you disconnect certain devices, which do not require internet connectivity all the time. 

For example, if you are having a smart TV but you are not watching your favourite shows, try disconnecting the TV from the home internet connection and that should reduce the problem. Additionally, if your family members are complaining about the internet speed and you are not using the internet at that point in time, disconnecting your devices from the internet should improve the speeds and the overall experience of using the internet for those who need it.

Use light apps or lite versions of apps

If you use certain apps, which consume a lot of bandwidth, try not to use them. Instead of using a data-hungry app on your Android device, you can try using the lightweight counterparts and that should give you better performance if the internet speed is slow and you are struggling to use it. Additionally, you can also find the lite versions of different popular apps like Facebook Lite Messenger Lite, Firefox Lite, and other similar apps. 

All these apps are designed to work on low bandwidth connections and they will also consume less data that will eventually improve the overall experience if you are on a slow internet connection. You can also use Chrome lite mode to load those websites and web pages that support it and it should also help you surf the internet if the internet speed is not satisfactory. All the apps which I have mentioned here should also offer faster performance depending upon what the app is meant for.

Close old tabs on computers and mobiles

If you are like me, and you have the habit of opening multiple tabs at once, I am sorry this might not be the right time to do so. Depending upon the tabs that you open, they constantly send and receive data packets without letting you know, and that eventually makes your internet run slower than normal. Most interactive websites of today are designed to keep communication with the servers even if you are not using the tab, and it is just left open. So, if you are facing difficulties accessing those services that you need, close those tabs, which you do not want. 

Even if you are accessing the internet on your mobile, most users have the habit of not closing the tabs and that should, in some way make your internet slower. Keeping the unnecessary tabs open not only makes your internet connection slower, but Chrome is also infamous for consuming too much RAM and that is yet another reason, why you should not keep unnecessary tabs open all the time. If you still think you need the unnecessary tabs at some time in the future, you can use certain addons like Session Buddy, or simply bookmark the links that are open in the tabs.

Use the web versions of different apps

There is no doubt, the experience is better while using the apps to avail certain services or to access the social networks. The companies want you to use the apps, and that’s the reason, they put more effort into designing the app than the mobile site. But, if the internet is slow, the experience of using the apps will not be that good, and that is applicable for a handful of services. Additionally, most apps keep using the internet to connect to the respective servers even if you are not apparently using them. 

You can alternatively use the web versions of the services, and you can at least get the job done, even if the experience might not be as good as using the apps. This is only applicable for services that have a web interface, and fortunately, most modern services can be accessed through the web interface today. If it is real trouble for you to use the web interface, revert to the last tip of using the lightweight or the lite version of several apps.

Reduce the resolution on streaming services

In the light of this ongoing pandemic situation when everybody is stranded at their homes, you might have already observed, most streaming services have reduced their maximum streaming resolution below HD, i.e. 720p so that the existing bandwidth can be used by maximum users without overwhelming the servers. This is not only helping the content providers, but it is also helping the internet service providers, which need to serve a big chunk of users at this point of lockdown. 

If you consume content on YouTube, that is also not an exception. Even though you cannot do anything at this point in time to increase the resolution, you can use your computer to consume content at full HD, or the maximum resolution a video is available at. However, if you are facing troubles watching videos at full HD on your computer, it is advisable to reduce the resolution to 480p or a resolution below that in which you are comfortable, and you don’t observe buffering. That would reduce the load on your connection and make the Internet faster.

Close the apps after work is done

If you are done completing some tasks on your smartphone, exit the app, and clear the app from the memory. This might contradict with the usual fair practice of not closing the apps, which I always recommend, but there is a different reason here. In normal circumstances, most apps reopen even after you close them and that’s why it puts an extra burden on the battery and your processor, which eventually makes your smartphone run slower. 

This is the case for Android devices. But, if you are surfing the web or are doing something which will not be necessary for you in the next few hours, it is advisable that you close that app and clear the app from the memory. This will stop the app in most cases from accessing the internet in the background which will eventually give you a fair boost of internet speed if you are suffering from low internet speed issues.

Find a suitable spot in the home

There are certain hotspots in our home and office when the internet connectivity is not that good due to weak Wi-Fi connectivity or because of weak cellular signal reception. In both cases, the internet speed will be diminished and the experience of using the internet will not be good. The best thing that you can do in order to increase your internet speed is to find a part in your house, where the Wi-Fi and the mobile network is easily available. If you want to access the internet, you can stay at that point for extended hours and keep using the Internet without any problems. 

But if the spot where you are getting the internet connectivity is not possible to stay in for several hours, it is better that you reserve that space for emergency online activities, like doing payments, booking appointments, and other similar activities, where you need a stable internet connection. Alternatively, if you are using a pocket Wi-Fi hotspot that uses the cellular mobile network for communication, you can keep the device at that point where the connectivity is good. Additionally, if you have a Wi-Fi repeater at your home, you can also use one or multiple Wi-fi repeaters to boost the Wi-Fi network across all the corners in your home to increase the internet speed.

So, fortunately, there are several ways you can make your internet connection run faster even in this period of lockdown when everybody is accessing the internet at the same time. There is no doubt, accessing the internet and having fun online might not be as good as it used to be, and will be after this lockdown period, but the whole world is making compromises in this situation. I know how boring it can be to sit at home doing this time, and the availability of the internet can add value to our lives. Following the different tips that I have mentioned here can not only help you to access the internet conveniently, but it can also allow other users to get the best out of the internet without putting unnecessary load on the servers and ISP.

So that was all about the different ways to increase your internet speed during the COVID-19 lockdown situation. Do you know any other great way to increase internet speed? Feel free to comment on the same below.